Why i-go?

What is i-go? Why i-go? How i-go?

Get active. Be healthy. Protect the region you love. I-go. There are many reasons why it is important for us to adopt i-go, some of which include: Pollution Climate Change Health Motor vehicles take up too much space! Roads, roads and more roads Urban sprawl Loss of community Costs of vehicles and roads So why I-GO? Pollution We all want to live in a clean, quiet and safe community and the biggest threat to that is our current transportation system. Why? Motor vehicles create more air pollution and green house gases than any other single human activity. A motor vehicle burns gasoline (fossil fuels) in its engine to create energy which makes the vehicle move; but in the process of creating energy, waste is also produced and that is what you see coming out of the tail pipe. This waste is made up of fine particulates, benzene, toxic gases some of which ultimately produce ozone, benzene and the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – all of which go into our air causing air pollution. The two pollutants of greatest concern in the Okanagan are fine particulates and ozone. When ever you look into the horizon or at the local hills and the air looks foggy, hazy or has a kind of brown tinge, you are seeing air pollution. Unfortunately, air pollution isn’t the only way that vehicles pollute our environment. They also: Leak hazardous fluids such as motor oil, transmission fluid and antifreeze which get washed into our waterways (streams, creeks, lakes etc…). Require roads, highways, parking lots, garages, and driveways that take up open space and damage environmentally sensitive areas such as forests, wetlands etc… Occupy junk yards , once they are discarded, that take up space and are unsightly. Create noise and dust pollution. Even with the prevalent knowledge about the affects that vehicles have on our environment and their contribution to climate change, air pollution from transportation continues to increase every year because: Population is growing which means more vehicles are on the roads. Number of vehicles per person has increased. As vehicles have become more fuel-efficient, they have also increased in size and therefore burn more gasoline and create more harmful emissions. Back to top Climate Change We have all heard many theories about climate change and it’s effect on our future. But what exactly is it? The Earth’s atmosphere lets in sunlight which warms the planet’s surface. As heat rises from the surface, some of it is absorbed by gases and water vapour that exist high up in the atmosphere, a natural process known as the greenhouse effect. Without these greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O)), most of the heat entering the Earth’s atmosphere would be radiated back into outer space, and the Earth’s average temperature would be ­18ºC instead of 15ºC. Not so long ago, there was a naturally occurring balance between heat coming into our atmosphere and heat heading back into space. However due to industrialization, the increasing demand for energy derived from fossil fuels, rising populations and changing land use and human settlement patterns the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere has increased dramatically and the balance of energy no longer exists. An increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere means more of the heat rising from the Earth’s surface is trapped and consequently temperatures are increasing resulting in climate change. The average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.3 and 0.6°C over the past century. This might not seem like a lot, but scientists are concerned that we are entering a period of unprecedented global warming caused by human-induced changes to the atmosphere. Potential impacts of climate change in British Columbia and the Yukon are: Sea levels along the northern coast of British Columbia and the northern Yukon coast may rise thirty to fifty centimeters (for every centimeter of sea level rise, one metre of beachfront will be lost). Existing flood protection works may no longer be adequate along rivers and streams in parts of British Columbia. Summer drought could be more frequent and severe in southern British Columbia. Forests may be more vulnerable to fire, pests and disease. Changes in temperature and precipitation may help the survival of insect-borne diseases, causing increases or invasions into Canada of diseases such as lyme disease and malaria. Spring season runoff could occur earlier in the western mountain regions of British Columbia and Alberta because of an accelerated retreat of glaciers. Many animals will not migrate or adapt quickly enough to the changes causing further loss of life. Our drinking water supply may face shortages and diminishing quality due to droughts and the water level decline of our lakes. Severe weather systems like storms, heat waves and tornadoes may rip through our communities. Just look at our warmer winters and it becomes evident that climate change is occurring. Waiting for the earth to radically change due to increased greenhouse gases is not a good idea and because vehicles account for almost 50% of the green house gas emissions in Canada, it is important for all of us to use alternative forms of transportation. Back to top Health Vehicle emissions affect everyone in our community, but mainly the elderly, children and people with heart or lung conditions (asthma, bronchitis and emphysema). The chemicals of main concern are fine particles and ozone which irritate airways (nose, throat, lungs) causing coughing, wheezing or loss of breath and can also irritate the eyes. Chemicals, like benzene and some particulate matter actually increase the risk of cancer. In Canada, up to 16,000 deaths per year are associated with air pollution. Poor air quality also has an impact on the health of plants and pets. Ozone can damage leaves, reduce growth, and cause plants to be more vulnerable to diseases and insects. Motor vehicle accidents also result in injury and death to both humans and animals. Back to top Motor vehicles take up too much space It’s not really a surprise that motor vehicles are such a problem, especially in North America, when you consider the fact that highways, surface roads, driveways, garages, and parking lots take up 50 percent of the surface area in most cities. In fact, when it comes to developing cities’ motor vehicles are given the highest priority and we have evolved to the point where we build our transportation system for cars and not for people. Cars come first and afterwards, if there is enough money, we figure out how to move pedestrians, cyclists etc… Most of us are accustomed to seeing motor vehicles as the cause of environmental destruction, but roads in themselves create their own environmental problems because they: Fragment the countryside blocking animal migration. Use land previously devoted to parks, open space, and food production. Increase traffic congestion. Use materials that are often extracted from environmentally sensitive areas like river beds and wetlands. Back to top Roads, roads and more