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In a world of large cities and distant suburbs, transportation is crucial, but is personal transportation truly necessary? Shouldn't there be a way of getting from point A to point B without expending an unecessary amount of harmful gases that could one day bring around our demise? As specified by Elisabeth Rosenthal, Robert Duffer, and Andrew Selsky the answer to these questions is yes. Yes, there is hope for a healthier future without the use of BMWs, Toyota Corollas, Mercedes, and other modes of personal transportation that pollute the Earth. These answers have been noticed by our World's leaders and they are finally taking initiative to save our planet.

According to Elisabeth Rosenthal, writer for the New York Times, Germany is one of the many countries beginning to take notice. This is evident in the building of a small suburb called Vauban where "life goes on without cars". Although approximately 30 percent of the residents in Vauban do own a car, it is clear that the 5,500 people living in this small town are happier residing in a place where vehicles do not crowd the streets. As said by a mother living in Vauban "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier this way".

This idea of a "car reduced" community is not only seen in Germany but might very well soon be found in other countries such as the United States. These ideas today might just be seen by the public as what they are: ideas. However, serious action must be taken now. Although personal transportation might be seen as a necessity by your average citizen, it is not. Personal vehicles are a luxury that we use at, no only our own risk, but at the risk of everyone forced to breathe the intoxicating fumes of these polluting machines. According to recent data, 12 percent of green house gas emmisions in Europe come from passenger cars but this number is not nearly as shocking as that of the United States: 50 percent!

As stated by Robert Duffer and Andrew Selsky, writers for the Chicago Tribune and Seattle Times, Paris and Bogota have come to understand the consequences of the use of personal cars and are taking small steps to better the circumstances brought on to the human population due to the car pollution. In Paris, however, the city had to undergo a hard blow from reality for the french government to understand how crucial this change is. After suffering near record pollution, Paris enforced a partial ban on the driving of passenger cars in order to clear the air. If the ban was not respected by an individual, he/she would be forced to pay a 22-euro fine. Although there were a few who did not follow the terms of the ban, the majority of the people did comply and the smog soon cleared.

For Bogota, however, the ban of passenger cars for a single day has been seen as more of a holiday. The people of this city have come to enjoy this somewhat stress free day away from cars. According to the Bogota mayor, Antanas Mockus, event the rain has not stopped people from participating in this day. This day is not as small of a step as you might think however. For it is a program set to spread to various countries where, for a single day a year, people will bike, hike, roler blade, etc. In other words, everything they MUST do to get from point A to point B.

Finally, as countries around the world begin to take initiative towards the better of our planet, the United States, one of the world's super powers is starting on it's path towards recovery. In the past years, data has come to support the fact that there truly is a shift in the American "way of life". As seen in recent studies, Americans are buying fewer cars , driving less and getting fewer licenses as times goes on. Although the United States peaked in miles driven in 2005 it is evident that, with time, that amount gradually declined and hit a low in April 2013 where the miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent below the peak. As a cause of this sudden hit on the use of cars researchers are beginning to ask: could the United States truly be entering a new era away from the pollution of passenger vehicels or is this just another phase?

Passenger vehicles and the gases they create could very well be the demise of our existence on Earth. This is unless, as a human poopulation, we begin to take action now. Although scientists everywhere have stressed the negative impact on the Earth brought on by cars, people are blind to see that these vehicles are not a necessity but rather a luxury. For this, it is crucial that countries and leaders around the world follow what others have done and begin to enforce the protection of the planet's health and ensure our survival as a species.

Score: 4