Cars, the pride and joy of many people. They may look nice and go fast, but they hurt the environment more than most people would know. If Americans in certain places used public transit or walked, air pollution would go down by 50% in those areas. It would be better for the environment, and for the human body's health to reduce the amount they drive in their personal car.

To begin, cars are the second most cause of air pollution in the United States behind power plants. Since the end of World War II the U.S.A has been idolizing cars, and they have been focusing on the production of these cars. In Vauban, Germany there is a ratio of 3 to 10 people who own cars. Only 30% of the population owns a car, which is saving the air from quite a bit of pollution. Another event that will help lower pollution would be banning driving cars for a day or two. In Paris, there was so much smog that it was compared and even rivaled Beijing, China; which is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The people who drove their cars on this day would be fined $31 American dollars. The public transit was free of charge because it was being promoted to use, as it helps the air become less polluted. This event also happened in three Colombian cities, Bogota, Cali, and Valledupar. The ban on the cars made many people seem to be happier, and more energetic. This ban has been happening for three years now in Bogota, and other Latin American cities are now seeing the importance of it. The use of bicycles, the public transit, or even walking helps reduce air pollution in your city.

In addition to not using personal cars, walking from jobs or to the mall has seemed to make many people in these driving bans less stressful and much happier. From government officials to the commonfolk of the street, all of the Colombians in Bogota look much happier. Even rain hasn't stopped them from biking to work. One woman in Vauban, Heidrun Walter, said, "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier this way." She does not own a car and lives a happy life. She even sold her car to move here, along with 57% of other families who live in the town. Not only does the relaxation of not driving make you less stressful, it also makes you get more excersize. Since 70% of Vauban's families do not own cars, we can assume that they are one of the healthiest cities in Germany or even the world. If all cities in Europe were nearly identical to Vauban then they would have only 3% greenhouse gas emissions from cars, but they would also have a much lower rate of obesity. Even in some parts of the United States, car emissions would go down by 50% which would, in turn, cause obesity to go down by a gigantic number as well. The use of bicycles and your feet would greatly reduce obesity along with increasing happiness.

Although some people may argue that people who don't own personal cars will use public transit instead and societies without personal cars will not have a decreased obesity. This may be true, but if people use public transit then they are helping the environment even more than themselves. They would still have to walk to and from the bus stops. Which will decrease obesity although it may not be in as big of numbers as we would like.

In conclusion the absence of personal automobiles would greatly reduce the air pollution in most major cities. Beijing could become it's once beautiful city, and Paris wouldn't have to ban driving because of thickened smog. The United States would also never have problems with smog, and we would also reduce air pollution by 50%. Communities like Vauban and Bogota are prime examples of people who do not need cars to survive. They are stress free, and much happier than most car driven societies. Personal cars do much more harm, than good. This is why we do not need to rely on the use of personal cars.