This article illustrates costs and harmful effects of our driving cars, which are usually perceived by the general public vaguely, in an articulate and convincing manner. It is noteworthy that the average American spends more money on transportation than food each year. According to the article, they also spend twice as much money on transportation as on health care. Cars are also known ?to contribute to cancer and heart and respiratory diseases by spewing pollution, adding heat to the summer-hot city and preventing exercise?.

While self-driving offers such benefits as enhanced self-time control and schedule, less physical fatigue, and sometimes door to door convenience particularly under rainy season, negative impacts, either economical or physical far outweigh these benefits. In addition, spreading negative externalities to the society, the harm caused to the society as a whole far exceeds personal costs.

This is why clean energy initiatives being driven in many developed as well as developing countries usually have sustainable transportation as a key component of the efforts. By transforming transportation mode mainly from car driving to mass transportation such as railways, subways and other mass/public transportation, we could help solving traffic conjestion problems on the road and further enhance people?s health condition by reducing CO₂ emissions.

Nevertheless, the fundamental question is how much people are willing to sacrifice imminent self interest for the sake of longer term benefits and societal welfare. Policy makers should clearly recognize this constraint and thus have to come up with appropriate incentive mechanism through tax or subsidy until this transformation takes root and gain traction in the society.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/21/opinion/sanderson-earth-day-cars/index.html?iref=allsearch