The United States goes through about 19,600,000 barrels of oil a day, and a barrel of oil is around a $100. In a day, just for oil, we spend $1.96 billion dollars worth of oil, and yes that was with a “b”. Gas is now up to $3.65 per gallon and is rising. I pay $120 for insurance for one month and I use 8 gallons of gas a week average. That means I spend almost $3,000 a year! I’m only sixteen and that is not even adding all the costs. I could add oil, tires, air filters, battery, and windshield wiper fluid. The list could continue on forever. A person who is auto dependent spends 25% of their income on their transportation (Boelte 2). This shows we need to cut our spending on transportation. On the news I saw that people were buying electric cars and cars that get 40mpg. What people need to do is find a transportation that is suitable for them. When a traveler is traveling a far distance, it gets really pricey. I could pay $600 for a round trip flight and be there in an hour or drive 600miles. In a car with 40mpg, that would only be only $146. More people would rather fly though because they will get there and back. What we really need is something cheap, suitable, and fast. Having bullet trains, car pools, and bike lanes will provide cheaper transportation. People seem to be amazed when they see a high performance car roar down a street. Yes, it may seem like the car is amazing, but when the price comes at hand a driver wouldn’t want to pay for it. I paid $800 for my car because it was reposed. It’s a 1996 dodge neon with only 70,000 miles on it, and gets 32.9 mpg highway at 75mph. Not everyone can get a deal like that, but we need to make a way for transportation to be like the deal I got. A hybrid, electric car, and cars that ... ... middle of paper ... ...th a carpool lane at hand these cars would be saving a ridiculous amount of money. By adding just one lane to the highway Americans will cut spending in half by taking someone with them. Another way to cut spending is by creating a system of super trains. The system would run through each capital. The price of this would be hefty but in time it would pay for itself. Super trains are extremely same and never have had any fatal accidents ever. Speaking of safety, biking on the road isn’t very safe. By adding a bike lane to separate a rider from the road will be safe. A person can ride a bike to any place close and still save money. If a rider rides their bike 5miles a day they can save $600 or more on gas. The rider will stay in shape and save money at the same time. There are many ways to save money and help the environment. So stop wasting money and get to saving.
By and large, the automobile is the only way most Americans travel. Without getting into the details of problems with public transportation, people simply do not consider other options to personal transportation. This becomes especially significant when one considers that cars are the single largest emitter of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The U.S. produces nearly 24% of the world’s CO2 emissions, a third of which comes from gasoline combustion in cars 4,5. Many scientists cite rising oil consumption as the leading cause...
public transit networks. But just how serious is the burden of car ownership, and how exactly does
Did you know that you can receive a maximum of a $7,500 tax credit for just owning an electric or hybrid vehicle? The United States government values citizens that buy fuel efficient vehicles because it gets the United States one step closer to not buying outsourced oil (Jones par.14). Hybrid vehicles are vehicles that are mostly powered by gasoline, but switch over to electric at stop signs or at coasting speeds. Electric cars are cars that are solely powered by electric from start up to shut down (Motavalli par. 6). Most cars and trucks on the road today are powered by gasoline or diesel engines, which are expensive to operate, bad for the environment, and use resources that are non renewable. To achieve better fuel economy, lower operation cost, reduce the pollution on the environment, and operate vehicles with renewable resources, this world needs to take a better look at using alternative fuels to power vehicles. Alternative fuels for motor vehicles are better for the environment, are renewable resource, and are cheaper for consumers.
US’ input in global emissions is ⅕ of the total amount in the world, and after withdrawal from Paris climate accord all of US citizens should take as much responsibilities for their lifestyles as they can. Why don't we start by replacing plane flights with car rides? Of course, in some cases it is unlikely, for example, business trips, where you have to cross the ocean in one day for important meeting, or funeral ceremony of your beloved grandmother, which cannot wait until you cross the country by car. However, the next vacation every conscious person should choose ride over flight. Surely, your family will love the road trip, but even if they won’t be joyful about this news, it will be the right thing to do. Because five of you in the plane will cause twice as much of the ponderous emissions on your trip from New York to Los Angeles than as if you go by car. This sacrifice is absolutely worth it, and everybody should consider
Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.
Within the last few decades cars have changed the way people travel. Back in the early 1900’s there were no automobiles, there were only horse and carriage. When Henry Ford created the first assembly line for a car, only the rich and famous would have ford cars. Now cars are easy to purchase as long as you can afford one. As time moves on cars continue to evolve and they are now easily accessible for anyone that wants a car, with fluctuating prices and even more customization choices, peoples are saving up their entire lives to buy their dream cars. Compared to the early twentieth century, cars have made it better to travel from place to place within days or hours while back a hundred years ago, it would take months or years to even get to the other side of the country. In conclusion, cars are the most reliable sources of transportation in the twenty-first century and that is why it is such a great contribution to the world.
