As we enter day #59 or so of the gushing oil, I am in gloom over our addiction to the car. The car and the way of life it created, from accessible-only-by-freeway suburban tract housing to the smogged urban landscape, was imposed on us by Mr. Henry Ford, who squelched and destroyed the railroads and any hope for public transportation in this country.
Living in Manhattan has allowed me to give up the car. I don't put myself on a pedestal because if I lived anywhere else, I too would need a car. When I lived in California, Long Island, and elsewhere, I couldn't do the simplest errand without enriching the oil companies and polluting the air.
Now, like children fed only McDonald's, we as a society are hopelessly addicted. From our infrastructure to our culture, the car is our glue. To break free of the hold of oil on our lives will require nothing less than a completely new paradigm.
