A Case For Car-Free Zones: Think Greek

This summer, I went to Europe for the first time, and it was a completely mind-blowing experience. The architecture, the culture, the food, the nightlife--I was impressed by everything about it. Unfortunately, the effects of global warming are truly inescapable--in Greece, for example, the mercury hovered around 120? during my stay, which made it decidedly unpleasant to do anything but consume massive quantities of gelato and iced coffee on the beach. But even these sweltering temperatures don't compare to the probable long-term effects of Global Warming on Greece and the surrounding Baltic region. I discovered that Greece, and particularly Crete and some of the other islands, is projected to degenerate into arid desert in just a few decades, dooming this amazing country, with its fascinating culture and good-natured people, to a future of difficulty and uncertainty.

So what are the Greeks doing about it? Are they sitting back and watching passively, as many Americans are, while their home is slow-roasted by the sun? Not that I saw. As a people, they rely much less on resource-intensive luxuries like air-conditioning and long showers. They also tend to gravitate toward tiny, energy-efficient cars; SUVs are extremely unpopular. In addition to recently starting an ambitious recycling program and cracking down on air pollution in Athens and elsewhere, the Greek government is taking a stand on Global Warming by banning cars in various locations across the country, from the impossibly crowded streets of Athens to the picturesque islands of the Aegean. I was quite impressed when I witnessed this, especially on one of the islands I visited--you really don't realize how obnoxious cars are until they're suddenly taken away.

As I thought more about this curious phenomenon, I wondered why this couldn't be imported across the Atlantic. There are obvious cultural reasons, most glaringly the highly-evolved capitalist obsession with automobiles here--Americans seem to be surgically attached to their cars. Nonetheless, though, many American cities have taken steps in this direction, specifically our very own San Francisco. Spare The Air days, as well as the huge amount of money and effort the city has put into its public transportation system, have made the city not only greener, but more pleasant to visit. Other urban centers like L.A. and New York are beginning to take similar measures to do their part for the environment. Especially here in the Bay Area, it would seem that designated car-free zones wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Sadly, we as a people are reluctant to take such a drastic step.

So what else would it take? Is it possible for Americans to overcome their cultural inertia and commit to a genuine lifestyle change for the sake of their planet? I think that the seeds of such sentiment have been planted across the country, with the help of Al Gore, John McCain and other environmental loudmouths. It is up to America what they do with those seeds. If enough of us cared enough, we could push our cities to spend even more on mass transit and pave the way for car-free urban centers. To me, it seems like a matter of time until people start waking up, and I hope it'll happen before even car-free zones aren't enough to save the planet.