The word sustainability is used a lot these days. What exactly does it mean? How does it affect each of us?
Sustainability is about looking to the future. It’s about living modern lives in a smart and efficient way that makes best use of the resources we have and gives the best chance for future generations to do the same.
A society that is serious about sustainability will try to:
- Minimise environmental damage
- Use resources efficiently, and strive to develop renewable resources
- Ensure fair access to resources for all
Sustainability is about being smart and looking to the future, plotting a cleaner and fairer world for the next generation, and involving everyone, acting as individuals and making decisions together for society.
Transport and Sustainability
Mobility is a central part of modern life. So much of every-day life today involves people and goods moving from place to place. Everyone wants to share in the exciting world we live in, and so it should be. People are entitled to access to work, services and leisure. A mobile society is a good thing. However, the way we achieve this mobility has some serious drawbacks. In particular, our dependence on individual car driving raises some serious concerns. For one thing, not everyone has the same level of access. People who do not own a car can often find it very difficult to get around, both in towns and in the country. For another, car-based transport is not always the most efficient option in terms of energy consumption and environmental effects.
The Impacts of Transport
Transport, and in particular car driving, has a number of negative environmental impacts. Air pollution from busy roads can be very significant, causing serious health damage, making towns and cities unpleasant, harming wildlife and damaging buildings.
Transport is a major contributor to emissions of greenhouse gases, leading to climate change, an issue that is causing major global concern at the moment. Ireland has made international commitments to address greenhouse gas emissions. If we are to fulfil these obligations, significant changes in transport seem inevitable.
Transport also consumes vast quantities of energy in the form of petrol or diesel. These fuels are expensive imports, accompanied by their own environmental impacts in extraction, refining and shipping. Added to this are concerns associated with the depletion of scarce natural resources. The fuels used in transport are not renewable, and supplies will eventually run out.
Current transport patterns have significant negative impacts on quality of life in towns and cities, through smoke, noise, stress, and many other effects.
Does It Have to Be This Way?
Deciding for the Future
Mobility and the way we live our lives are closely connected. But there is more than one way to achieve mobility. There are ways of doing things that are more clever, efficient, clean, and fair than the current way. There is no getting away from it: if we were less dependent on using our cars, everyone would be better off.
Deciding on a Journey
Is the trip necessary? With a bit of clever planning, we can combine trips, do the shopping when collecting the kids from school, or car share with work colleagues. Also, we could phone ahead to enquire about things we are looking to buy, or use the Internet to shop and just sit back and wait for delivery. We all make more trips than we have to. Why?
Is the car necessary? Most of us could walk a kilometre in ten minutes, and many short journeys by car would be just as quick and easy on foot. Walking is quick, efficient, and healthy.
How about cycling? Cycling or walking briskly for half an hour a day can halve the risk of heart disease. The growing number of cycle paths makes cycling easier and safer than ever. In recent years, the number of people walking or cycling for short journeys has been dropping fast. Why?
Deciding on a Car
When buying a car, it’s important to think about the environment. Some new cars are as much as 25% more efficient than similar sized cars, depending on the model you choose. And price is not always a good guide to efficiency. Ask about environmental performance when you’re thinking of buying. The size of the car, the engine size, features such as air conditioning, all make a big difference to the environmental performance of the car.
And remember a well-maintained car is always better for the environment than a poorly maintained one.
The Way We Drive
As well as the car you buy or the way you make your journeys, simple day-to-day things can make a big difference. Did you know that your style of driving could easily affect your fuel consumption and the impact you have on the environment by up to a quarter? An aggressive driving style is bad for the environment, as well as being dangerous and stressful. Gentle acceleration and braking, using the right gear and avoiding high engine speeds can all make a difference. Try driving as smoothly as possible for a week, and see how long a tank of fuel lasts!
Decisions for Everyone
Together we need to consider what kind of future we want for Ireland. No one doubts that the private car has brought great things to life for very many people, and no one denies the car will continue to play an important role in society. However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t think about the disadvantages of our dependency on the car, and look to a future that minimises these disadvantages.
- What kind of cities and towns will we have?
- What will our countryside look like?
- Do we want to become all motorways, concrete and noise?
- Or how about pleasant, accessible, open cities and towns, and calm, clean countryside?
- Where will we live, where will our work places, our shops, be, and how will we move between them?
With a little good planning, there is no good reason why society cannot move forward and continue to develop economically on the basis of a sustainable transport system. There are shining examples, all over the world, of old and new cities that have taken the decision to move towards sustainable transport, and have never looked back.
Each of us can make choices about these issues. What choices will you make?