Financial status are very crucial for the community, we prosper with financial success, and we suffer during economic downturns, and that’s where electric cars come into play. Electric cars will help to stimulate the economy substantially when it attacks the market by encouraging more spending to increase the money flow. During 2011, it costed a little more to drive an electric car than a gasoline car, however, with better battery technology now, and easier charging access, the cost for consumers have soon decreased. On average now days, it cost about 7.8 cents to drive one mile on electricity, and 15.9 cents on gasoline. Thus is technically cheaper to fuel the car with electricity than gasoline, and that’s why we should make these resources more readily available to the public. Electric cars sales are also expected to increase to 7% by the
The future American commuter will undoubtedly have to transition from the use of fossil fuels to new alternatives due to the diminishing availability of the nation’s oil resources. How will America respond to this upcoming issue? It is difficult to predict which alternative fuel source America will ultimately choose, but with the premier of Nissan’s electric powered Leaf and other companies; such as Tesla Motors and Chevy, with their electric cars ready for market, the electric car may be winning the race to become the new standard for the gasoline alternative. Electric cars resolve long standing environmental issues, but it will need to maneuver around many roadblocks to become a marketable consideration for the general public. The cost of electric cars, currently on the market, makes them an impractical purchase for the average consumer. If cost is not the growing concern in today’s economy which prevents the consumer from considering this option; they may deny the technological advance due to battery storage capabilities and the inadequate infrastructure in place to refuel and provide for them.
The substantial increase in the demand for EV’s came just in time as we are slowly but surely running out of oil. Some estimate that by the year 2040, 35 percent of all vehicles will be electric (Sullins, 2017). An article from the U.S. Department of Energy stated that “Electric vehicles hold a lot of potential for helping the U.S. create a more sustainable future. If the U.S. transitioned all the light-duty vehicles to hybrids or plug-in electric vehicles, we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 30-60 percent, while lowering the carbon pollution from the transportation sector by as much as 20 percent (energy.gov, 2014). It’s obvious that gas-powered vehicles have harmed our planet with their emissions. Although EV’s cannot reverse that damage that has been done, they can eliminate, or at least slow down, the inevitable demise that our planet is headed towards. Along with the beneficial environmental factors that correspond with electric cars, there are also beneficial financial factors. The average American spends about $2,000 on gas annually. In the future, charging stations will charge roughly $12.00 for a full charge, which is about 300 miles. This means that the average American will save about $1,400 per year on these specific car
Many of us would not want our kids and grandchildren playing in the road with motorized vehicles. On the other hand, what if they were to play in a separated non-motorized road with bicycles and pedestrians? What if they were riding a bike themselves? Considering these questions, a child biking in a separated road with other bikers does not sound dangerous compared to a child biking in the road with cars (Pucher & Buechler 235-255). In the United States, cities with more non-motorized infrastructure tend to encourage more use of non-motorized vehicles (Pucher & Buechler 108, Dill & Handy 2010).
Humans are spending too much time driving and not enough time on their physical activity. Not enough physical activity can lead to obesity, and obesity can lead to other health problems. According to Mindell, “Cycling or walking for transport puts physical activity into the daily routine, matching the health benefits of more formal exercise, such as gym membership or organized sport at less cost”(Mindell). If humans spend less time in their cars, and more time into walking and cycling the conditions of their health will increase. Walking or riding a bike costs way less than getting a gym membership. By walking you can save money because it’s free to walk places. Mindell values transportation that involves any kind of exercise versus driving everywhere. He values human health and everyday physical
agreed to keep a stretch of road in good repair if they could charge a
Today, people use their own personal vehicles to travel more than ever before. Personal transportation is no longer considered a luxury; it is now considered a necessity. The number of cars in the United States has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The number of miles traveled by cars has risen nearly 150 percent, yet the United States population has only grown roughly 40 percent during that time (hybridcars.com, Driving Trends). Although it may seem like we are advancing into the future, in reality, we are moving backwards from the effects these vehicles have on our bodies and the environment. The pollution produced by these vehicles has brought us to the day where we must find other modes of transportation that cause less harm to the world in which we live. Advances in technology have developed hybrid vehicles to try and slow down the amount of pollution. Driving a hybrid vehicle, instead of a conventional gas powered vehicle, can reduce the amount of pollution that affects our lives and the environment around us.
...er commutes. In analyzing all the traffic congestion policies, I believe this policy alternative will have the greatest impact in reducing traffic congestion. It properly prices the roads in which supply will equal the demand. In addition, it generates revenue for the local government which can mitigate the costs in maintaining the roads and infrastructure.
Transportation is movement of people and goods from one location to another. Throughout history, the economic wealth and military power of a people or a nation have been closely tied to efficient methods of transportation. Transportation provides access to natural resources and promotes trade, allowing a nation to accumulate wealth and power. Transportation also allows the movement of soldiers, equipment, and supplies so that a nation can wage war.