Community of Cars

In "Community of Cars" by Ryan Brown, the author uses sarcasm to Inform us that we are a lazy, self-destroying community. He relays every negative thing about our environment and health to our Increased dependence on cars. Brown seems to cry out to the world that we need to change our ways before It's too late. He wants people to be more mindful, and to not Just throw out the environment. Brown begins his argument with a stroll down the authors' childhood.

He refers to the numerous afternoons spent strolling with his grandmother to the local grocery store. Many people can refer to this as an emotional appeal. Brown than appeals to our values by saying the "friendly conversations we used to have when passing an acquaintance while walking have been replaced with honks of a car horn" (Brown 1). He points out that Americans are in a mind state of driving over walking. He also says that if we drove less, our environment, communities, and personal health would all show positive effects. "That automobiles are environmentally harmful is unarguable" (Brown 1).

Brown uses the argument of automobile emissions polluting the air and then resulting in acid rain. He says with the combination of cheap gas prices and high gas mileage cars, there is no wonder the drivers society has continued to thrive. He points out that just because people drive fuel efficient cars, it does not mean there doing anything positive to the community. Because of their fuel efficient vehicles they drive more because it's cheaper. Using a fuel-efficient car to drive miles to the superstore instead of walking to the corner store is not helping.

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Brown points out the ultimately it is our choice whether our communities are great places to raise our children, or if they are just mere pit stops on the highway. He poses that Americans have disregarded the isolating effect of convenience, and thus we are blindly setting ourselves up to destruction. Such is a consequence that many have not thought of, and Brown makes a convincing appeal. "New Urbanism and other social reform movements promise to bring back the days of centralized, walk able communities, Incorporating features such as wide sidewalks and narrow streets" (Brown 3).

Brown believes that with a better community comes a better strength of life. Brown states that roadways tear up countryside destroy wildlife habitats and routes. Browns Interpretation of the rise In gas prices Is the government telling us to watch our spending. The government has gas prices low enough to keep the consumers happy, but high enough to pay for our environmental struggles. The decline of public health due to lack of exercise Is another argument Brown uses to his advantage.

Brown uses an example from Amanda Speak In saying "Living In the suburbs Is linked to dating more higher-calorie fast food" (Brown 2). Obesity In children has more than doubled In the last three decades. This Is not surprising because 1 of every 3 meals that a child eats is from a fast food restaurant. Brown states that us Americans think Witt our wallets. According to nil, ten only times Americans take a stand on an issue is if it's convenient and affordable. It seems like the cause and effect of everyday life prompted Brown to write this argument. He claims that as our driving rates go up our health goes down.

He claims we are lazy and then states almost anything we need on a daily basis we can get through a Drive-Thru window. Now we no longer have to exert ALL the energy it takes to walk across the parking lot and to shop around. You can now do almost every daily chore without leaving the comforts of your front seat. Paul Higgins from University of California believes that walking would no doubt fix two of Earths biggest problems; global warming and obesity. Brown believes that the new tight relationship between a man and his "Beauty' is a reversible trend.

He believes that the return to days gone by is an achievable and desirable goal. All in all, Brown uses a variety of strategies to argue his thesis that too much reliance on automobiles is costing America its health and heritage. The vast amount of consequences of when we drive instead of when we walk has had far- reaching effects that many people may not have considered. Brown assembles a triple threat by appealing to our logic, emotion and values. To Brown, cars are an incredible thing, but not worth losing the environment, our communities, our personal health, and lives.

Q75. Are automobiles good or bad?

Essay Outline

Argument: I would say that the question on whether cars are good or bad can be looked from different angles to bring about different answers.

Support 1: Cars are good because they make movement easier and faster.

Support 2: A car can also save lives in many ways.

Support 3: Cars also have their bad side.

Thesis: Just as cars have brought about benefits, they have also caused some damages. As such,

 it is upon us to maximize on the benefits and minimize on the disadvantages

Model Essay

Mankind has made tremendous milestones in transforming how things are done. For instance, different Items

have been manufactured to make work easier In one way or another. For example, cars were made to make

transportation easter and to make it easy to move to distant places. But do they have their side too? I would say

that the question on whether cars are good or bad can be looked from different to bring about different

answers.

