Limited car use has dramatically reduced the amount of enviromental toxins in the air in some cities. Paris, France and Bogota, Colombia have banned car use for a day and have seen the air clean up just because very few cars were being driven. One community in Germany even banned the use of cars in general. The enviroment is in dire need of help and we can help it. If everyone took one day out of the week where we did not drive anywhere and on the other six days we drove as little as possible and carpooled the air would be so much cleaner. Not driving also has added health benefits, walking or biking everywhere is a good way to excersise.

A new kind of suburb has been created in Germany where cars are not allowed. There are a few roads on the perimeter of the city that allow cars to be driven but besides that residents walk or bike everywhere. There is little pollution in the air and residents are able to take a tram into neighboring cities. Seventy percent of families do not have a car and fifty-seven percent of families sold their car to live in this community. If you own a car in this community you can buy a parking spot for forty thousand dollars. One resident, Heidrum Walter, said, "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier that way." Lack of cars also gives parents peace of mind, cars are still dangerous machines and in this community their kids can play without their parents worrying about them getting involved in an accident.

Paris' pollution rates have been rising over the years and hit almost record level highs for a few days, so in order to reduce the amount of smog in the air there was a temporary car ban. One day anyone who has a even-number license plate was not allowed to drive. If you were caught driving you had to pay a fine that is equalivant to thirty-one U.S. dollars. The smog miraculosly cleared up quickly and people were able to drive again. Another city in Columbia, Bogota, holds a "Day Without Cars", once a year. Citizens are allowed to use public buses and taxis during this day. The government is trying to advocate for public transportation and smog reduction. Most people walk on this day and even though it has rained on this day before citizens participated just the same.

When you choose to walk or bike everywhere it not only makes an impact on the enviroment but it also reduces your risks for dieseases like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Obesity rates in America are a lot higher than they should be and that's partially due to lack of physical activity. By walking or biking to work or to school you reduce that risk because your heart rate is up and your body is moving. Of course if people stop driving obesity will still exist due to our horrible eating habits but it would help a lot. If there was less driving it would also be beneficial to our health because we would be breathing cleaner air. The air we breathe is often times highly polluted and if there was less cars not as many deadly chemicals would be in the air. There would still be cigarette smoke and factory pollution but it would be dramatically less.

If people in America reduced their driving time it would be better for the air and better for us. Many other cities have proposed an annual day without cars so I think cities in America should start doing it. We only have one world and although we have done a pretty horrible job of taking care of it, that does not mean we can't attempt to fix the mess we made.