Vehicle over-dependence is a negative and prevalent thing. Everywhere we look, in every corner of the planet, automobiles are on the rise, polluting the air and cluttering the streets. Since the invention of motorized vehicles, people have been enamored with them and the American Dream remains that every person should have their own. The burgeoning, progressive way of thinking is the acknowledgment that gas powered vehicles were never a sustainable technology and need to be rethought for the good of the planet and those who call it home. If we work together, we can create a world where people are not overly dependent on their vehicles and enjoy clean air, reduced noise, less oil drilling and healthy, natural living.

One immediate benefit of reducing the presence of automobiles would be cleaner air. This agenda item is a priority in every leading country’s legislation goals because of how harmful fossil fuel emissions are to the health of the environment. Industrial pollution and other major contributors are also responsible for the toxic emissions, but vehicle emissions are one of the major contributors to this problem, if not the most. This problem makes vehicle reduction an absolute necessity.

Another major benefit to getting cars off the streets would be reduced noise and congestion. Vehicle noise and congestion are one of the biggest problems that cars create. They are a loud, space consuming technology that nature never intended to support billions of. In large cities or cities with aging infrastructure especially, high volumes of cars make for an unreliable, disastrous commute anywhere. It must be stopped.

Reduced oil drilling would also be a benefit of cutting back on the number of cars there are in the world. It is well agreed upon that oil drilling is a toxic, unsustainable practice. There is far too much that can and does go wrong in oil drilling, and when it does, nature and animals always pay the price. The amount of oil that has poisoned the earth in major oil spills is unacceptable, and will lead to the extinction of animal and plant life if not stopped.

And lastly, as if there were not already enough good reasons to reduce the use of automobiles, the benefits to people’s health if they needed to rely on their bodies to get places would be astronomical. If people used their legs to commute instead of the fossil fuel energy in vehicles, we would living as nature intended once again.

Being overly dependent on a vehicle is a dangerous thing to be in modern times. Vehicles are the primary cause of pollution and unclean air around the globe, they congest cities everywhere and they contribute to the inactivity that causes many people health problems. Any person who has a sense for social and environmental responsibility should be looking to reduce their vehicle dependence to be part of the solution, not the problem. There are several ways one must approach this initiative.

It is important to be deliberate about which commutes you can make without a vehicle. This will involve a degree of planning and strategizing on your part. Push yourself to go as many miles or kilometers as you can without the use of a car. You will need to change the way you think about how long it takes to get places, but it is worth it for the sake of the environment and your personal health. It is not uncommon for people in modern times to select a location to live in based on its proximity to everything one must commute to from that location. This is frequently done with walking or bicycling in mind.

You must also be deliberate about how many commutes you make in general. If you take inventory of your commutes, you will realize that a little bit of foresight can go a long way in reducing the number of trips you take. Many commutes you make can be consolidated to reduce the number of separate trips into only a few trips. This can call for a lifestyle change when it comes to organizing your life in a way that requires fewer trips, but you will feel far more efficient once you do. If you lay your commuting plans carefully and execute your alternative transportation plans with devotion, you will feel connected to a collective senses of responsibility and rewarded by good health for yourself and the planet you depend on.