I was very excited about my first trip to the West Coast (California) that I took last summer. It was a place Ive always fantazized over because of its variety of beauty from the surfing beaches to the skiing mountains to the north. When I first landed in LA, I expected some hustle and bustle of the city like Miami, but it was overwhelming to see the smog and traffic that polluted many peoples views of California, along with the air. Unfortunately, this is the case in many car intensive cities across the globe where limiting car usage would go a great deal farther than people actually know. The advantages of limiting car usage would allow for cleaner cities with less air pollution, and provide safety for pedestrians and even other car-users.

According to source 1 on car-free cities, Elizabeth Rosenthal states "Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe... and up to 50 percent in car-intensive areas of the United States" (Rosenthal, paragraph 5). This stat only presents part of the problem as the commercial and delivery industry add to that figure as well. Limiting car usage across the world is becoming more and more porular, as people finally come to realize the devastating effects of the greenhouse gas emissions on the atmosphere. Projects in places like France, Colombia, the United States, and other countries across the globe are making a huge effort at reducing car usage, and according to source 4 by Rosenthal, they seem to be working. " Recent studies suggest that Americans are buying fewer cars, driving less and getting fewer licenses as each year goes by"(paragraph 29). Obviously, car usage altogether will not end, but limiting it can do a great deal in protecting the only planet sustainable for human life.

Furthermore, limiting the use of cars in areas of large pedestarian population, such as New York City, would ultimately lead to less tragic car accidents. Approximately 500 car accidents occur daily in the United States and probably upwards of 5000 across the globe. Car accidents are the leading cause of death in many societies which is unfortunate because almost all are preventable. Its when the driver is given too much power behind the wheel that their guard is let down. The rise of cellphones and texting have not helped the situation at all either. The good news is that the programs used worldwide solely for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, are also reducing car accidents. " Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France" (Duffer, paragraph 14). Also in source 3 describing Bogota's Car free day is spreading to other countries of Latin-America with the intention of reducing traffic and allowing safer passage for pedestrians.

Ultimately, the importance of limiting car-usage across the world is being seen as crucial and is starting to take off. Limiting car usage reduces air pollution which is a serious threat to humanity these days, and also diminishes car related accidents. At the end of my trip to California, I was able to see the real beauty of the nature outside the city, when I got off the highway.