NO CAR THURSDAYS

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FEELING A BIT CHUBBY FROM ALL THAT HOLIDAY EATING?


NO NEED TO JOIN A GYM, just join

NO CAR THURSDAYS!!!

When you’re driving home tonight, take notice of the traffic. Do you enjoy it? Is it something that brings you happiness?

Or would you rather walk to a train station METRO RAIL SYSTEM MAP
burn some calories and catch up on your reading?

Greasy Corporations love a good snarl. And get this: 25% of all petroleum in the tank of every car is burned while sitting in traffic. Just think, you can sit there, do nothing but wait for the car ahead of you to move, and you can continue to pollute while idling. Companies don’t care how the gasoline is burned, as long as you buy it. They love it when you sit there. Just think, more money for them.

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And, did you know, that 1% of the energy used to move your car actually moves you? The other 99% of the energy burned is to move the car. Our habits have us burning millions of barrels of oil every single day. 25% of what is burned is pure waste, doing nothing but polluting, like a huge garbage fire. The remaining 75% of what is burned is only 1% efficient at moving you, while the other 99% is moving your dirty car.




Detroit loves you for it. Mobil loves you for it. Hell, Talk Radio loves you for it, too.

However, some of you have children. Some of you want to have children. Is this the lifestyle you would like to pass on to them?

Some of you have environment sensitivities. I sure do. Maybe this bad air has something to do with it?

Some of you want to read. You bemoan not having the time. Look at what you could be reading...millions of titles.

L.A.P.L.
Or
AMAZON

And some of you, including all of us, could use some good old fashioned getting in shape.

Why not forget about finding that extra time for the gym...and just walk to your local train stop or bus stop, which burns all sorts of calories, the natural way, with a destination in mind. You'll feel better. You'll look better. The city will be better off. Your lungs will thank you. It's an improvement. You can easily plan your trip to work, school, the plex, by typing in your destination below. I use it all the time and it really works. The MTA of LA is a great public work on the rise. Great Clean Trains, Far Reaching Buses and maybe one day magnetic pods. Just remember, bring singles. They don't break bills.

METRO TRIP PLANNER

Or, if you are so inclined, you can bike to work:

BIKE TO WORK

And conveniently, if your needs compel it, The LA Metro System also lets you bring on your bike...but some restrictions apply to rush hour traffic. Check out:

BIKES ON METRO

Let’s all say, HAPPY INAUGARATION MR. BUSH! And pull far away from his oil-happy agenda. And let’s GET ON THE BUS. Or GET ON THE TRAIN. Or GET ON YOUR WALKING SHOES. Or GET ON YOUR BIKE. Or a combination of any of these things. Leave the ol' spewer at home.


We are challenged here in smoggy Los Angeles. The distances to travel are far. The streetscape is often dismal and baking. You have to travel through residential neighborhoods for shade from trees. Why the main boulevards in Los Angeles are not lined with trees can only be explained by the city’s fears of litigation due to people tripping over cracked sidewalks from tree roots. Well, why not plant drought tolerant trees that don’t lift the sidewalks? Many trees fit that bill. But I digress.

Find yourself a nice route...and think, every single Thursday, you can enjoy some exercise, some reading, and a little comfort, knowing that you did not spew particulate matter into the air, that you have personally agreed with the Kyoto Treaty. Another kid can breathe easier, you can breathe easier and everyone is better off for it. You get some exercise. Your mood is elevated. You perform better at work. You release stress on your walk back to public transit home.

We can feel so powerless in this big corporate run world...but remember, it really is your earth. You were born to it and you have a say in what happens to it. California is known to be one of the most progressive states in the union...and the United States does, eventually, follow California’s example in almost all things.

The economy of any society can be based on anything. It really is random, though inertia tends to take over. We can become more conscious of our actions. We have a choice. Let profits build in other ways. Why put our energy into polluting energy? Most of us cannot change what the hogs of desire do at Shell, Walmart, Altria or Merck but we can reduce our reliance on the once-convenient but sadly inefficient automobile. I love my little beater...but let’s face it, she’s beat.

A time is gonna come.


Let’s put population pressure on the public transit system of Southern California. The more pressure we put, the more building of public transportation will result. The city of Los Angeles really does pass measures based on the number of riders. Be counted and help build the rails.

We do have it harder than our friends in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, London and Paris. And so many people long to live in cities with great public works...let Los Angeles know that you are one of those people. Be a part of

NO CAR THURSDAYS!

(and maybe one day, soon, we can add No Car Tuesdays...using benchmarks for when we can add that second day--perhaps right after they finish the extended Gold Line? The Red line to Culver City?)

Happy exercising, reading, and clearing up the skies.

Next Thursday, when you get to work, maybe a little sweaty (bring face soap) or looking a bit wild eyed from your new experience and someone turns to you and asks, “What the hell is up with you?” Just answer, “It’s No Car Thursdays, Dude, haven’t you heard?”

People, like you and I, got recycling out of the fringes and into the mainstream. We can also control how we burn the oil. Don’t wait for the national government to get onboard. Act locally and let the city of Los Angeles count you and build for you. And you can finally read that great Tolstoy novel, look out the window through the clear skies to the swelling mountains and then walk home. Who knows, the love of your life, your new best friend, the funny idea may all be on that bus or train that you love to take, or, you could miss it if you choose, instead, to sit all alone, polluting in your car.

Plan your next Thursday. And the Thursday after that. And the one after that.
Monday is rough, Tuesday is busy, Wednesday is Hump Day, Friday is Get Out O' Town day. The one day left then is naturally NO CAR THURSDAY.

Have a happy, beautiful day in one of the world’s greatest cities.


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