Speeding Up to Slow Down

I was walking down Landsdowne St. earlier today. I was watching all these cars speed down the road. Then I heard the sound of a train coming. Guess those tracks really are still in use. It got me thinking that all these people are speeding just to end up slowing down. And since there is no Via rail they were going to be waiting a while. In turn it got me thinking about the number of cars in use. Everywhere I looked it was like a sea of cars. More often then not there was only one person in the vehicle as well. What is the cost?

We really do live in a consumer society... Consume... consume... consume.... without any real thought to the consequences. This is just one more example. I understand the need for vehicles at times, and in certain locations. But there are times when the rest of us could actually take a walk, get some fresh air and exercise, and leave the car at home. Well okay I don't drive so that is pretty much my reality any ways.

The emphasis tends to be me and not we. We focus so much on "me" and looking out for number one that we don't stop and think about the impact on other people. We take cars when we're just going down the street because it's more convenient. It only takes 5 minutes to drive when it might take 15 to walk. It's also habit. We're lazy. Why walk when you can drive? Right now we really can't see the environmental cost of these decisions because we also tend to focus on the short term... the here and now. If we can't see it then maybe it won't really happen.

The car culture also leads to a social impact. Now this is more just speculation on my part but I would bet that the amount of driving that we do leads people to have less patience and more aggressive behaviour, as evidenced by the road rage. It's also more isolating. At least when you are walking down the street you can talk to, or at least acknowledge those people around you.

So what would I like to see? I would like to see more people taking a walk instead of grabbing their car keys. The environment and society will thank you later.