We place so much emphasis on getting our license, buying our first used car , buying our first new car. Save up money to buy the car, pay insurance, fill up the gas tank and purchase foam dice for our rear view mirror. (Okay , so that last expense went out in the 70s.) Why isn't there a similar excitement when we take our first bus ride, take a cross country train ride or even bike to junior high school? When I spent my junior year of college in England, hardly anyone had a car with everyone riding the bus into town, taking the train into London and walking to visit friends. Not only was public transportaion clean, safe and incredibly efficient, but students even go discounted fares. It was "cool" to use alternative means of travel. I recently attended the New England Environmental Conference at Tufts University and heard over and over again how transportation is one of the largest environmental problems facing our country. I was shocked to learn that for every gallon of gasoline my lovely Buick uses, (an it certainly isn't know for getting lots of miles per gallon) 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. In one day Americans alone release 4 billion (yes billion!) pounds of carbon dioxide into our beautiful blue sky. In one year, that amounts to over a trillion pounds! And that doesn't even take into account the nitrogen oxide (acid rain causer) and hydrocarbons (smog inducer) released by our driving. When we add in all the destruction of the land caused by the construction and maintenance of the road, it becomes acutely obvious that not only are we releasing toxins into the air, but also destroying the natural processes that could potentially clean up our mess. But yet, I love having my car and despite all of this knowledge, I still drive too much. But I also fight for alternative fuels, better public transportation and more bike trails. I carpool more, walk whenever possible and no longer care about having "helmet hair." I long for the day when alternatively-fueled cars are the norm, when I can ride my bike without fear of getting run over and when everyone will think it's "cool" to ride the bus or train to work. Oops, gotta go now. I have an appointment for my car at this little repair shop down the road -- I'm sure it's nothing major...