By: Colleen Heenan
Today is officially the first day of fall 2008. For me, fall is a reminder of the novel transitions our earth makes throughout the year. The changing of leaves and the cooler temperatures kick up my desire to seek out nature. Today is also national Car free Day 2008, which means people around the world are making a volunteering effort to leave their car at home and seek out greener form of transportation for their daily commute. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the turning of a season then by reducing my impact on the earth.
Every September 22 people around the world join together in finding alternative ways of getting to work. Car Free Day challenges people to change their daily commuting routine. The idea behind this nationally celebrated day is to help people with the initial transition to finding a greener commute. The addition of incentives can further push people into freeing themselves from their car.
In Washington DC, residents have good reason to participate in car free day. Incentives offered by the city and local businesses could encourage the skeptical while the idea of avoiding the stress of car traffic could grab the attention of others. Participants have an opportunity to ride for free on the Metro transit bus today, receive a free bike tune-up at a local bike shop, a chance to test ride DC’s new smart bikes, and raffles for free things such as nano i-pods are also offered. This year, DC has over 5 thousand participants that have committed to going car free for the day.
Other cities who have limited alternative forms of transportation can still do their share for the day. By car pooling, walking or riding your bike you are still taking a proactive step to changing your daily habits. With the high gas prices it seems inevitable for people to try alternative routes to work.
Changing your daily car driving habit by taking a bus or even car pooling could make a huge reduction in your carbon footprint and save you money. If you heard about the national Car Free Day a day-too-late, then you can still test out the theory by vowing to go car free tomorrow. By breaking that initial habit and showing yourself how easy it is to free yourself from your car, you will be on a path to a much greener lifestyle.
For more information check out these websites:
http://carfreemetrodc.com/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx
https://www.smartbikedc.com/default.asp
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