Rating: 
Summary: Methodical outline of problems and solutions
Review: <u>Divorce Your Car</u>, by Katie Alvord, is thought provoking. In the United States of America, an automobile is many things to many people: transportation, status symbol, hobby, money pit. Alvord takes apart the place of the car in modern society (the focus of the book is on North America, though she does refer to Europe and the Third World in places) and roundly condemns our dependence.
Her book is split into three parts--the first covers the history of the automobile and other forms of transport. She legitimizes what I'd often heard and dismissed as a myth--the car industry bought up the transit systems of cities in the US early in the 20th century and replaced them with buses. The second is a laundry list of the negative effects of the car (which, I must confess, I didn't finish--too depressed after the first thirty pages). The final section covers alternatives, including walking, biking, mass transit, non-gasoline cars, and telecommuting.
I found the book to be quite good in outlining the problem and highlighting solutions. The dependence of modern life on the car is a dependence on convenience. But, to some extent, it's a matter of inertia. Automobiles are so prevalent and easy that many of us never try the alternatives, let alone use them in preference to our car. A strong point is that she realizes that car-free living isn't for anyone, and makes a point that going car-lite can have a positive effect as well. She also touches on the far reaching implications that technology decisions have had on our society, our cities and our lives--from subsidies to the development of advertising. It would have been interesting to read more about that, but what she did say was definitely thought provoking.
However, I do have three quibbles. Alvord cites sources extensively, but her arguments would be more compelling were the sources less biased (as you can tell by titles like <u>Asphalt Nation</u>) and more first hand. She ignores two factors that would affect my divorce. Giving up your car, or at the very least being aware of alternatives, makes drunk driving less likely--a good thing! On the other hand, if you don't have a car, you suddenly have a dearth of available camping and hiking activities. But these concerns aren't everyone's, to be sure.
Overall, a book well worth reading, especially if you commute a lot. Too bad they don't sell it as a book on tape!
Rating: 
Summary: Save Time, Money & the Environment--Divorce Your Car!
Review: Alvord makes a very convincing argument for divorcing your car. So convincing, in fact, that my husband and I will likely divorce our one and only car in the coming months.Divorce Your Car explains the obvious--how divorcing your car will save money and help protect the environment. More intriguing, though, is the explanation of how divorcing your car will actually save you time. How can divorcing your car save time, you wonder? Alvord factors in not just how long it takes to get somewhere (by car versus by other modes of transit), but also how much time you have to spend working to pay for all the costs associated with a car. When all is said and done, the car doesn't move any faster than a bike. While Alvord does mention that walking and biking instead of driving have health benefits, her calculations of time don't include another big factor working against the car--making time for exercise. Many people complain that they don't have "time" for exercise. I used to complain about this too. But now that I bike virtually every day, making time for exercise is a non-issue. It may take me 20 minutes to bike somewhere I could get to by car in 10 minutes, and ditto for the return trip. But if I had to find another 40 minutes each day to exercise (plus time to drive to and from the gym!)...geez, no wonder I didn't used to have time to exercise. By ditching the car, you can save enough money to work less (Alvord has some inspiring examples) and easily work exercise into your daily routine. As an added perk, you even get to help save the planet. What's not to like!
Rating:
Summary: Save Time, Money & the Environment--Divorce Your Car!
Review: I checked DIVORCE YOUR CAR out of our local library, because the title made me wonder how such a thing could be possible. I read the whole thing, and I was astounded at how simple it really is to use your car less. The first two parts of the book cover the history of the car and the American "marriage" to it, as well as the reasons that same marriage has turned into a disaster. The third part then offers practical solutions for non-car travel, going into great detail about walking, biking, mass-transit, ride-sharing, etc, and providing plenty of information on the benefits, drawbacks and availability of each, as well as how to get in contact with alternative travel associations in your area, or how to start your own. It's a slim volume, but the quality is evident. This book really woke me up to something MAJOR I could do to improve my own quality of life and the planet's. My fiance and I currently own one car between us, and though we've been doing alright with it, we'd been planning to buy another! After reading DIVORCE YOUR CAR, we're realizing we really don't need to have more than one, and we're now planning ways to use our bikes and mass transit more, and actively discouraging each other from taking trips we don't need to take by car. It's already making a big difference, and someday we hope to go entirely car-free, with this book (which I've since purchased from Amazon) and our creativity as guides. Thank you, Katie Alvord, for such an excellent wake-up call!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent resource
Review: I checked DIVORCE YOUR CAR out of our local library, because the title made me wonder how such a thing could be possible. I read the whole thing, and I was astounded at how simple it really is to use your car less. The first two parts of the book cover the history of the car and the American "marriage" to it, as well as the reasons that same marriage has turned into a disaster. The third part then offers practical solutions for non-car travel, going into great detail about walking, biking, mass-transit, ride-sharing, etc, and providing plenty of information on the benefits, drawbacks and availability of each, as well as how to get in contact with alternative travel associations in your area, or how to start your own. It's a slim volume, but the quality is evident. This book really woke me up to something MAJOR I could do to improve my own quality of life and the planet's. My fiance and I currently own one car between us, and though we've been doing alright with it, we'd been planning to buy another! After reading DIVORCE YOUR CAR, we're realizing we really don't need to have more than one, and we're now planning ways to use our bikes and mass transit more, and actively discouraging each other from taking trips we don't need to take by car. It's already making a big difference, and someday we hope to go entirely car-free, with this book (which I've since purchased from Amazon) and our creativity as guides. Thank you, Katie Alvord, for such an excellent wake-up call!
