Monday 6th October 2003
I’m writing this during the first week of the new school year here in Reading. Traffic levels have suddenly leapt up around my workplace. From quiet roads with two or three vehicles queuing at the traffic lights last week, we now have two miles of slow moving traffic, much of it huge four wheel drive vehicles and people carriers. I am afraid the “school run” is back. Of course, for some, it is unavoidable – the demands of work and school, together with lifestyle decisions to live in rural areas removed from centres of population, force us into cars at the start and end of each day.
But many of us do have a choice. The majority of car journeys in a town like Reading are less than two miles – easily walkable. And a car engine is horribly inefficient when cold, emitting more than twice the levels of carbon as well as other pollutants as it does when properly warmed up. Put this alongside the health of our children, who are now more overweight, more unhealthy, with less habit of regular exercise than ever before. The arguments for leaving the car behind and walking to school become very persuasive.
Christians need to recognise that all their decisions have implications for their neighbours, and ultimately for their children and grandchildren. A polluted atmosphere and generations of sick, overweight people are a poor return for a little early morning convenience.
Ian N. James
Dr Ian N. James is the Diocesan Environment Adviser.