Cars; most are used by workers, mothers, and pretty much all people in any urban area, they get us from point A to point B. But, as much as we use automobiles do we really  need them? They produce smog, indanger our chiildren and folk, and make life more stressing for us all. This can be fixed though, many places around the world have stoped using cars and even went to the length of banning them! Most importantly though they have opened our eyes to the atmoshpereic destruction that is caused by cars and ways we can do without them.

In Paris, a few days after near-record pollution, France banned driving for a couple days to clear the air or drivers will be fined up to 22 euros, or 31 dollars in America. "Congestion was down  60% in the capital of France, after five days of intensifying in smog that rivaled Beijing, China, which is known as one of the most polluted cities in the world," says Robert Duffer, a journalist for Paris (Robert Duffer, par. 14). This amazing number just shows how even reducing the use of cars cut back the smog by over half! Imagine what our air could be like if we didn't  use cars, it would help the ill and our children could breathe easily. And surprizingly enough, there are places already that do this act of banning cars and enforce it.

In Vauban, Germany-- there is a community of people who live in this fashion. Street parking, garages, and even driveways at homes are banned from this quaint suburban area. And, if you do own a car you have to pay almost $40,000 to park it, needless to say over 70% of families of the area don't own a car and 57% sold theirs to move to the area. A mother of two and resident of the area, Heidrun Wlater, says, "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier this way," (Elisabeth Rosenthal par. 3). And true to their word these kinds of urban areas have become popular in Europe and even in New York.

Car free areas have not been limited to just Europe though; in America, with its large areas of urban annd suburban ideals, is now changing the way the way we think about cars. In April 2013, the miles driven per person was 9% lower than it was in January 1995 (32). Although small, this cultural change in the way we are using cars is significant. Michael Sivak, a research professor at the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute says, "What most intrigues me is that the rates of car ownershipper household and pe person started to come down 2 or 3 years before the downturn, I think that means something more fundamental is going on," (Elisabeth Rosenthal par. 33). The fact that America is changing the way we use cars is just another indicator that we should stop all together and join this car-free revolution.

To wrap it up, cars are hurting the air and they need to be cut back before we burn a hole through our atmoshpere. We're not alone in this car-free quest, many areas Europe and nothern America have started to implement this way of thinking. And lastly, this ideal is most needed in America's packed cities, the hazzard of smog and other pollution is hurt our citizens and needs to be stoped before it has long-term effect on our children. Please consider this, car in the long run are bad for the economy but, as well our health. It's snowing on Mt. Fuji.