Another factor that radicalized me was realizing cars are a solution to a huge list of problems that cars create: lakes of asphalt and rivers of concrete create scorching heat that is too hot to walk or bike in, 8 lane stroads are too dangerous to cross on foot or bike, having 7000lb steel boxes brush up against you is terrifying, traffic is so damn loud it actually causes hearing damage, and worse of all, cities are designed completely for cars so everything is 10x farther away than it normally would be.
I knew cars figured largely into the climate crisis and the looming food and water shortages.
But then I learned that tires are a primary source of microplastics.
That’s two great filters we can attribute to the oil and automotive industries pushing out all alternatives, just to drive us to existential risk.
Another factor that radicalized me was realizing cars are a solution to a huge list of problems that cars create: lakes of asphalt and rivers of concrete create scorching heat that is too hot to walk or bike in, 8 lane stroads are too dangerous to cross on foot or bike, having 7000lb steel boxes brush up against you is terrifying, traffic is so damn loud it actually causes hearing damage, and worse of all, cities are designed completely for cars so everything is 10x farther away than it normally would be.