Going Carless for a Greener World

I recently sold my car. It was an emotional decision because I have been in possession of a car all my adult life, and this one since it was brand new. However, the car was old. With the years adding up, it became too expensive to keep with insurances, taxes and reparations for the statuary vehicle inspection. If you have ever owned an old car, you know exactly how costly the yearly maintenance can be.

"For years, I have nurtured a dream of living a greener life."

Selling the car was also a way of reducing my carbon imprint on Earth. For years, I have nurtured a dream of living a greener life. As I started to write my dissertation chapter “The Wolf Girl” on changes in gendered and animal violence to create a sustainable world, this old dream surfaced again. As Kelly Oliver points out in her book Animal Lessons (2009), it’s time for humans to realize that Earth’s resources are limited and need to be shared with other species. Thus, getting rid of the car brought me one step closer to my dream of embracing an organic lifestyle to help create a greener world with shared resources.

With the car sale, I also had to say goodbye to the comfort of modern life and now depend on alternative and public transport. However, since I live in a safe and pedestrian-friendly city, I can easily move around by walking and biking, which also give me plenty of exercise. With a move from the suburb, driving had suddenly been reduced to an unnecessary feature in my life.

As I am writing this, I am still a bit confused about how I feel about being without a car. At least, I enjoy the freedom of being relieved from the responsibility of caring for an old car. But will I eternally enjoy being carless? I have decided to try it out over the summer when I will complete my dissertation chapter “The Wolf Girl.” When the fall storms hit, and it gets wet, cold and dark, we’ll see what I do. Then, if I wish, I can always buy a more environmentally friendly car.

References Oliver, Kelly (2009). Animal Lessons: How They Teach Us to Be Human. USA: Columbia University Press.