One content creator shed light on the dangers of cars after sharing a scientific paper that quantifies their dangers to society.
TikToker molesrcool (@molesrcool), who focuses on public transit, car dependency, and walkability, uploaded a video with the caption: "The scale of harm that cars cause to humanity is truly staggering."
@molesrcool the scale of harm that cars cause to humanity is truly staggering #cars #pedestriandignity #walkablecities #parkinglot ♬ Clair de lune/Debussy - もつ
"I think this is some of the most important and disturbing information I will ever share on this channel," he says, "and it's about the true scale of harm that cars cause to humanity."
He cites a review spearheaded by researchers from the University of Edinburgh that found that cars are responsible for one in 34 deaths and 1.67 million deaths annually. It estimated the total loss of life caused by cars at 60 million to 80 million — similar to the combined death tolls from both World Wars — and noted that 102 million people are injured in motor vehicle crashes every year.
The study also added that "more than 90% of people live in areas with unsafe levels of outdoor air pollution, including vehicle-sourced pollution."
"The thing that's craziest to me about all of this is that it's a choice. We choose to build this sort of stuff right here," the TikToker continues, pointing to a boulevard in Charlotte, North Carolina, with narrow sidewalks that leave pedestrians exposed.
He shows another image of an intersection with no crosswalk, making it difficult for anyone to travel by foot. He then explains that both photos came from a Google-suggested walking route leading from a housing development to a grocery store, highlighting the latter's inaccessibility for those who don't own a car.
"Once you actually get to the grocery store, you have to walk through this giant, empty parking lot, which probably should just be dense housing anyway," he continues. "You go looking around your city, you'll find tons of empty parking lots just like this, which is just another example of the vast amount of destruction that cars cause."
The video is yet another reminder that we can rely on public transit, bikes, and walking instead of gas-powered cars to help reduce the 5.1 tons of carbon dioxide the Environmental Protection Agency estimates a single driver produces in a year.
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Hopefully, walkable neighborhoods like Mueller Airport in Austin, Texas, and Plateau Avenue in Montreal, Canada, will become more commonplace to help encourage healthier and safer transportation habits to reverse the planet's overheating.
"I was just reading through this article, really quite an indictment of how far we [haven't come]," a user wrote in the comment section of molesrcool's post.
"There's a unique sort of dread that comes with being born in this time — with companies still humming and hawing over their staggeringly negative effects on the environment even existing," a second person said.
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