For more than a hundred years now, we have been relying on autombiles for many things. Since the beginning, we've seen a tremendous increase due to the more factories built and more companys founded to create different versions and models of cars. We use them to go place to place. However, it does have its downfalls. The majority of pollution caused by cars driven around the entire planet is caused by the emissions released from the car itself. Obviously that's nowhere near healthy so why not try limiting the car usage?

Many places round the world have already begun trying little projects inorder to cut back on smog or pollution. In Vauban, Germany, for example, a tremendous amount of people don't own cars. According to the excerpt from "In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars" by Elisabeth Rosenthal, it mentions how 70 percent of Vauban's families do not own cars and 57 percent sold one to move there. The streets are completely car-free minus the main thoroughfare where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs. All of this turned into a growing trend throughout Europe to seperate suburban life from car usage. It's referred to as "smart planning". Experts say these changes are a huge impediment to current efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes. Another positive effect of this experiment, stores are placed a walk away, on a main straight, rather than in malls along some distant highway. Think about living in an environment where you can actually breathe in the fresh air and not choke on it thanks to the smell of exhaust fumes coming from all of the automobiles congesting the streets and cities you'd like to walk in.

Another advantage of limiting car usage is reducing stress and tension caused by driving. In Bogota, Colombia, millions of Colombians either hiked, biked, skated, or took buses to work during their "car-free day", according to the excerpt from "Car-Free Day is Spinning into a Big Hit in Bogota" by Andrew Selsky. The only permitted automobiles are buses and taxis during those days. The goal of the entire event is to "promote alternative transportation and reduce smog." Anyone who violated the program would face a $25 fine. "'It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower pollution,' said businessman Carlos Arturo Plaza as he rode a two seat bicycle with his wife." During one of the years, two more cities from the country joined. Due to event, it improved a campaign which began in the mid-1990s where there's been a construction of 118 miles of bycicle path which is the most of any Latin American city, according to Mockus who is the city's mayor. Another positive result of this project was the blooming of parks and sport centers throughout the city. Even the uneven, pitted sidewalks have been replaced, rush-hour restrictions have dramatically cut the amount of traffic and new restaurants have cropped up. It was as if the entire city itself was reinovated thanks to their Car-Free Day.

Considering the fact that transportation is the second largest source of America's emissions according to the excerpt from "The End of Car Culture" also by Elisabeth Rosenthal, it's not a bad idea limiting car usage. At the end of the day, we have more advantages than anything else. Those include reducing the amount of smog and pollution caused by the automobiles' emissions and reducing stress plus the tension while drivng. Again, who wouldn't want to be able to walk around town enjoying the outside beautiful environment nature provides us with, without having to hold their breath everytime a car or truck passes by with their nasty exhaust fumes? Make the world a better place to live in.