When will we end America's fascination with the automobile?

I, for one, am ready to give mine up. I would gladly ride my bike rather than drive my car. Only problem is Jacksonville is a commuter town and I have a commuter job. As a substitute teacher for Duval County Public Schools, I can travel, literally, anywhere within the limits of the largest city (land mass) in the United States. It would make my job pretty difficult to get to if I had to ride my bike everyday. The bus system (JTA) is not so bad IMHO, contrarily to many others in town. I've been very lucky in that my job has never been more than approximately 1 to 3 blocks from a bus stop. My house, also, is right across the street from a bus stop. Buses in Jacksonville will also allow passengers to hang their bicycles on the front of the bus.

Jacksonville has major road construction going on all over town. Unfortunately, the city's answer to any traffic problem is to expand the infrastructure. Simply add lanes and that should solve the dilemma. But it only exaserbates it: more lanes, more cars, more jams, bigger jams, more rage, more polution, more heat into the air, etc.
I wouldn't mind so much if we tore up the majority of our asphalt and went back to horseback riding. It would solve an awful lot of problems all at once: lots of new jobs (taking out asphalt, breeding and grooming and boarding horses, road upkeep and clean up, etc.), better for the enviroment, encourage people to work where they live, less anger, horses have a documented calming effect on people, and much more.

I also love cars. I especially love old cars. I grew up in the late 60's and early 70's, the era of the muscle car. I love the look and sounds of 'em: Chevelle, Camaro, Mustang, GTO, Challenger. I love old luxury cars. I love to stare and wonder at the really old ones: Lincoln Phaeton, LaSalle, Model-T, Pierce Arrow. I am not saying get rid of all the cars. But how about collecting insted of driving everyday. I mean, does anyone really love their Ford Taurus Wagon or their Econoline transporter van? Who needs 'em?

There are an awful lot of things displayed in museums that people thought they could never live without. How about we do the same with the automobile.

Life and death in the gulf

A scoop of water out of the Gulf of Mexico.



This poor bird picked the wrong place to land along the shore near Louisiana. Let's hope he made it through.



This guy didn't make it.

Do we really need oil and our oiled machines this badly?