The definition of pantomime: the Pagani Zonda Cinque.
Personal automobiles do have their advantages. For instance, in a medical emergency, a personal vehicle can be a very good means of transporting an injured individual to a hospital or medical center. Another reason why people should have their own vehicles is the fact that public transportation is not very tailored to an individual's needs. If a person needs to get somewhere quickly and efficiently, the best way is still transportation by car. This is because with cars, a person has total freedom of where they want to go and how to get there. With public transportation, all a person can do is take the bus or train to a designated stop and more times than not, walk the rest of the way. Additionally, cars keep this world interesting: society still loves cars. The T.V. show Top Gear is one of the most popular shows on this planet. It is estimated to have 350 million viewers per week from 170 different countries. (CBSNews) The topic and heart of the show? Cars, cars, and a little more cars. Clearly, cars are still an huge part of modern society and even though they do cause a variety of problems, we simply cannot get rid of them.
Top Gear, my personal favorite show.
That being said, public transportation is definitely safer than having a huge number of cars on the road. In 2008 alone, there were 39,000 deaths in America due to motor vehicle accidents and collisions. (US Census) This is a very large number of people; the town where I'm from has a population of approximately 35,000 people. That is like losing every single member of my town to a motor vehicle accident and then a bunch more from another town. In order to lower that statistic, the obvious solution is to have fewer cars on the road. The number of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents would clearly go down, and there would be other benefits as mentioned above. Unfortunately, motor vehicle accidents aren't the only problems with cars. Another huge issue has to do with environmental damage due to harmful car emissions.
A fatal motor vehicle collision.
There are several different environmental hazards that result from using cars such as acid rain, CO2 emissions, and buildup of greenhouse gasses. (Schiller 8) Most cars run on gasoline or diesel. Both of these fuel types cause emissions from the exhaust of cars. A single car's exhaust emission is almost nothing in terms of damage to the ozone layer and general global warming, but multiply by a few hundred million and the effects are more prominent. Additionally, the transportation industry produces an abundance of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides from factories and car emissions. They cause acid rain and lead to global warming, two dangerous phenomena that we try very hard to retard. In order to effectively diminish the amount of emissions and the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide we are putting into the atmosphere, we must cut down on automobile usage. By cutting down the use of cars and increasing the use of public transportation, we can effectively solve these issue and still maintain order in society. In some cities, this has already started to occur.
The effects of acid rain.
New York City Traffic.
Works Cited
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Web. 4 September 2011.
US Census Bureau. Motor Vehicle Accidents - Number and Deaths: 1980 to 2008. http://www.census.go
v/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s1102.pdf. US Census Bureau. Web. 4 September 2011.
Hey Kevin! I love the organization and structure of your blog. There are many pictures to display what you are talking about in your main points. I like how each supporting detail to your claim for using public transportation more often than cars is eye catching and leaves an impression. To top it off, you gave the blog post a personal touch by mentioning your favorite television show and about your hometown as added support to your thesis statement. Good job! I enjoyed reading your first blog post.
ReplyDelete~ Cheyenne C.