Living Car Free - CNN: What if you were car-free?

I know I post a lot of CNN stuff; but, I do try to keep it relevant. It is sort of living car free vicariously.

I expect that if anyone is well equipped to tell that it is possible, it is the crowd in here.

On with the story:

Countless legislators and environmental groups have called for the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Do you think it's possible?

Here's our challenge: Leave your car at home for one day and show us how you get around. Whether you bike to work, take public transportation to the grocery store, or walk everywhere, we want to see whether ditching your vehicle is a realistic option where you live.

Document your car-free day through video and photos and let us know what it was like. And it you use alternative fuels, let us know. Your story could be featured on CNN.

Assignment rules:
Challenge: Document a day without driving
Format: Photo or video
Deadline: Wednesday, September 16, 2009http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=322520

I hope somebody here takes up the challenge. If I had the time and a video camera, I would love to.

I wish I had more warning.

I might put something together, maybe use "stock photos" of previous commutes.

CNN is so silly. LOL!

It's amazing how Americans face a challenge going car free for one day! Let make a video and call CNN for I took the bus today!

Being carfree today is like turning on the kitchen sink and saying I found water.

slightly off topic
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/09/09/how-much-would-most-people-pay-for-a-shorter-commute/

slightly off topic
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/09/09/how-much-would-most-people-pay-for-a-shorter-commute/

Funny....I would actually pay for a longer commute, or at least more time to ride extra miles during my commute.

Being carfree today is like turning on the kitchen sink and saying I found water.

Instead of a brass Moen faucet, you might have a small cast iron hand-pump.

In an odd, semi-relevant way, this reminds me of a Honda commercial I saw today.
Daughter is talking to her dad, who was washing a Civic, about how she has to get somewhere, and her friend that was supposed to pick her up (something like that) couldn't make it, she was sad that she had no transportation of her own and all of a sudden the dad's like "Your mother and I have been talking about getting you a car" and then hands her the keys. All smiles. Then she asks him "Well, what are you gonna drive?" (At this point I hope he's gonna pull out a bike or something... I know...) He then opens the garage door and there sits his Accord. All smiles again.
It just made me think... is this REALLY how it is? Atleast to a degree? Does a 16 year-old deserve a brand new car? Hell, does a 16 year-old really deserve to pilot a 3,000lb mass of steel and aluminum? And nobody bats an eye or anything...
Perhaps I just have too much hope in society... And perhaps I'm just overanalyzing a car commercial.
I just thought it was semi-relevant, seeing as how the people in this ad were, seemingly, unwilling to see out of their cages.
-Gene-

way off topic
way down the road, or pre-tangent
Wilderness and The American Mind...
http://www.history.vt.edu/Barrow/Hist3144/reading%20guides/wildernessandamericanmind.html
http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-American-Third-Professor-Roderick/dp/0300029101
http://www.imaja.com/as/environment/mvarticles/WildernessAmerMind.html

i found this book, left in a plastic zip lock bag
ontop of a bench in a Hike/Bike camp in Oregon, as i pedaled down the coast...

I'd do this even just to showcase a couple of rides to make a few points. "If I worked there, I'd be there. There's the grocery store, let's go shopping. Now we're 10 miles away from where we started." and so on. Just to show really how myopic people have gotten living their lives in cars all the time.

Unfortunately, I don't have a video camera (*)which I can steady during a ride or I definitely would jump on it.

eh, I dont think I could survive that challenge

In an odd, semi-relevant way, this reminds me of a Honda commercial I saw today.
Daughter is talking to her dad, who was washing a Civic, about how she has to get somewhere, and her friend that was supposed to pick her up (something like that) couldn't make it, she was sad that she had no transportation of her own and all of a sudden the dad's like "Your mother and I have been talking about getting you a car" and then hands her the keys. All smiles. Then she asks him "Well, what are you gonna drive?" (At this point I hope he's gonna pull out a bike or something... I know...) He then opens the garage door and there sits his Accord. All smiles again.
It just made me think... is this REALLY how it is? Atleast to a degree? Does a 16 year-old deserve a brand new car? Hell, does a 16 year-old really deserve to pilot a 3,000lb mass of steel and aluminum? And nobody bats an eye or anything...
Perhaps I just have too much hope in society... And perhaps I'm just overanalyzing a car commercial.
I just thought it was semi-relevant, seeing as how the people in this ad were, seemingly, unwilling to see out of their cages.
-Gene-

Yes, unfortunately, that is the way it is in much of America today.

My family certainly didn't work that way. I didn't get my own car until out of high school and on my own. My children got the same treatment. DD purchased her own car and maintained up until this year. She doesn't need one for the time being so she sold it. DS has never owned a car and prefers to live in areas served by mass transit and bicycle.:thumb:

Aaron:)

eh, I dont think I could survive that challengeSame here.:)

But come to think of it, my SO could then sue CNN, and buy a fleet of Hondas with that money.

