Thursday, September 20, 2007

Car-Free Day... Week... World

car freeSaturday is world car-free day. One day out of every year is selected to highlight the idea that it is possible to live without cars. It really is.

In China, cars will not be allowed on Saturday in 108 cities to raise awareness about pollution, and to ease congestion. Only pedestrians, bikes, and busses will be driving on Saturday.
"No Car Day'' will cut 3,000 tons of emissions and save 33 million liters of gasoline, according to the ministry. (that's 8.7 billion gallons)
Some places have been celebrating car-free week. Greenwich, UK, is celebrating by closing the town square to cars, and having a party with art, music, and a beach. Montreal, Canada, is also closing town square for a concert, and they're having hiking and other events this week.

If you're interested, here are 10 ways you can break your auto dependence. Also check out carfree.com.

Britain plans to be entirely gas-free by 2040. It is possible. There are so many options for alternative fuel. It will be nice when consumers have the freedom to choose which type of energy they prefer, and how much they want to pay for it. Good luck, Britain, and thanks for leading the pack!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great post. I think it would be awesome to have a day like that. I think it should be a national holiday. Same day each year and no one allowed to start their car. They could plan for the year for that day, like Christmas. Oh yeah and I think in 2040 when I am 84 I will go to Britain and check it out. Who's coming with me?

terra said...

If I didn't live in an unsafe area, I would take the bus to work. (some days I don't even drive down part of my street - it's that bad. It's unfortunate that people would feel unsafe on a city bus. Maybe someday it will be more mainstream in Akron.

For Car Free Day, we're going to walk or ride our bikes to Highland Square, and then head back home to spend the day with our pets and our garden.