Transportation is a major part of all of our lives. We always seem to be going from some place to another. We drive to school, to work, to buy groceries, to visit friends and some places for entertainment purposes. Regardless of where we may want to go, we are generally driving there. And most often we just take for granted that we are going to be driving to our destination. Have you ever considered walking or biking if it’s a short distance? Has the idea of occasionally taking public transportation ever crossed your mind? You’d also be surprised how many benefits there are to carpooling.
In a recent study done by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, they identified one of the largest overall contributing sources to global warming was road transportation. Cars, trucks and buses are all major contributors as they release greenhouse gases and various other pollutants that promote warming while also not emitting enough aerosols to counteract it. So in other words, the more vehicles on the roadways, then the worse the problem of global warming is going to be.
While certain types of transportation can’t be avoided, we can all pitch in to do our part in lessening this problem. Often simple steps are all that is needed because many simple steps will always add up to larger results. If we all stopped to calculate the miles we drive in a week, or even a month, and then figure out how much we’re polluting the air, we would probably all be amazed!
Many people don’t understand how taking public transportation can help with the global warming problem when buses are emitting the same harmful gases and pollutants as our cars. The buses are going to be on the highways and roadways anyways. If ten people took the bus to work as opposed to driving their cars, there are ten fewer cars on the road. Which scenario is going to be more harmful to the atmosphere: a bus and ten cars or just a bus? It’s a simple step that can make a lot of sense and a huge difference in our world.
Here are some more very simple steps that we can all take to decrease the amount of Global Warming contributed from transportation on the highways and roadways:
• Carpool to work with friends or family members.
• Consider taking public transportation once or twice a week.
• Walk or bike on shorter trips (plus you get exercise witch is healthy too!)
• Invest in an energy efficient or hybrid car
