My life minus a car, part one

I have been without a car for a little bit over a week now, and so far it hasn’t been too much of a problem. Rides to school and home haven’t been a difficult thing to arrange, given that a lot of people from Clarkson seem to live in my area. And while here in Potsdam, I’ve taken my bicycle to go shopping once, and again for a theatre rehearsal at the stage in Old Snell. The first ride was very cold; the second time I learned my lesson and wore a warm hat and gloves.

While at home, things will be a bit more challenging. It seems like the Woodstock and West Hurley areas are built specifically so that people are forced to drive there cars everywhere, even if it’s right around the block to the grocery store. (The WalkScore at my house is 5 out of a possible 100… “car dependent.” And I live just outside of town. Compare this to the WalkScore at Clarkson, a 72 out of 100, or “very walkable.”) I find this really sad. In general, Woodstock is a very progressive community.

In 2003, the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (a government organization) said that obesity was the #1 health threat in the United States, more prevalent than tobacco, and more dangerous than bioterrorism. What’s more, the correlation between obesity and car use is undeniable: our dependency on cars really is making us fat.

I look forward to the day (and I know it will come) that we build more sidewalks and live closer together.

Photo credit: “They say bikes get in the way of traffic,” by Flickr user richardmasoner, under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Comments on this post

Correlation does not imply causation. Even if car use caused obesity (which is debatable; it's easier not to walk if you have a lot more weight to carry around), there are much better things one can do to stay healthy like eating right and exercising regularly.

From Matt Panico on December 7th, 2008.

My Walkscore is a whole 20% better than yours Max (6)! Methinks I shall keep mine car.

From Brian Parker on December 8th, 2008.

You wouldn't think there was an obesity crisis in the US if you came to our apartment :P

From Jacob Torrey on December 10th, 2008.

For the sake of my health, I choose to use my car when I decide to go out. Low temperatures and bad weather are conducive to winter colds. However, for the sake of my wallet, I choose not to go out very often.
That said, the WalkScore is a very interesting tool. I don't know how valid it is, as the thing lists a gas station as being the nearest grocery store to me and McDonald's as being the nearest restaurant. We?re using the terms loosely, I see.

From Matthew on December 15th, 2008.

@Matt Panico: You're right, correlation doesn't imply causation. But, scientific method aside, there's a point at which it's ridiculous to deny things because you can't prove them. Especially when your position is just common sense: if people walked (or biked) a few blocks to visit a friend instead of driving there, they would be getting good exercise. Take a look at the typical suburban American lifestyle. Imagine if cars were gone. Can you imagine tons of overweight people walking, biking, and taking buses everywhere?

From Max on December 19th, 2008.

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