--J

Yes, unfortunately, that is the way it is in much of America today.

My family certainly didn't work that way. I didn't get my own car until out of high school and on my own. My children got the same treatment. DD purchased her own car and maintained up until this year. She doesn't need one for the time being so she sold it. DS has never owned a car and prefers to live in areas served by mass transit and bicycle.:thumb:

Aaron:)

Not just in America either. It is rather interesting to watch a fresh crop of undergraduates arrive at my university driving brand new BMWs, Mercs, Lexi and Acuras. As a professor I manage, however, to avoid the embarrassment of showing up in my much less prestigious and older car by riding the bike. I got my first car in my last year of undergrad and it was a 14 year old Audi Fox which needed constant TLC to keep it operational and (comparatively) rust free.

Not just in America either. It is rather interesting to watch a fresh crop of undergraduates arrive at my university driving brand new BMWs, Mercs, Lexi and Acuras. As a professor I manage, however, to avoid the embarrassment of showing up in my much less prestigious and older car by riding the bike. I got my first car in my last year of undergrad and it was a 14 year old Audi Fox which needed constant TLC to keep it operational and (comparatively) rust free.

Really is striking what undergrads drive isn't it? I teach at a state school (Shippensburg University, in PA) that is about as cheap as any 4 year school in the US. As such, most of the students are middle-class or lower. Often, considerably lower. And I am stunned by what they drive. I have a pretty good handle on what many of them rack up for student loans, and it strikes me as profoundly irrational to salt away that much debt when a considerable amount could be avoided if they (or their family) did not have service such large car loans. These students are not stupid, and they are not luxuriously insulated from money issues. So, the pattern speaks directly to what range of choices people see in the US. Not having a car when in college is simply not seen as a possibility for many. And in fact, not having a expensive car is not seen as a possibility to many.

Its always hard to talk about such things with them without coming across as a cross old grandpa, but I still try when I can. Speaking from my own life story, I can see how having little to no debt afforded me great flexibility in making choices in my 20's. I made some gambles on education, training, jobs, careers, and locations that simply would have been precluded if I needed to reliably hope to make payments on large loans. Settling down and committing to a place and a career and a person (perhaps) is always a bit unsettling. But, speaking for myself, I am very glad that I was in a position to roll the dice pretty aggresively coming out of college. Some of those gambles paid off, and I am now in a position to control my life in a way that I can live with. To put a fine point on it, if I had a new Honda Accord in 1988, I am not sure how I could now be where I am. If that sounds exaggerated, I am pretty sure I can run the numbers in my case to show it.

jim

To me, having people video a day without their car isn't very realistic. In an area with poor mass transit options, it has been a long procession over many years to eliminate the amount of driving I've attained.

I would rather see a video about someone who's lifestyle of being totally car dependent transition to one of "car free" or extreme "car light" over a year's time, and not just for a day.

Really is striking what undergrads drive isn't it? I teach at a state school (Shippensburg University, in PA) that is about as cheap as any 4 year school in the US. As such, most of the students are middle-class or lower. Often, considerably lower. And I am stunned by what they drive. I have a pretty good handle on what many of them rack up for student loans, and it strikes me as profoundly irrational to salt away that much debt when a considerable amount could be avoided if they (or their family) did not have service such large car loans. These students are not stupid, and they are not luxuriously insulated from money issues. So, the pattern speaks directly to what range of choices people see in the US. Not having a car when in college is simply not seen as a possibility for many. And in fact, not having a expensive car is not seen as a possibility to many.

Its always hard to talk about such things with them without coming across as a cross old grandpa, but I still try when I can. Speaking from my own life story, I can see how having little to no debt afforded me great flexibility in making choices in my 20's. I made some gambles on education, training, jobs, careers, and locations that simply would have been precluded if I needed to reliably hope to make payments on large loans. Settling down and committing to a place and a career and a person (perhaps) is always a bit unsettling. But, speaking for myself, I am very glad that I was in a position to roll the dice pretty aggresively coming out of college. Some of those gambles paid off, and I am now in a position to control my life in a way that I can live with. To put a fine point on it, if I had a new Honda Accord in 1988, I am not sure how I could now be where I am. If that sounds exaggerated, I am pretty sure I can run the numbers in my case to show it.

jim

I totally agree with you. I paid a note, and all expenses on a 3/4 diesel pickup, and fed a horse while struggling to pay for college. I only have an associates degree now.

If I could do it again, I'd be car free and horse free while trying to get an education.

I can see how having little to no debt afforded me great flexibility in making choices in my 20's. I made some gambles on education, training, jobs, careers, and locations that simply would have been precluded if I needed to reliably hope to make payments on large loans.
jim

What's even more amazing to me are the teenagers who are frequently still in high school who get a car through Dad and have to hold down a job to make the payments -- on either the car itself, the insurance or both.

You wonder if they are just working to pay for the car so they can get to work.