roads For almost a century now, transportation strategies have addressed traffic congestion by supplying more roads and increasing the capacity of the road system (adding left-turn lanes, adjusting signal timing etc…). However, it is now understood that widening and building roads to ease traffic congestion does not work. Many cities have discovered that as road space increases, demand increases at a similar, if not more rapid, rate. In the long-term, drivers experience no net travel time advantages, and society suffers the impacts of costly road bills and environmental degradation. The reality is that: Traffic congestion will increase in proportion to the number of roads provided. That means that as roads are built, widened, left turn lanes added etc… more people drive and therefore traffic congestion remains a problem. Increasing road space encourages more people to drive, which in turn increases air pollution, and environmental and community destruction. Cities simply can’t fix the problem of traffic congestion by building more roads. And even if all vehicles were converted to electric or alternative fuel burning vehicles, which create less air pollution, vehicles would still be a problem to our environment because we would still need road space. Back to top Urban Sprawl As the use of vehicles increased so did the construction of roads. Vehicles and roads gave people the opportunity to move further away from the places they travel to most frequently (work, stores, recreational activities etc…), a concept called urban sprawl. Over time it has become evident that urban sprawl threatens our health, our environment, and our quality of life. Vehicles have become a necessity rather than a convenience because traveling distances have become too long to do by cycling or walking and therefore we have to drive. Ultimately urban sprawl has contributed to air pollution, the destruction of environmentally sensitive areas and health issues caused by a sedentary lifestyle. How is sprawl bad for communities? Creates car-oriented neighbourhoods forcing everyone to own and drive vehicles. People spend more time in their cars leading to increased stress levels and obesity due to a sedentary lifestyle. More roads are built destroying forests, farmland and wetland. Children live far from their schools forcing parents to drive them. Traveling further distances increases the amount of gasoline used and therefore the amount of air pollution produced. Back to top Loss of community The excessive use of motor vehicles has also fostered an increasing lack of community because people tend to drive to the majority of their destinations. We no longer get our feet on the street and experience our neighbourhood and consequently, neighbors have limited social interaction with each other and the number of eyes on the street has decreased along with neighbourhood protection. Additionally, neighbourhoods with lots of vehicles tend to have speed and congestion issues that make it unsafe to walk or cycle which in turn forces people to drive. In neighbourhoods where people spend more time walking, cycling, in-line skating, running etc… they naturally develop an increased sense of familiarity which creates a healthy, safe and cohesive community. Sense of community, not social or economic class, is the best predictor of neighborhood crime rates. Back to top Costs of vehicles and roads According to the Canadian Automobile Association, the average Canadian who drives approximately 12,000 kilometres per year spends $8,377.05 annually or $25.17 per day to own and operate a vehicle (Canadian Automobile Association). This includes both fixed ownership costs (insurance, license and registration, depreciation, and financing) and variable operating costs (gas, oil, maintenance, and tires) and means that you could be spending one full working day each week (or more) just to pay for your vehicle costs.  These figures do not include parking fees. Additionally, according to a Ministry of Transportation and Highways study, automobile transportation in the Lower Mainland is subsidized by $2.5 billion per year, which means 42% of all automobile costs are subsidized through our tax dollars. Most people assume that because they pay directly for their vehicle, the licensing and the insurance that they have covered their costs. Not true. In fact, there are many external costs that are not covered by vehicle fees some of which include: Road construction, road maintenance and parking costs. Costs associated emergency services and policing. Health care costs caused by accidents, stress from congestion, sedentary lifestyle and air pollution. The hidden costs of motor vehicles are carried by all taxpayers, whether we drive or not. Hidden costs also lie in the fact that once a new road is built we jeopardize that land for what could have been, say for example, a park, a recreational facility, or land for food production. Whether you prefer roads or parks is your choice; however, we must understand that there are costs beyond the initial investment. There are no monetary figures that measure the cost to our environment of building a road and the pollution created by the vehicles that use it. However, it is known that air pollution costs Central Okanagan residents an estimated $500,000 annually in: Loss of time at work or school. Loss of tourism. Loss of agricultural productivity. Additional doctor visits, emergency and hospital use, medications. Spending money on a new road initially seems like a good investment. It takes an enormous amount of labour to construct and once erected it takes a lot of money to service. What we fail to realize, is that by spending all that money creating jobs to build the road, we can no longer spend money on creating jobs for health care, for building that new park or for helping out other industries such as agriculture. Transportation is a large issue and roads must be constructed and serviced, but simply trying to build our way out of traffic congestion will never work. Additionally, we can’t forget about the costs associated with loss of time specifically due to the number of hours we spend in our vehicles dealing with traffic congestion. Time has a different meaning and value to different people, but when you consider the repercussions to individuals and society of a sedentary lifestyle and the losses in productivity all caused by traffic congestion, the cost is exorbitant. Back to top So why i-go? I-go was created as a means to educate the public about the effects that vehicles have on our environment and community, and consequently encourage them to incorporate active transportation into their daily lives in order to combat these negatives and improve their health. If a commuter knows that they have a choice to leave their vehicle at home (even if it is just once a week) and consequently chooses to cycle or walk to work, school or to the store, not only is this individual doing something good for their health and social well-being, they are also helping our environment and community. Get active. Be healthy. Protect the region you love. I-go. Back to top