What is a normal day to you?  Waking up, brushing your teeth, eating, then getting into car to go to work, right?  That last object in that list, getting into your car, puts a strain on the environment, commonly known as pollution.  Although the amount of strain that an individual may put on the environment is miniscule, the combined output of all cars in a city may be enough to damage your lungs!  In Beijing, China, people wear masks outside to prevent inhalation of the dense smog surrounding the city.  This has led to the development of the "smart planning" movement, in which city planners build dense suburbs in which cars are unneeded.  Shops are a walk away, and your neighbor lives five minutes from your home.  You may be asking "Why do I care about this?  I don't have heavy smog in my city."  Well when car use starts to increase in your city, that will affect both your health, and your happiness.

First off, limiting car usage will make you happier.  "How will this make me happy?"  Think about this, you go through your usual morning routine, and you only have five minutes to get to work.  That's perfectly fine because, good news, your job is a three minute walk from your house!  This drastically reduces stress as said in this quote from "In German Suburb, Life Goes on Without Cars." by Elisabeth Rosenthal.  "'When I had a car I was always tense.  I'm much happier this way,' said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor."

Secondly, the smog from cities with high car usage is becoming unbearable.  "Paris typically has more smog than other European capitals...[Last] week Paris had 147 micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter compared to 114 in Brussels and 79.7 in London, Reuters found."  In Paris, after a few days of "near-record pollution," enforced a partial, temporary driving ban.  "On Monday motorists with even-numbered license plates were ordered to leave their cars at home or suffer a 22-euro fine ($31).  The same would apply to odd-numbered plates the following da y."  The congestion levels of Paris were down by an astonishing sixty percent after five days of the smog.  Imagine that, in five days smog levels reduced by sixty percent.  Imagine what the whole world could do if everyone pitched in to this trend.  "[Automobiles], experts say, is a huge impediment to current efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emmisions from tailpipes....Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emmisions in Europe...and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States."

Lastly, a reduction of car use can vastly improve the economy.  In Bogota, Colombia, the local government have begun to enforce a "Day Without Cars" in an effort to curb rising pollution levels.  This has been happening for three years, and has increased profits for small shops and eateries in the area.  Because of the large number of walkers and bikers, shops were able to make a larger profit with walk-ins that just happened to pass by the store.  This is what caused more stores to open up, thus  boosting the local economy.  Even businessmen are enjoying these days as stated by Carlos Arturo Plaza.  "It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution."

To end this off, cars use can be greatly reduced.  It is a matter of willpower, which everyone has, but some are too  lazy to tap into it.  The reduction of car use will have long term effects on both you and the globe.  By minimizing the time you spend in a car, you are increasing your happiness, decreasing pollution, and helping boost the economy!  If you think cars are a necessity in today's shrinking world, think again.  New York is a perfect example in which rush hour traffic makes it impossible to get to work on time by car.  Even in new small suburbs, cars are becoming a thing of the past.  Tomorrow, instead of driving to work or to the store, try walking.  You just might enjoy it.