The saddest side of this is that they miss their youth doing drudgery in fast food or whatever... when they should be discovering the world and gaining useful experience, they are already slaves.

You wonder if they are just working to pay for the car so they can get to work.


That's almost always it, anyway. The parents even got to start with the car so the kid can pay for it on the back end, because of that paradox. Got to have the car to get to the job. Got to have the job to get the car. And in the end you just end up treading water so you can have something to be able to work at all.

Frankly put, a car is a necessity to too many in the US because of the pitiful state of transportation.

I took a bunch of pictures Monday during my wet commute, but I decided not to send them in. If you guys & gals want to see them, though, you can find them on my blog here (http://beginningcyclecommute.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-rainy-ruminations.html).

I took a bunch of pictures Monday during my wet commute, but I decided not to send them in. If you guys & gals want to see them, though, you can find them on my blog here (http://beginningcyclecommute.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-rainy-ruminations.html).
Thanx for sharing

I made this video. Let me know what you think?
http://vimeo.com/6608803

Really is striking what undergrads drive isn't it? I teach at a state school (Shippensburg University, in PA) that is about as cheap as any 4 year school in the US. As such, most of the students are middle-class or lower. Often, considerably lower. And I am stunned by what they drive. I have a pretty good handle on what many of them rack up for student loans, and it strikes me as profoundly irrational to salt away that much debt when a considerable amount could be avoided if they (or their family) did not have service such large car loans. These students are not stupid, and they are not luxuriously insulated from money issues. So, the pattern speaks directly to what range of choices people see in the US. Not having a car when in college is simply not seen as a possibility for many. And in fact, not having a expensive car is not seen as a possibility to many.

Its always hard to talk about such things with them without coming across as a cross old grandpa, but I still try when I can. Speaking from my own life story, I can see how having little to no debt afforded me great flexibility in making choices in my 20's. I made some gambles on education, training, jobs, careers, and locations that simply would have been precluded if I needed to reliably hope to make payments on large loans. Settling down and committing to a place and a career and a person (perhaps) is always a bit unsettling. But, speaking for myself, I am very glad that I was in a position to roll the dice pretty aggresively coming out of college. Some of those gambles paid off, and I am now in a position to control my life in a way that I can live with. To put a fine point on it, if I had a new Honda Accord in 1988, I am not sure how I could now be where I am. If that sounds exaggerated, I am pretty sure I can run the numbers in my case to show it.

jim


I can relate to your story. I know of people I did undergrad with who had to have new cars while in school and are still in debt twenty years as a direct result. How I envied them at the time. Now, not so much. Last spring, Bell Canada ran an advertisement in student newspapers offering students a chance to win money to pay off their loans if they got this package and a fancy new Blackberry. Keep in mind there was one grand prize for the entire country. I told my students that part of the reason I didn't have any debt after undergrad was because I didn't spend what little money I had on damn fool things like Blackberries. As far as being seen as a reactionary grouch, I fear it is much too late as I have gained the reputation as the teacher that still uses a pocket watch (wind-up, none of that quartz stuff) and writes with a fountain pen.

I think in some respects, students feel compelled to exude prosperity even while in school and a car is sometimes seen as an entree into the social scene of 'winners'. Getting social connections, knowing the right people and possessing the trappings of wealth seems (at least in their minds) to be increasingly important in getting good jobs once they graduate.

Really is striking what undergrads drive isn't it? I teach at a state school (Shippensburg University, in PA) that is about as cheap as any 4 year school in the US. As such, most of the students are middle-class or lower.


While in college, I found out that many of those dropping out in the first and second year were due to the fact they had to find full time jobs to pay for their cars. I suppose the same is true today but you never really hear about these financial dropouts because most will not talk about their poor decision.

Today, schools sign up half the student body with school loans making it easy to buy a car with a lease. This is the reason kids getting out of school are loaded with 20-60K in debt upon graduation. Thousands of these loans are in default because the students continue the cycle with a new car every four years.

I didn't see to many students driving around in new cars when I was in college, since stricter credit guidelines were in force at that time. The advent of cheap easy money is probably why many college students are driving new cars in recent years. With the recent credit crunch, I'd like to see what type of cars that will be driven by college students in the next few years.

I didn't see to many students driving around in new cars when I was in college, since stricter credit guidelines were in force at that time. The advent of cheap easy money is probably why many college students are driving new cars in recent years. With the recent credit crunch, I'd like to see what type of cars that will be driven by college students in the next few years.

It is interesting to note (at least in the Great White North) that personal credit is still plentiful. Businesses can't get loans to actually create jobs and wealth but the banks would just LOVE to give you yet another credit card or line of credit and the car companies are just begging to get people to take their vehicles off the lot. Hardly a week goes by where my wife and I don't receive an invitation to get another credit line. Personal credit is such a huge money maker for financial institutions to the point where an article in Harper's in the spring blamed the very profitability of the personal credit market for the recession.