For starters, cars are good because they make movement easier and faster. For instance, if I want to rush to

work, I can just dove to work or get a taxi. means that I won't have to worry about walking for long distances or

cycling I can also comfortably live quite far from my place of work and not worry about being tired because of

walking.

A car can also save lives in many ways. For instance, you can use It to rush someone to the hospital for

immediate treatment. I can also just call the emergency response teams to pick someone who needs immediate care and be certain that they will get there very quickly. I can also use a car to escape from burglars when threatened thus making a car a life saving asset.

Cars also have their side. For starters, ears emit gases that damage the environment tn different ways. For

example, the carbon dioxide and other gases produced from the exhaust fumes can cause breathing difficulties and even cause respiratory problems. Long term emission from these gases has been seen to contribute greatly to global warming. Additionally, cars cause death directly by causing fatal accidents.

In conclusion, just as cars have brought about benefits, they have also caused some damages. As such, it is

upon us to maximize on the benefits and minimize on the disadvantages. This can be achieved by using cars when necessary to minimize pollution and chances of causing accidents.

Useful Expressions

The Driverless Car Revolution

1. Some of the world’s cleverest scientists and engineers are pioneering a new generation of driverless cars that will change our lives as much as the internet has already done. B) The idea of self-driving vehicles will sound like science-fiction to many, but the prototypes already work, using 360-degree sensors, lasers, learning algorithms and GPS to navigate streets in an astonishingly precise fashion. They are likely to go mainstream in 15 to 20 years’ time and are a genuinely exciting, game-changing breakthrough that refute the myth that our economy has ceased to spawn major technological innovations. Google’s vehicles have already driven more than 400,000 miles without an accident and are beginning to be legalised in US states.
2. The technology could trigger a burst of economic growth, transform transport around the world, free vast amounts of time, increase productivity, make us a lot wealthier and unleash drastic, unpredictable economic and cultural changes. By allowing people to relax or work as they commute, they will deal a devastating blow to public transport in all but the densest, most congested areas.
3. The biggest US think-tanks, universities, forecasters and corporations are busily trying to work out how, not if, the world will change as a result of driverless cars, and who the winners and losers will be.
4. Driverless cars will have huge advantages. Commuting will become useful, productive time, saving many people two or more hours a day that are currently wasted. The number of accidents will fall by at least 90pc, scientists believe, preventing thousands of deaths, by controlling distances between vehicles, braking automatically and eliminating human errors and reckless driving. The superior safety of driverless cars means that it ought to be possible to reduce their weight, cutting back on fuel consumption, and to redesign car shapes, making them more like living rooms. Even car sickness could be reduced, with smoother driving.
5. The dynamics of commuting will change as it will no longer be necessary to find a parking space on arrival: the driverless car could either park itself at some distance from the workplace or even return home, before picking up the passenger in the evening. Fewer people may want to own cars, with rental becoming more attractive. This could allow residential parking areas to be put to other uses.
6. The look and feel of roads and towns will drastically change. It will be possible to cram in far more cars into existing roads, driving at much faster speeds. Simulations of intelligently controlled intersections from the University of Texas suggest that they perform 200 to 300 times better than current traffic signals. Self-driving vehicles will have the ability to “platoon”, acting almost like train carriages on motorways, increasing lane capacity by up to 500pc, according to research from the US Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
7. Far more people will travel at night, sleeping at the same time, especially for longer trips such as holidays, reducing the demand for train and short-haul plane journeys. Driverless cars will once again boost the value of suburbs and country living, and their house prices: far more people will be willing to commute much longer distances to work or school. This will encourage cities to become even more sprawling, putting massive pressure on existing planning rules. The premium on living centrally will be reduced, albeit not eliminated because of congestion, which means there will still be a need for some urban rail services.
8. The transition process will inevitably be painful. Like all technological shifts, self-driving vehicles will threaten some existing jobs, including that of many professional drivers, though consumers will have more money to spend on other things, creating employment in those areas.

Which paragraphs contain the following information?

• It is predicted that many lives will be saved.
• Prototypes have already been tested successfully.
• Motorways will be used more efficiently.
• The impact on transport by rail and plane.
• Drawbacks for certain professions.

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