Extra traffic hurts the environment


Amanda Jung/ Staff Writer

It’s no secret that with FIU being a commuter school, it brings a lot of traffic, thus causing difficulties in finding a good parking space. Those of you that drive to school might actually spend more time looking for a parking spot some days than you are actually in class.

But have you ever stopped to think what this extra time in traffic and parking our cars does to the environment?

The Environmental Leader tells us that “areas with the largest number of cars on the road see higher levels of air pollution on average.” Not only is Miami a place where you often need a car to get around, but FIU is unique from a typical college campus in that many of the students commute to campus on a daily basis.

It’s not unusual for me to bump into someone without them telling me about how hard it was to find parking on that particular day. It’s also common to hear that some parking lots were blocked off for a special event or that Gold Garage was full and they had to park all the way over at PG5.

While the extra time spent driving around campus to find a parking spot and sitting in traffic a few miles from campus harms the environment, it’s actually worse when cars are going at higher speeds. A car burns more fuel “while accelerating to get up to speed” according to The Environmental Leader.

In hopes of cutting the amount of cars that are on the road and the amount of time that people spend in their cars looking for parking, I propose two solutions. First, I think FIU should consider building more parking structures. This would cut the amount of time people spend circling around FIU looking for parking.

Second, I think that we all need to do our own part. When I was younger, it was exciting to hear that my friend was picking me up for school or that I was carpooling home with a few of my neighbors.

As college students, our schedules are not always in accordance with each other. However, when possible, we should carpool to classes, games and school events.

And if you live close to FIU, consider walking to school. We have enough cars on the road and not enough people taking a stand for the environment. If you were wondering how to do your part, here’s your chance.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo taken from Flickr.

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