When I get off the bus at Flint loop and see swarms of cars expelling carbon dioxide, I begin to think of all the other cars in Buffalo—and in cities across the nation—that are adding to the Greenhouse Effect and increasing increasing the risk for global warming. While the effect of each car seems so small, it’s startling to think of what happens when it is multiplied by the millions of cars that are used each day in America alone.
So, one way that I help the Earth is by taking public transportation, which is not as easy as it sounds, because here in Buffalo our system sucks. The metro rail runs from the HSBC Arena downtown to UB’s South Campus on Main Street with only a few stops in between. There are no lines connecting the Main Street line to neighborhoods on Elmwood or Hertel Avenue, forcing those who live in these areas to walk several blocks, sometimes miles, to the nearest station.
The bus system isn’t any easier—it’s hard to figure out, and the code that the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) website uses can be hard to decipher. Route times aren’t posted at bus stops, and to obtain them you have to call a frustrating circular phone line.
It’s a shame that an otherwise easy and effective way to help the environment is made so difficult in Buffalo. When I go out on weekends, bars close at 4 a.m., and it would be great to drunkenly stumble onto a train instead of worry about a designated driver. But the metro doesn’t run that late; the last train leaves at 12:30 a.m.
According to the NFTA’s website, the Metro and buses in our region shuttle about 94,000 people a day. Would more Buffalonians and students take the public transportation if it were made easier and more convenient?
Despite the fact that many of us are aware of the damage being done to the environment, we continue to do things like drive a few blocks, leave cars running, and not recycle. We can no longer continue these actions without expecting consequences. The time for gambling on the world’s climate or supply of oil has come and passed. Taking public transportation is just one of many lifestyle changes available to eco-conscious individuals.
When I think about the little things I do that either help or harm the environment, I multiply it by millions of people. I imagine millions using both sides of a sheet of paper or millions throwing out tin cans because they don’t have a recycling bin. Thinking this way, or thinking, “what if everyone did so?” as advised by Jean-Paul Sartre, might influence millions to carpool, take the subway, recycle, or even think twice before throwing a wrapper on the street. Imagine what the world would look like if everyone just threw their wrappers on the streets. Instead of perpetuating the cycle of pollution by fulfilling our own desires in spite of the negative effects, we can each take small steps to modify our behavior, which, compounded, can help clean up the environment and begin the shift towards environmental stability. We can all do something to help.
Last week, the survey on MyUb was about Metro passes. This week, we’re presenting real issues and real environmental problems to you, the reader, in order for you to see your options. Instead of driving from South to North, take the shuttle you’ve already paid for with your student fees. Join UB Green and help them solve small environmental problems on campus. Sign the petition supporting UB student Buffalo-wide bus passes on MyUb. Multiply your effort by a couple hundred, and the answer to the question “What if everyone did so?” is a cleaner place for us to live in.
Eagerly awaiting bicycle weather,
Monika Ostrowski
