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Title: Divorce Your Car! : Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile by Katharine T. Alvord, Katie Alvord, Stephanie Mills, Craig Scarborough ISBN: 0-86571-408-8 Publisher: New Society Pub Pub. Date: August, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (9 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Divorce Your Car tells you how to do just that
Comment: Why is it that people are so dependent on their cars? Why have all other forms of transportation been neglected? Does this dependency on cars lead to anything damaging and if so, how can that be changed? Alvord attends to these issues in her book and she suggests that the dependency should just be abandoned.
Katie Alvord begins her book with by explaining what divorcing your car means. She compares the relationship people have with cars to marriages and divorcing a car is much like divorcing a spouse. Then, she describes how this marriage or dependency between people and cars was formed, starting from when the car was introduced into society and finishing with the conditions of the present. In the next section of the book, Alvord discusses reasons why we should divorce our cars. That is, why we should consider trying to live a car-lite or even car-free life. In the final section of her book, she goes into detail on how living a car-lite or car-free life is possible. She addresses how individuals, communities, and societies can accomplish the goal of becoming car-free.
The main argument that Alvord makes is that anyone and everyone can go car-free or at least car-lite and they should in order to improve the condition of this world. This can be done by using other modes of transportation such as walking, biking, buses, trains, or car-share programs. She suggests that people gradually move in to a car-free lifestyle by first trying a car-lite lifestyle. This consists of using the car less or as little as possible, maybe for long trips only. Alvord even states that going car-free may not be possible for some so a car-lite lifestyle is the best idea in those situations which might include people living in rural areas. Alvord backs up her car-free argument by providing multiple reasons as to why people should use cars less. They cause overcrowded streets, health problems, indirect and direct pollution, and they are very expensive.
Divorce Your Car is a very good and convincing book. It not only makes and case for abandoning cars but it explains how this can be done. Alvord addresses each issue of her car-free idea in depth. She gives the reader history, evidence, and the how to. Another very impressive aspect of the book is that it is not preachy or condescending. It simply tells you the facts and what your options are. In approaching the argument this way, I think more people will be open to the idea of attempting a car-free or car-lite lifestyle.
Rating: 4
Summary: Not ready for divorce
Comment: Katie Alvord, the author of Divorce your Car states that the intention of the this book is to demonstrate both the pressing need to drive less and the many opportunities we have to do so. The book is set up into three parts. The first part attempts to explore some of the factors that explain how we as a society have become so dependent on automobiles. The second part gives reasons why the separation from the vehicle is so important. The third part closes the book illustrating some of the possible alternatives to being so car dependent.
The first part the author described how factors such as government policy, industry practices, and mass media have turned the automobile from a "how-to" technology into a "have-to" technology. A quote from the book to sum up the trend automobiles have taken is from the British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith in 1907 when he referred to automobiles as, "a luxury which is apt to degenerate into a nuisance."
I totally agree here with how she explained how that exact thing happened. When automobiles were first introduced they were seen as the invention for freedom. They led to huge advancements in labor force and manufacturing. The huge surge in automobile interest was not encouraged just by the usefulness of it alone. At the time cars were marketed as the great escape, a tool to gain freedom. They weren't however the only form of transportation. There were non-internal combustion engines providing transportation. These forms were soon eradicated by the automobile industry. The government did also use city planning to create freeways and a car in every garage and gas burning busses replaced systems of streets and the electric railcars. These structural changes now made it easier to move around, but only if you have a car.
The second part was very predictable. It does hit on several levels though. It goes over the negative environmental aspects from all the cars driving at once. The smog and global warming issues were her main topics. Alvord then brings up several other aspects such as the oil industry and their tendency for spills, and the cost of gas to the individual driver. This choice of topics is very persuasive. Its focuses on the manufacture, the facilitating industry, drivers in general, and then drivers individually. This leaves nothing out. It hits the driver on all levels.
The third part generally goes over the positive side of divorcing your car. In a generally overweight society obsessed with dieting starting off by giving the positives of exercising more. Then the author gives an optimistic answer to several problems stating that if you can't stop using the car for good you can do it in steps.
Overall I think that the book was well written and interesting. It describes the problem from beginning to possible solution. As being without a car for the last couple of months I can see some of the benefits but I am not sold on the idea of going without for good. Unless society in general changes its just easier to own a car. The one issue not brought up was time. Driving saves time period. Traffic jams do take up time but the busses will have to go through the same jams. I have so little free time between school, work and homework that the 20 minutes or so driving saves just going back and forth to the grocery, outweighs the negative aspects for right now.
Rating: 4
Summary: Ending Auto-Dependence
Comment: In the book, Divorce Your Car!, Katie Alvord talks about how our increased auto-dependence has led many of us to give up alternate modes of transportation. She stresses that a car is like a marriage; once you have one, you feel obligated to use it. Not only are cars useful and convenient (as in we can go almost anywhere within a shorter amount of time), they also provide psychological benefits. Cars are status symbols, and in many ways, they outwardly reflect our wealth and personalities. However, this does not mean that cars should consume our lives. In fact, a car being referred to as a marriage is not necessarily a good thing. In the US, 50% of marriages end in divorce. Marriages can go wrong for several reasons, and this is why Katie Alvord compares a car to marriage.
Driving a car can obviously be very beneficial, but at the same time, it can also be very destructive. The worst part is that cars kill thousands of people each year, many of them children. Secondly, the environment is becoming more polluted, leading to global warming. But besides the physical effects, driving can be emotionally draining as well. As more and more people use cars, traffic and congestion is becoming a huge problem. Driving can be a very frustrating experience, mainly during rush hour and when there are road constructions. If people spend too much time cooped up in a car, their frustration and anger may come out while they are driving. Therefore, these negative effects along with others, are what made Katie Alvord decide to divorce her car.
It is clear throughout the book that Katie Alvord is in favor of divorcing a car. She constantly argues that the negative effects of driving outweigh the positive effects. Divorce Your Car! is thus a guide to help people find alternate ways to get places. These alternate modes of transportation such as walking, biking, and using trains and buses, will then effectively reduce our auto-dependence. It is evident that the author put a lot of time and effort into writing this book. I really enjoyed Divorce Your Car! because I also feel that people unnecessarily use their cars at times. I have to admit that I drive to save time, even if the place I'm going to is only a 10-minute walk. But there are many reasons why I have to drive, one being that places are so far away from each other. I am willing though to change my ways and get some exercise in the process. Katie Alvord does a great job in convincing readers that "divorcing a car can be fun, healthy, money-saving, and helpful to the planet" (Alvord, back cover). I find this book to be incredibly useful and I'm sure that others will feel the same.
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