Need A Car?

 Where I live, most of the people are retired or semi retired. Many of the couples have two cars. They are intelligent individuals and I am sure they have considered the fact that they really don't need two cars when a bit of planning and compromising would allow them to get rid of one of them. We are within walking distance of a large mall property that contains health and dental services, financial offices and fitness centres. There is, on the property, a major grocery outlet along with the usual clothing and shoe stores and technical and hardware businesses. Why not walk? It would help the environment a whole lot if we all began to think about Need and Responsibility. Do I "need" two cars or more. One chap I know has a summer car and a winter car and those who have teens in the house usually have numerous vehicles hanging around outside.  Motorized or electric vehicles all use global resources to run. Children are much healthier if they walk to school, to their sports clubs and games and to parks and other recreational places. Do adults who are concerned about their kids' futures, really need to drive them to a school two or three blocks away? Outside of most schools,  there are whole roads designated for parental waiting in cars,  when most of the kids, and their parents, should be walking them to and from homes which are, I am sure not more that a quarter of a mile off. One side of our brain  tells  us we must do something about natural resources, pollution and recycling but at the same time, the other side forgets to look under our very noses at what we can be doing to help the planet. Little Greta whose passion for taking a stand on what she believes must be admired, but hopefully, there is follow up in her own  life. I noticed a picture of her sitting in large costly sail boat that was filled with elegant equipment made at the expense of the environment. What we do in our everyday lives can make a difference, a small one, but every bit counts. That sounds trite but it is true. Do you really need to have every light bulb in the house on all day? Can't you walk, if you can do so, to where you want to go. Do you jump into your car to go to the neighbour's  dinner party? If  you don't like public transportation, try walking. Some folks go out and walk for miles every day as their sport, but get into their cars to go three blocks to the mall. Oh, they say, we need to have the car for the groceries. What about a cart? There are a million excuses for using cars and it seems the ones that take the most oil and gas are the most expensive. It's a matter of pride. Why drive a car that costs thousands upon thousands more that costs the environment to build and ship, when you can get one that costs way less and is sold right around the corner. Most  drivers are spending their fuel money sitting in traffic jam ups daily. No one wants to take busses and trams because, they say, it denies freedoms of various sorts. Is it worth "freedom" when you are stuck on the highway, burning fuel and messing up the air going nowhere.  Who complains about the "heat dome" or the floods or the frozen pipes and  ice broken tree branches? We do. We are part of the problem and if we do nothing at all to help do our part,   there should be no complaints. Do we need to wash clothes and use the dryer four times a week or the dishwasher every second day when once a week would do.  Do you recycle as much as you possibly can? Do you compost? Time to sit down and take a look at what we do and change. Even a little?