Save Gas, Walk Off Some Ass!

Wars have come and gone, tragedies have shocked us and disasters have momentarily shaken the foundations of our culture. But there are three things that have been a permanent headline in the daily news since before I can remember; Gas Prices, Pollution and American’s Health. Not only have these topics been a news mainstay since I was a child, the issues themselves have sadly become worse over time.

What is even sadder is that unlike war or a natural disaster these problems are not out of our hands or uncontrollable. In fact the solution to all three of these issues is so simple it is laughable that every able bodied person doesn’t stand up and take action. All you gotta do is walk!

By putting one foot in front of the other you can live a life less effected by gas prices, dramatically reduce pollution, be healthier and even save a LOT of money. I walk to get my groceries, to get my mail and meet friends for coffee, I walk everywhere. If I can’t walk there I ride my bike, sometimes I take a bus, the point is that I don’t own a car, I don’t even have a drivers license, never have.

But you NEED a car! I have been told my entire life that I can’t survive without a car. But I am – lets say over 30 years old – and while not having a car has occasionally been a disadvantage, it hasn’t been any more so than not owning a big yellow backhoe. It would have been nice to have one once or twice but it definitely has not stopped me from getting around or living my life.

People act as if not having a car is like being crippled despite the fact that human civilization spread across the globe on foot. Now we will drive around the mall parking lot for twenty minutes to find a space closer to the door because we can’t walk a few hundred feet. The fact is that people are lazy and have put convenience above everything else including the good of the community, the environment and even their own health.

According to the Center for Disease Control 2008 report only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. The numbers aren’t going down either and it doesn’t take a medical degree to figure out that if you walked the two blocks to get your groceries instead of driving you would be healthier for it. You’ll also save money on the gym membership that 40% of people never use after the first week.

Let’s skip past the environmental benefits of not driving your car and cut right to the financial benefits. The average American’s car payment is around $380 a month plus auto insurance at around $840 a year then consider that the average fill up is around $40 twice a month when gas prices are stable. That’s more than $9,500 a year going into your car, not including maintenance, deductibles and extras such as car washes and air fresheners.

Walking is free! A good bike will cost you $200 and a bus pass is about $30, even with an occasional cab ride you might spend $2000 a year to get around. I’ll let you do the math.

Now lets revisit the environment and our national security. Nearly half of all the oil consumed in the United States ends up in the gas tank. If you reduce the use of cars, you reduce the demand on oil  therefore cutting our dependency on foreign reserves. In addition less oil burned the less pollution being produced. Result: better air, safer Country.

So how do you get around? There’s no place that you cannot get in the United States and I would dare say the World with a combination of your feet and public transportation of some kind, be it bus, train, carpool or cab. Yes you lose some convenience but don’t think of what you lose, think of what you gain. You save money, reduce dependency on oil, reduce pollution and live a healthier life by simply leaving your car behind. But that is not all; if more people walked there would obviously be more people on the street and on buses inevitably resulting in more social interaction. We would be less distant from one another and connect more and start to form real communities again.

I am not a fool, I know everyone can’t just stop driving, weather and location are big factors. But everyone can try driving less! Grab the kids and walk the few blocks to the grocery store, make the little buggers carry some bags back. Bike more places if possible at least car pool or take the bus to work a few days a week. At the very least pick that first parking spot at the mall.

Put one foot in front of the other and you’ll be so much better off for it.