Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Mon, Apr 27 1992 Date: Mon, 27 Apr 92 05:41:46 EDT Message-ID: 04-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update April 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Monday morning in USA TODAY: Driving; Disasters. TODAY'S DEBATE - CAR POOLING: USA TODAY'S OPINION: Every weekday, nearly 86% of U.S. workers do something they hate - drive to and from their jobs in heavy traffic. More of them are doing it alone, according to new 1990 Census numbers now trickling out. This is bad news. Cars are the biggest contributors to smog and carbon dioxide pollution. By 2005, freeway delay will increase by 300% in big cities and 1000% in suburbs, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The cost: Over $50 billion for urban freeways alone in lost time and vehicle operating expenses. The bumper-to-bumper lifestyle takes a health toll, too. Such drivers suffer more illness-related work absences than people who commute less stressfully. So why are so many still stubbornly behind the wheel? Because governments haven't given them good reasons not to. Several ideas they could use: Offer incentives - all employer-paid parking is tax-exempt, but the mass transit exemption stops at $21. That should be raised and parking subsidies phased out as mass transit improves; resist fads - the love affair with undergroundrail must not blind cities and states to their real transit needs, like more van pools or HOV lanes; ... and revive an old idea. Trolleys, known as light rail, don't pollute or block traffic. OTHER VIEW: JEFF RIGGENBACH, a Houston writer and broadcaster: Why do people drive to work alone, in their own cars, when they could be car pooling or taking public transit instead? I'll tell you why: When you drive yourself, you get to go exactly where you want to go at exactly the time you want to go there and by exactly the route you want to take, making exactly those stops you want to make along the way and no others. Best of all, when you drive yourself, you get to ride with only those fellow travelers you want to ride with and no others. In other words, when you drive yourself in your own car, you're free, in control of your own life. When you car pool or take public transit, you turn over control of your life to somebody else; you follow their schedule, not yours. Your time is no longer your own. Nor is your freedom to choose your own associates. ... Don't force people to pay for something they don't want and aren't going to use. And don't take people's cars away from them. To take away their cars is to take away the most precious thing they have: Their freedom. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON LIVING IN DISASTER-PRONE AREAS: BELLINGHAM, Wash., Diana B. Dawn, 47, life consultant: We have a survival kit in our car with water and blankets. We have food and water, which are rotated, in the basement. I am very active in creating a healthy Earth; I believe there is a connection between what we are doing to the Earth and the natural disasters we are having. NASHVILLE, Tenn., Ruby W. Jamison, 58, retired teacher: I would try to be prepared to calm the family and to try to stay as calm as as possible myself. I have already talked to my family about earthquakes. Physically, there aren't very many precautions you can take. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Neil Glass, 18, student: My family just moved to Los Angeles, and it's a concern. My parents took precautions to make sure the house they bought would be safe. They planned the location and the type of house it was. I'd have some kind of safety plan in the event an earthquake occurred. TOOELE, Utah, Cliff D'Avignon, 32, power lineman: Having lived in California, I identify with people there - they don't let it bother them that much. They're cautious, but it's something you live with. They prepare - have drills in the schools, and the kids know how to respond. People don't let it stop their everyday lives. DALLAS, Texas, Steffani Williams, 15, student: I guess if I lived in a place that was prone to earthquakes, I'd try to find out a way to protect myself and my family. I'd read about it as much as possible. I'd want to move, since there's no such thing as an earthquake-proof building. Issues & Debate Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM