I don't know about you, but one of the often-heard lamentations among my friends and I is the wish for a car. Among youths, driving a car is not just for the sake of convenience (although it is very convenient indeed), but it is also for the sake of status. Owning a car shows that you are affluent and mature. But we often fail to look at the flip side of owning or driving a car. That is of course, the environmental impact.
There are currently 700 million cars in the world. This figure is predicted to grow to 1 billion by 2020. And the projected world oil consumption by 2020 is an astounding 870,000,000,000 gallons per year. Phew, that's a lot of zeros. But wait, that's not all. If people continue to collect cars at this rate, the total carbon emissions from cars by 2020 would be 13,764,000,000,000 lbs. These numbers seem really scary, right?
Be honest with yourself. Are cars really that necessary? In tiny Singapore, our public transport system is considered one of the world's best. With bus stops everywhere and MRT stations in the vicinity wherever you are (even in the most 'ulu' part of Singapore), cars are, quite frankly, redundant. Not to mention, it takes a crazy amount of money to drive a car here in Singapore. Our money can be put to greater use, such as saving up a house.
Maybe some are unwilling to squeeze in with the rush hour crowd on public transport. There are tactics to avoid the rush hour, such as requesting to work unconventional hours like 11AM - 7PM, or strategically planning your journey to board the train or bus when it's less crowded.
Saving the environment takes a price. It may not be in financial sense, but it takes sacrifice. Ultimately, we have to question ourselves: is my temporary comfort more important than the environment (and subsequently, the home of the next generation)?
There are currently 700 million cars in the world. This figure is predicted to grow to 1 billion by 2020. And the projected world oil consumption by 2020 is an astounding 870,000,000,000 gallons per year. Phew, that's a lot of zeros. But wait, that's not all. If people continue to collect cars at this rate, the total carbon emissions from cars by 2020 would be 13,764,000,000,000 lbs. These numbers seem really scary, right?
Be honest with yourself. Are cars really that necessary? In tiny Singapore, our public transport system is considered one of the world's best. With bus stops everywhere and MRT stations in the vicinity wherever you are (even in the most 'ulu' part of Singapore), cars are, quite frankly, redundant. Not to mention, it takes a crazy amount of money to drive a car here in Singapore. Our money can be put to greater use, such as saving up a house.
Maybe some are unwilling to squeeze in with the rush hour crowd on public transport. There are tactics to avoid the rush hour, such as requesting to work unconventional hours like 11AM - 7PM, or strategically planning your journey to board the train or bus when it's less crowded.
Saving the environment takes a price. It may not be in financial sense, but it takes sacrifice. Ultimately, we have to question ourselves: is my temporary comfort more important than the environment (and subsequently, the home of the next generation)?
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