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Nature Challenge NewsletterEDITION 9: Support alternatives to the car
More than 9,000 households involved in the Nature Challenge are walking, biking, carpooling or using transit to get to a regular destination. This is great! If you keep this up for a year, there will be at least 3500 fewer tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and 52 fewer tonnes of pollutants in our air.
David T. Suzuki Contents (links may not work on older browsers - please scroll instead)
Your local politicians were elected to improve living conditions such as transportation in in your city. A healthy, sustainable community needs to expand, upgrade and build the infrastructure for alternatives to cars. This includes public transit systems, bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly streets and neighborhoods. If you are trying to use your vehicle less, let your political representatives know what would help you. (Remember this around election time!) Want to contact your local representative but don't know where to start? Check out the following FAQ.
Who can contact City Hall? You can! By voting and communicating your ideas to politicians, you can improve your community. It doesn’t matter what party politicians represent or whether you voted for them - they work for you. Why should I contact my local politician? When politicians receive phone calls, letters, faxes or e-mails on a specific issue, they take notice. According to one estimate, a letter to a politician from one person represents a thousand other citizens who share their view but don’t write. We need to encourage our politicians to invest in safe and convenient alternatives so that people will use them. Suggest to your politicians that instead of building more roads and parking garages, they invest in better urban planning and more efficient transit. Let them know that you want your city to have a street culture for people – not cars.
We need efficient and affordable alternatives to the car. As long as automobiles burn fossil fuels, the earth’s atmosphere will suffer and so will people from pollution-related illnesses. Roads and parking lots also eat up valuable land. Less than 10 per cent of urban land in pedestrian-friendly European cities is devoted to roads and parking lots. The number is closer to 50 per cent in North American cities. More cars mean more roads, parking facilities, and traffic congestion and less green spaces and recreation areas. How do we solve this ongoing problem? Cities across Canada have generally pursued two strategies to handle traffic problems: build more roads or invest in better transit. Unfortunately, the first strategy is really a stop-gap measure. New roads means an increase in use, especially as urban areas expand, and eventually more traffic congestion results. What do I say to a local politician? Here are some points you can raise to your local representative in your letter, fax, e-mail, or phone call: 1. Alternative transportation such as walking and biking are According to Health Canada, every year up to 16,000 Canadians die prematurely from air pollution. Emissions from cars and light trucks are a considerable source of air quality problems. For more information... 2. Alternative transportation is better for nature:
Motor vehicles are causing the most damage to the environment. Yet with better urban planning, cities could easily be more pedestrian - and transit -friendly, and we could reduce the heavy toll we impose on nature and our health. When is the best time to write my local politician? You can write your elected officials any time. However, elections are a great opportunity to put particular issues on their agendas. Talk to the candidates, or their representatives, when they come to your door. And ask questions at an all-candidate’s meeting. There are a number of important municipal elections coming up: Ask your politicians how they plan to make leaving your car at home easier. But most importantly, take the time to vote! For information on the Ontario municipal elections visit: How do I find the contact numbers and addresses for my representative? You can find addresses, phone numbers and e-mails for most local politicians on your city's website, otherwise visit the Municipal Governments of Canada website.
 What should I keep in mind when I write, fax, e-mail, or call?
Here are a few ways to be effective in your communications:
LINKS TO ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION Making walking more conducive: Personally contacting a politician has tremendous impact and can make a real difference to the future of our environment. It may sound intimidating but it really isn’t. The worst thing that will happen is that you will receive a polite reply. If your points resonate with politicians or with others, your initiative may lead to positive changes for your community and nature. Good luck! Mike Velemirovich of Halifax, Nova Scotia: “My family has drastically reduced the lighting we use in our house... we planted our first vegetable garden and have plans for expansion next year. . .As the owner of a Volkswagen dealership, I have made inquiries to support a local group trying to set up an urban car co-op like the one in Vancouver. I have (also) been investigating the viability of making biodiesel available on a retail level. By taking the Nature Challenge your name was automatically entered in a monthly draw for an autographed Sacred Balance coffee table book! This month's winner is Audrey Haerle of Calgary,AB. Congratulations, Audrey! LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID SUZUKI'S NATURE CHALLENGE
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Dear Nature Challenge Champion, 
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! 
What can city hall do? 
healthier for you and your family:
3. Alternative transportation makes city living more affordable and easier: Owning a car is expensive. In 1999, the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) estimated that the annual cost of owning and operating a full-size car was $11,500. But without a car, it can be very difficult to get around unless affordable alternatives exist - especially for the young, the old and the poor.
