Automobile Pollution Solution

AN AGENDA TO TURN THINGS AROUND
“I entered the sweat lodge. I made my pravers strong and clear: to turn things around. Ideas and thoughts came, then and .later. They asked to
be written. An omen signed they be published. Thus have I done.
Jeffrey Strong-On-The-Path

I am tired of hearing about how there is no solution to this automobile
pollution problem. There is one and it is very simple: leave your car home today
and, if you can’t walk, ride a bike or take a bus, hitchhike instead. I ma proposing hitchhiking as a solution with a slight twist: put on a green and white arm band which you can order at the end of this article (or make your own).
The purpose of this arm band is two-fold. One, it makes a statement to your fellow drivers. By wearing it you are saying; today I’m attempting to reduce pollution by leaving my car at home and I am putting myself at the mercy of you,
my fellow drivers, so help get me to my destination. Pick me up as I would pick
you up, for tomorrow I may have errands to run and may be driving. Two, a certain etiquette seems necessary since most of the women I mention this to are reticent to hitchhike. The etiquette would be that only women would pick up women. This is kind of a sad statement about the situation of our society, but reality must
be d e a l t w i t h . A l s o , common p o l i t e n e s s a n d r e s p e c t o f t h e d r i v e r ‘ s p e r s o n a l s p a c e are in order. I’m kind of a quiet guy and loud, talkative, unclean hitchhikers are a turnoff. So keep it together.
Seems a l i t t l e far fetched you say. But look at all these cars around you with only one person in them. Don’t tell me we can’t go from 1.2 persons per car to 2.4, which represents a 50% reduction in t r a f fi c . Secondly, we can’t say that we are powerless to do anything about automobile pollution when we can all do something so simple. Sure, we will have to use good judgement in who we pick up. Thirdly, hitchhiking has worked on two occasions that I know of. The firs t one was in Paris, May 1968, when the country was crippled by “la revolution de mai” and a general strike
which left gas stations without gas. There were very few buses running and very little traffic since everyone had been left with only the gas in their tanks. I
saw l i t t l e old ladies, mothers with children, my high school friends, everyone and anyone out hitching, and people picked them up immediately and gladly. Second case, the New York subway strike–the same thing, or so I am told (I wasn’t there).
In both cases a crisis existed, and the situation created an atmosphere that broke the barriers usually present between people. Today such a crisis exists, not
so immediately crippling, yet ultimately more devastating and fi n a l . I t ‘ s the green- house effect. Do we wait for New York City and Los Angeles to be under ten feet of water or do we do something now?
I am writing this article because I think some people care enough and are ready to do something now. Alot more people than will admit it also have the experience of hitchhiking. Many people by now are also aware of the impending environmental c r i s i s and are groping for solutions. Furthermore, as more people give these arm bands a try, they will find some interesting things. For one,
you will organically start networking with people, since you will find yourself
getting rides from the same people and conversely giving them rides. For another, t r a f fi c will decrease. It will be easier to pull over and pick people up and drop people off. You will also get to your destination faster since there are less cars on the road! There will also be the contentment that we are doing something
towards alleviating a crisis. Furthermore, we will start to break down those barriers of selfishness which are at the core of the problem. Admittedly, hitchhiking is not without some danger and in some areas law enforcement has discouraged it and made it even illegal. You will have to decide for yourself whether you feel comfortable with this “automobile pollution solution.” Copping
out would be easy, being a warrior of the earth is going to require some courage and determination. Things are not going to happen overnight, but we need to start somewhere…somehow. It may not be an earth-shattering answer, but it is one we can enact, one within our means, a solution t h a t ‘ s up to us, and possible now. We are not powerless. We can start to turn things around, today.

Arm bands available. Send $6.00 to:
JDC
Salina Star Rt.
Boulder, Colorado 80302