Good News
|
Archived Articles
Species on the Brink
Resources at Risk
Good News
Get Outdoors |
Millions Go Car Free for Earth Day WASHINGTON, DC, April 19, 2002 (ENS) - It's Earth Day once again - the 32nd annual celebration of Planet Earth. People around the world will be planting trees, recycling, cleaning beaches and wetlands and going to fairs and concerts. And millions will be leaving their cars behind to protest air pollution and promote sustainable transportation policies.
Earth Day Network organizers say that millions of people in cities across the world will abandon their cars for Earth Day, April 22. Earth Day Network partnering with The Commons and the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development for its Car-Free Day program. This year, car free activities are being held from Kathmandu, Nepal to Olympia, Washington. "Shortsighted, unwise choices are being made every day that lock segments of mankind into yesterday's energy sources for decades into the future - to our own detriment," said Denis Hayes, national coordinator of the first Earth Day and chair of Earth Day Network. "It is just this short-sightedness that we are trying to overcome with Earth Day by initiating a long term process of change in our transportation choices, making use of cleaner, more sustainable types of energy," Hayes said.
"Car Free Days are about people changing their commuting habits by choosing alternative forms of transportation in their daily routines for the good of the planet," said Eric Britton, head of the Paris based group, The Commons. In the Washington state capital of Olympia, Director of the Office of General Administration Rob Fukai has issued a challenge to all state agencies to be car free on Earth Day. Fukai himself will be teleworking on April 22. Other state agency heads will be biking to work, carpooling, or using public transit. Joan Cullen who chairs Smart Moves, a Washington state grassroots campaign that encourages alternatives to single vehicle petroleum powered transportation, says the idea of going car free is catching on. "This is the 12th year Smart Moves has been in existence. It originated in Seattle as Oil Smart. Basically we ask people for one day a week during the month of March to use an alternative mode to get to work. This year, statewide about 25,000 people participated, says Cullen. Car-Free Earth Day events are taking place long after the sun sets on April 22. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Team Bank of America Environmental Network is holding a Car-Free Day event during Charlotte's Bike to Work Week, May 4 to 12. On April 22, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement will hold a Car free street festival for Earth Day. Activities will be similar to last year's car free day event in Seoul, which included a mass bicycle parade through downtown, an exhibition alternative fuels, a flea market, and performances by well known artists. On April 21 and 22, the Singapore Environment Council is organizing the city's second annual Car-Free Day. The council says, "It is a fact that petrol and diesel driven vehicles contribute significantly to air pollution and global warming. The objectives of Car-Free Day are NOT to demean motorists and force all cars off the streets. Car-Free Day is voluntary.
"As an awareness campaign, says the Singapore Environment Council, "we hope that over the long term it will help in culturing greater responsibility among motorists. In a practical sense this equates to not depending on your car for every journey you make; making use of alternative modes of transport, such as busses, MRT, cycling, or walking; maintaining your vehicle well to minimize pollution; becoming more receptive to new clean technologies, such as compressed natural gas or hybrid-electric cars." The idea is enjoying acceptance around the world. In Kathmandu, Nepal, the Coalition for Clean Environment is holding its annual huge car free day rally. In Lomé, Togo, the organization Young Volunteers for the Environment is holding a Car-Free Day, protesting for sustainable transportation. In Amman, Jordan, the Arab Women Organization, Jamiyat Al-Nisa Al-Aragiyat, with approval of the the Municipality of Amman and the Traffic Department at the Civil Defence Headquarters, will close selected streets in the city. Children and young people will join Amman Mayor Nidal Al-Hadid, in flying balloons and kites that carry messages against air pollution. A cycling caravan by the indigenous peoples of the Philippines is taking place throughout the month of April. On Sunday, a massive bike ride through metropolitan Manila called the Firefly Brigade, in protest against the immense pollution problems that have driven fireflies from the city. The Firefly Brigade is promoting the establishment of bike lanes for the University of the Philippines. "Earth Day is one of those moments when people all over the world unite to change our destiny," said Sierra James, Earth Day Network's Car-Free Day program coordinator. "It's a day to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in, and to answer boldly that we'd like a world with less traffic congestion, pollution, disease, and global warming." Earth Day Network was founded to carry on the spirit and actions of the very first Earth Day in 1970. Today, Earth Day Network includes more than 5,000 organizations in 184 nations and more than 90,000 K-12 educators in the United States. More information on Car-Free Days can be found at: http://www.earthday.net/goals/carfreeday.stm To locate Earth Day activities log on to: http://www.earthday.net/dir/event.asp Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
Car-Free Day in Kathmandu, Nepal (Photo courtesy Earth Day Network)
Attorney Denis Hayes is one of the founders of Earth Day (Photo © Jim Crabtree)
Pedestrians and public transit in Singapore (Photo by Vladislav Fomin)