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Cars have been popular and widely used ever since they were invented. They offer a fast and efficient form of transportation across both long and short distances. In this aspect, cars may appear extremely beneficiary and useful in everyday life, but there are always downsides to great inventions, especially the invention of the car. More and more people from all around the world are realizing the harms that car usage brings and are beginning to abandon their cars altogether. The most apparent reason as to why cars are damaging is because of the great amount of greenhouses gases they emit into the atmosphere. They also bring about pollution and smog with them. Finally, and maybe surprisingly to some, people are actually happier without these pollution monsters.

To start, cars expel shocking amounts of greenhouses gases from their tailpipes. By limiting usage of these automobiles, the amount of green house gases can be significantly reduced. According to the source,

In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars, cars produce up to 12 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in places like Europe, but an eyepopping 50 percent in the United States where there is heavy car usage. This is a lot of noxious gas that is being put into the atmosphere, and poses a serious harm to the people living in these cities. Greenhouse gases are an especially maleficient form of pollution because greenhouse gases tend to trap heat and other types of pollution from escaping the atmosphere, leaving filth in the air that are then absorbed by the lungs, "choking cities (Rosenthal 8)." This is without a doubt a serious problem, but it can be corrected simply by not driving as frequently. According to

The End of Car Culture,

"But America's love affair with it vehicles seems to be cooling...If the pattern persists-and many sociologists believe it will-it will have beneficial implications for carbon emissions and the environment, since transportation is the second largest source of America's emissions, just behind power plants (Rosenthal 32-34)." Simply by reducing car usage, these harmful toxins can be removed from the atmosphere.

Pollution is another quite obvious reason to why restricting car usage is benefical. Cars release other toxins and gases as well that contribute greatly to pollution and smog.

Paris bans driving due to smog tells the story of how driving had to be banned for days because of the worst pollution the city has ever seen. According to this passage, "Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France, after five-days of intensifying smog...[Last] week Paris had 147 micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter compared with 144 in Brussels and 79.7 in London, Reuters found (Duffer 14-17)." This is a ton of particulate matter that will be all breathed in by the people there if they are not removed. Paris, Brussels, and London are not only the cities plagued by this pollution from cars as "[The smog] rivaled Beijing, China, which is known as one of the most polluted cities in the world (Duffer 14)." Smog from pollution negatively effects many aspects of life, but the worst was that "Cold nights and warm days caused the warmer layer of air to trap car emissions (Duffer 14)." This phenomenon forces the people to breathe these particles into their lungs. Pollution is a terrible occurence that tags along with car usage, but by simply banning cars with even-numbered licnese plates off the road for one day, the smog greatly lightened in severity, enough for the city of Paris to lift the ban. No one wants pollution in their city, and simply by cutting back on car usage, pollution can be greatly reduced for the benefit of the people.

Finally, and most surprisingly, people are actually happier and less stressed without these modern horses. Heidrum Walter, a mother who lives in the city of Vauban Germany, a community devoid of cars, says in the passage,

Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars , "'When I had a car I was tense. I'm much happier this way (Rosenthal 3).'" Carlos Arturo Plaza, a man in Bogota, Colombia, also commented during Bogota's Day Without Cars, (in the source,

Car-free day is spinning into a big hit in Bogota

) "'It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution (Selsky 24).'" This may seen a little puzzling at first as to why people would not enjoy fast and convenient transportation, but then the answer becomes pretty obvious. Without cars, parks, sport centers, and other outdoor recreational places have started to pop up more amd more on the streets of cities once bustling with cars. The roads are much less congested and new shops and food centers have appeared as well. Limiting cars pleases people in many different aspects of their life.

Cars may appear to be helpful at times, but in reality, citizens are better off without these transportation machines. Not only do they greatly pollute the air and cause smog, they also spew out noxious greenhouse gases that cause more damage to the society as a whole. Finally, and probably most importantly, the citizens themselves enjoy life better when these cars are out of them. Although this doesn't mean cars should stop being manufactored altogether, people should think twice before jumping in their car next time.

Score: 5