“No Car Day”

Vijey Jeevakumaran,Richard Chu

doi:10.33137/jaste.v5i1.34270

Abstract

Transportation is the major factor contributing to climate change. We decided to address the issue of transportation in relation to climate change for this research-informed action (RiA) project. The purpose of our RiA project was to learn about transportation and climate change, conduct a mini-correlational study, and address the issue by encouraging students and their parents to limit car use. After learning that a larger portion of the boys and girls that we surveyed rely on cars to get to school we decided to organize an event called “No Car Day” at Erindale SS on March 22, 2013. This coincided with Earth Hour. In addition, we made announcements from Monday to Thursday to inform student s about this specific event. We counted the number of cars prior to the event and found that an average of 156 cars dropped students off in the morning. On the morning of the event, we counted the number of cars again. This time, the number of cars was 115.We think that our campaign made a difference. We want to encourage students in other schools to organize similar events. We encourage our peers and our teachers to carpool, take the bus, bike or walk. If we all do our part, then we may be able to alleviate the negative effects that transportation has on climate change before it is too late.

Highlights

Many people own cars and depend on them
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted by trucks, trains and airplanes which are all contributing to climate change through an anthropogenic greenhouse effect
Our environment is affected by cars, not just in that they emit greenhouse gases, and more roads may be constructed in areas where trees grow and animals live

Summary

Introduction

Cars help people get around, but cars emit the most greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted by trucks, trains and airplanes which are all contributing to climate change through an anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Actors that support the use of cars would be the fuel and oil companies such as Tesco, SANASCO, gas station companies such as Shell or Esso, the car manufacturers such as Honda or Ford and the government. All of these powerful actors want us to continue with this fuel-based economy. We tallied the data and put into a bar graph for analysis

Summary and Interpretation

Conclusion