Car Free Day is this Thursday, September 21. It is an annual event celebrated by 100 million people on every continent and supported by the European Union, the United Nations, the Government of Canada and the leaders of 1500 cities around the world. For folks who normally get around by bike, bus or walking, it’s a day to celebrate freedom from the automobile.

For folks who normally use their cars to get around, think of this as a drill. Imagine that your car is broken down, gas costs $15 per gallon, and you care about slowing down global climate change. Now, get to work, and do your errands without a car. It’s not hard. Many people all over Arcata and the rest of the world do it every day. Bus schedules are available online.

You have two more days to fix the flat on that old bike in the garage. And you probably own some comfortable walking shoes. It’s only a one day drill, so it should be pretty easy. If you can’t do it on Car Free Day, when will you be able to pull it off?

There are lots of reasons to be prepared to get around without your car, the first of which is economic reality. Because global oil production may peak and inexorably decline soon, already steep gas prices could double again as they have in the last three years (and double again and again).

Global climate change is another concern that could affect all of us. The biggest chunk of our greenhouse gas output is from transportation, and we are a coastal town that could be drastically affected by global climate change.

Cars are deadly in a more direct way. They kill 14 times more Americans every year than the terrorists killed on Sept. 11, 2001. That’s 42,000 people every year killed in accidents because of our dangerous transportation habit.

The environmental impacts of auto-centric transportation are not limited to global warming. Pavement in America adds up to an area the size of Ohio, using up wildlife habitat and farmland that we will need as oil production declines and we become more dependent on bio-fuels.

There are negative social effects as well. Our automobile-centric city planning strands the one third of our population who cannot drive: the young and the elderly. Plus, getting around by car, you end up not talking to people the way you do biking, walking or on the bus. This diminishes our community.

Lots of people feel they have no alternative but to drive. I’ve listed some of the reasons I often hear, followed by reasons you can buck these excuses at least for Car Free Day. Heck, you might even find out that some alternative to your car works pretty well for you!

1. I have to travel so far.

2. It takes too long if I don’t drive.

3. I have to get my kids to school, lessons or sports practice.

Car Free Day only comes around once a year. Leave a little earlier than usual on Thursday and go back to emitting greenhouse gases on Friday. Just give it a try for one day! Most people can walk about three miles an hour, and bike about 10 miles an hour. You can bike from Valley West to Sunny Brae in less than a half hour, and from Sunny Brae to downtown in less than 10 minutes, (less than a half hour walking). Sometimes you actually save time by biking because you don’t have to search for parking, and you don’t get stuck in traffic.

If you are of the more sedentary sort, buses serve Arcata and much of the county. Schedules are available online. You can send your kids to wherever they need to go on their own, with an older friend or brother, or you can go with them on foot or on bikes or on the bus!

Now that you’ve had enough of the scolding stick, I’d like to offer a carrot of encouragement. As part of the celebration I mentioned earlier, HSU Green Wheels is hosting the early morning Tour d’Arcata community bike ride, free breakfast, and some fun contests and prizes on campus during the day.

So, if you’re headed to HSU or have time in the morning, get free breakfast out of the deal by joining in the bike ride, or riding the early bus to Library Circle. Come join the party!

You can do it! Formulate a plan. Look up the bus schedule, fix the bike or get those comfy shoes ready. Let the kids walk, bike or bus to school. Go with them if you need to, or pair them with an older kid from the neighborhood. Start early if you need to. Breathe the cool morning air.

Experience what it’s like to be a part of the solution!

Chris Rall is an almost finished graduate student who isn’t sure what he’ll do next. HSU Car Free Day activity info is available at humboldt.edu/~wheels.