Study Shows That High Gas Prices Do Reduce Driving, Encourage Use of Alternatives
This is a picture of an exhaust pipe. This is what sends the gas into the air and causes a lot of damage. There are exhaust pipes in both public transportation and regular cars. Most public transportation sends out more pollutants that regular cars, but buses and trains hold more people than cars do.Summary:
The article shows that student at the University of Texas, Bradley Lane has a contadiction to this issue. It shows that when there is a 10 percent increase in gas prices, public transportation increases also. People may love driving their own car, but some people just cannot afford to have to pay all of the expenses that come with it. You have to pay for gas, oil changes and other repairs for it. If you do not have insurance and you get into a car accident this could cause some pretty bad bruises to your wallet. The thing we do not know is how we can make the world greener. There are two options: increase gas prices which means less driving but more public transportation or decrease gas prices which would result with more driving and less public transporation. The big question is which is worse for the environment: a little amount public transportation or a lot of cars?
Reflection:
I think that with the new technology, we should stick with cars. People would mostly likely prefer to stay with their cars than in dirty buses or subways. Although, if Septa and other public transprotation companies have more money from the increase in passengers, they can spend the extra money on cleaning up their stations. But the new cars like Hybrids and Prius's which use less gasoline can help environment. And the Ethanol in the previous post may help the problem that gas causes. The whole situation would take a lot of thinking through and it is all based on gas prices. It is so ridiculous how one number can affect so much in our environment.
Questions:
Which option would you choose? Why?
Can you think of any other solutions? Even ones that scientists have not thought of yet?
When you are older, will you use public transportation or your car? Why?
Response: I believe that sticking with cars would be the right thing to do. The thing with buses is that they come with schedules. Not everyone can follow along with the schedule. It may not be convenient for some people. I think a good plan is to arrange a carpool with someone who is going to the same place you are. That would reduce the amount of gas being used. If the price of gas was increased, I think that would put many people in a bad position financially. I believe that the only way to fix the problem with gas is it come up with a completely new resource to fuel our cars and be better for the environment.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3
While I am in college I will probably use public transportation because I know many things will be in walking distance on a campus. Afterward I will probably have a car depending on where I work. If you work in a city then it would probably be easiest to use public transportation. Hopefully by then scientist will have come up with a new resource to put in our cars. If by then we are still using gas then I can not even imagine how much it would cost because it keeps increasing. Depending on where I am financially I might have to use public transportation because sometimes there is no choice.
Sticking with cars is definitely the right thing to do. I agree with Natalie that cars are much more convenient for people than buses and other forms of public transportation. Aside from that, cars are environmentally safer. Buses may hold more people, but like Natalie said in the comment above, you can put together a car pool with other people going in the same direction you are. Recently, there have been many strides made when it comes to making cars "greener." Chevrolet has there new car that runs on battery and then it switches to gasoline. There are also many hybrids and Smart Cars that run on batteries.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am older I will most likely use a car for transportation. They are much more convenient than public transportation because there is no schedule to follow. You also do not have to wait out in the cold like you would for a bus. By the time we are old enough and we are looking to buy ourselves a car, hopefully there will be even more strides made in the car industry so that they are even more environmentally friendly.
I can see where Morgan and Natalie are coming from, but I think that public transportation isn't a bad option. I think that using things like buses puts less cars out on the streets. That will create less pollution in my eyes. And maybe there aren't any environmentally friendly buses or subways, but why couldn't we make them that way? We can come up with ways to make public transportation environmentally friendly, just like we have now done with cars. I also think that things like trains are better for the environment than a car where you can see the exhaust coming out of the pipe. Trains are sometimes electric and pretty environmentally friendly. To me if you are living in a city with a million people, thats a million cars burning gas. If we took out those cars and replaced them with more public transportation, I think the pollution would decrease, especially if we can make them more environmentally friendly. Plus, barely anyone in the U.S. can afford these expensive environmentally friendly cars. If we had environmentally friendly public transportation, the government and our already payed for taxes would pay for this.
ReplyDeleteQuestions: When I am older I think that I will use public transportation as much as I can. Even today when I go into the city, I often times take the train. To me thats better for the environment that bringing our car all the way down and back. I could be totally wrong about everything that I am saying, but without much knowledge on the subject it makes more sense to me that public transportation would be the better option.
Reaction:
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that we should stick with cars rather than rely on the public transportation. Cars are very reliable and they are always at your house whenever you need them. Transportation can be very hectic because many people use it and it revolves around a strict schedule. I am happy that there are improvements in cars and that the engineers are doing many things to make cars more eco-friendly. Cars can hold a few people so that can save people gas, money, and energy when they are all join some place together. It is great that today there are cars that run on alternate fuel sources and also battery power that help protect the environment. I strongly believe that people should stick with cars because of their convienience and because they are improving as the days go by.
Response:
Answer to question 3
when I am older I will definitely use a car rather than the public transportation. Cars are extremely more convenient because they are usually right there for you whenever you need them. Public transportation has a strict schedule and it does not wait for you like your car does. When I get older, there is most likely going to be major improvements in cars that make them more eco-friendly. I will use public transportation when I am going into the city and other places that are pretty far away. When I am older, I will use a car but I will try to use public transportation as much as possible.