Transportation
BLOG about your personal experience regarding transportation and its implications for your health and the health of your communities and air quality.
One of the readings mentioned that public transportation produces 95% less carbon monoxide, 92% fewer volatile organic compounds, and 45% less carbon dioxide compared to private automobiles. I was surprised by this number because I was unaware of how much of an impact driving your own car can make. And to think about how much traffic there is now and how many people are on the roads makes it hard to even comprehend the negative implication driving and not taking public transportation can have.
I was also surprised bu the statistic that men are 44.6% less likely to be overweight or obese if they use public transportation to work. This shows that active commuting has significant positive effects on a persons noticeable health such as their weight. Also if there is less pollution emissions that can have positive effects on a persons internal health. If less people are driving then that can lead to less car accidents and accidental deaths, and maybe more physical exercise for people.
My experience with public transportation and health has been both good and bad. I used to walk to work which was about a 25 minute walk in San Francisco, but in some areas there was a lot of car traffic and automobiles that it smelled and in those times I felt like it was almost better to have been driving and in the car instead of walking outside in that pollution. This was better for my health in the sense that I walked a lot more and got a lot more exercise on a daily basis. I also think that using my own car can be a lot cheaper than public transportation. In my opinion, using BART isn't that cheap and sometimes it costs less for me to just drive myself instead of using public transportation that also takes longer. I would like to say that I would make a switch to more public transportation, however out of convenience and cost it is easier for me to use my own car. I will make more of an effort to use public transportation more on the weekends when I don't have as many places to go on a time schedule.
One of the readings mentioned that public transportation produces 95% less carbon monoxide, 92% fewer volatile organic compounds, and 45% less carbon dioxide compared to private automobiles. I was surprised by this number because I was unaware of how much of an impact driving your own car can make. And to think about how much traffic there is now and how many people are on the roads makes it hard to even comprehend the negative implication driving and not taking public transportation can have.
I was also surprised bu the statistic that men are 44.6% less likely to be overweight or obese if they use public transportation to work. This shows that active commuting has significant positive effects on a persons noticeable health such as their weight. Also if there is less pollution emissions that can have positive effects on a persons internal health. If less people are driving then that can lead to less car accidents and accidental deaths, and maybe more physical exercise for people.
My experience with public transportation and health has been both good and bad. I used to walk to work which was about a 25 minute walk in San Francisco, but in some areas there was a lot of car traffic and automobiles that it smelled and in those times I felt like it was almost better to have been driving and in the car instead of walking outside in that pollution. This was better for my health in the sense that I walked a lot more and got a lot more exercise on a daily basis. I also think that using my own car can be a lot cheaper than public transportation. In my opinion, using BART isn't that cheap and sometimes it costs less for me to just drive myself instead of using public transportation that also takes longer. I would like to say that I would make a switch to more public transportation, however out of convenience and cost it is easier for me to use my own car. I will make more of an effort to use public transportation more on the weekends when I don't have as many places to go on a time schedule.
Module 3 Group 4 Comments:
ReplyDeleteJillian- Biomonitoring, agreed! I would also feel sorry that these dangerous chemicals are in my body and have started some damage and being informed is so critical to make better choices in the purchasing and use of our products. You make great points in vulnerable populations and chemicals connected to obesity. There are so many barriers in the true effect of chemicals and much easier to blame the individual. Great post on environmental justice! It’s race and zip code matters when it comes to our health. Thank you for sharing about your grandmother and the exposure to landfill pollutants, this is something I often oversee or even acknowledge exists. The air pollution levels were so revealing to be aware that your county is one of the dirtiest or worst counties is very alarming. I’d be interested in knowing if you plan to join an environmental justice group because of these results? As for transportation, it truly is a catch 22, with using a car, public transportation or walking exposed to pollution. I also agree that in the Bay Area, public transportation is not affordable and it feels like the costs don’t outweigh the benefits.
Manisha- no link to blog.