CONTEXT

Denying the facts won't make them they cease to exist.

Not only do cars weigh heavily on our individual and collective finances, they also have a direct impact on the physical and mental health of the city's residents, and they are accountable for an important number of deaths. Basically, car culture is responsible for the diminution of quality of life in our cities.

Sound and space pollution

First of all, cars have a negative impact on the physical and mental health of those that are over-exposed to their presence, primarily urban residents. In cities where they play a major role, « noise, omnipresent, starts at dawn and diminishes only in the evening, exceeding the sound limit norms on the side of urban highways. » [1] All this noise « causes stress, fatigue, sleep troubles and hypertension » [2] To make way for the almighty automobile, historical buildings are destroyed, public space is reduced, parks and vegetation are sacrifices. « In Quebec, from 1998 to 2003, the number of cars increased by 13%, adding 560 000 vehicules to the roads... » [3] Today, in Montreal, more than 50% of the downtown area is for the sole use of motorized transport. 80% of our city is cement, mostly there to accomodate car culture.

Air pollution

Not only do cars pollute our ears and eyes, they also affect our nose and lungs. They are responsible for many problems related to toxic emissions, from greenhouse gases (GHG) causing global warming to nocive gases causing illness and death to those affected. In Montreal, cardiovascular and lung diseases are on the rise and « a little more than 1500 deaths [...] would be caused by atmospheric pollution » [4] every year.

25% of GHG present in the atmosphere are caused by cars. « Fabricating a single automobile produces 25 tons of industrial waste and various residues. » [5] « Engine, tire and brake wear release dust and toxic metals in the atmosphere. » [6] « This dust settles in the sewers and is but partially filtered by the sewage treatment plant. » [7] On average, 3.54 million tons of oil are spilled in our oceans every year. Finally, car culture endangers our planet's equilibrium and the survival of numerous ecosystems, and on the not-so-long run it could be an actor of the disappearance of humanity and/or all life on Earth.

Roadkill

Since Mary Ward, the first motor vehicle accident victim (in 1869), road accidents have become, during the 20th century, « one of the leading causes of death and morbidity in the world, killing or seriously injuring over 20 million people each year. » [8] « Each year, several hundred deaths, several thousand hospitalizations, several tens of thousands of injured persons, over 100 000 declared accidents and millions of quasi-accidents in which collisions are avoided at the last minute are recorded in Quebec. » [9] In Montreal, cars cause « over 12 000 traffic accident injury victims every year including, on average, five pedestrians per day. » [10] In our city, almost 50% of car-caused deaths are pedestrians. Not only do cars take over public space, they also subject ecomobilists (cyclists, pedestrians and the like) to risks they do not deserve.

Oil Wars

All our oil needs cause a dependency that in turn makes us vulnerable in times of crisis and cas lead to full-scale wars... which will bring around hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded.

The United States are particularly vulnerable on the energetic level. They house 4,6% of the global population, but represent 25% of our global energy consumption. Furthermore, they have few oil reserves and they consume lots of it. It would be exagerated to say that the war in Irak was solely caused by the USA's need for oil, but it would be naive to say that it wasn't an important factor.