Rating:
Summary: The Simple Life
Review: I remeber the first year of college I didn't have a car and my campus was 16 miles from my home. Not too far. So, I took the bus, then the rail, then a shuttle bus to my campus. It did take about an hour to get there as opposed to the 20 minutes to drive there. But I really didn't mind. Then I DID get a car and sometimes I wish I would have stayed car free. This book just reinforced my desire to be car free and the benefits that have no car can have on a person. Getting exercise and transporting yourself at the same time sounds like the most basic thing and most common sense thing to do. The author does a great job to help the reader see what having a car-free or car-lite life can do for you and the environment. I do beleive that she should have gone over the new forms of transportation that will be heading our way with regards to new technology but who can afford the state of the line hybrid or electric can and pay to keep it maintained. So, for that transition, using transit, bicycles, or your own two feet will be the only way that some people will be able to get around in the future and this could only lead to healthy people and a healthier environment.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to Separate
Review: In a perfect world, all people would abandon their cars for the pollution- and danger-free existence of walking or riding bicycles and reap some pretty hefty health benefits in the process. Perhaps this will become possible, but not before it is also more easily accomplished. Divorce Your Car! persuades the reader to think along these lines, and is successful in suggesting alternative travel to work, school, et cetera. Alvord is very passionate about this subject, being a car divorcee herself. She mentions Madison, Wisconsin numerous times in her writing. Apparently she looks favorably upon the possibility of a non-car culture in our fine city She notes the many bike paths, the prosperous State Street pedestrian mall, and still-surviving capitol square area in the heart of downtown. As Alvord points out, there is no such thing as free parking, and this is the current main problem Madison's downtown prosperity faces. These costs are absorbed in retail prices, residential and corporate rent, and wages of employees. If Madison can let go of its automobiles it can free itself of these woes. The health benefits to cutting out the car are innumerable: reduce weight, blood pressure, stress, cholesterol, depression, increase or maintain bone density, muscle tone, the list goes on and on. Reduction of the automobile in society would also have a great social impact: people would know their neighbors and neighborhoods. The streets would be more populated and would therefore be safer. There simply would not be as much isolation. However, the main problem with cutting out the car is the time factor. Small children can be in daycare no more than 10 hours per day, by law. By the time they are dropped off, the parent gets to work, and works an average eight hour day with an hour for lunch the time constraint really gets tight if a bike is used. Divorce Your Car! is an easy read, and chock full of interesting facts about the development of the automobile and roadways, auto culture. Did you know that `warming up' your car by letting it idle is a myth? Any longer than ten seconds of idling wastes more gas and pollutes more than shutting off and re-starting! Alvord also included some remarkable injury and death statistics due to the automobile, beginning in the late 19th century. In spite of this, the book is extremely one-sided and the skeptical reader may suspect they are being flooded with propaganda. Alvord would have done well to show some of the other side of the automotive story, if only to validate her extensive knowledge and be more persuasive to the hard-core drivers of the world. Alvord pointed out some very feasible ways to cut down on car `consumption'. The Circle game is helpful: draw a circle with a two mile radius on a map, with the center being your home. Plot out the places you frequent on the map and pick one or two within the two miles to walk to once a week, once a month, whatever is attainable for you. Soon you ill notice that you are able to leave your car behind more, and ever bike if you want. The concept of divorcing the car is great, but there are some situations that still warrant its use, and until these are eliminated we will be unable to convince the populous
Rating:
Summary: Hard to Separate
Review: In a perfect world, all people would abandon their cars for the pollution- and danger-free existence of walking or riding bicycles and reap some pretty hefty health benefits in the process. Perhaps this will become possible, but not before it is also more easily accomplished. Divorce Your Car! persuades the reader to think along these lines, and is successful in suggesting alternative travel to work, school, et cetera. Alvord is very passionate about this subject, being a car divorcee herself. She mentions Madison, Wisconsin numerous times in her writing. Apparently she looks favorably upon the possibility of a non-car culture in our fine city She notes the many bike paths, the prosperous State Street pedestrian mall, and still-surviving capitol square area in the heart of downtown. As Alvord points out, there is no such thing as free parking, and this is the current main problem Madison's downtown prosperity faces. These costs are absorbed in retail prices, residential and corporate rent, and wages of employees. If Madison can let go of its automobiles it can free itself of these woes. The health benefits to cutting out the car are innumerable: reduce weight, blood pressure, stress, cholesterol, depression, increase or maintain bone density, muscle tone, the list goes on and on. Reduction of the automobile in society would also have a great social impact: people would know their neighbors and neighborhoods. The streets would be more populated and would therefore be safer. There simply would not be as much isolation. However, the main problem with cutting out the car is the time factor. Small children can be in daycare no more than 10 hours per day, by law. By the time they are dropped off, the parent gets to work, and works an average eight hour day with an hour for lunch the time constraint really gets tight if a bike is used. Divorce Your Car! is an easy read, and chock full of interesting facts about the development of the automobile and roadways, auto culture. Did you know that 'warming up' your car by letting it idle is a myth? Any longer than ten seconds of idling wastes more gas and pollutes more than shutting off and re-starting! Alvord also included some remarkable injury and death statistics due to the automobile, beginning in the late 19th century. In spite of this, the book is extremely one-sided and the skeptical reader may suspect they are being flooded with propaganda. Alvord would have done well to show some of the other side of the automotive story, if only to validate her extensive knowledge and be more persuasive to the hard-core drivers of the world. Alvord pointed out some very feasible ways to cut down on car 'consumption'. The Circle game is helpful: draw a circle with a two mile radius on a map, with the center being your home. Plot out the places you frequent on the map and pick one or two within the two miles to walk to once a week, once a month, whatever is attainable for you. Soon you ill notice that you are able to leave your car behind more, and ever bike if you want. The concept of divorcing the car is great, but there are some situations that still warrant its use, and until these are eliminated we will be unable to convince the populous
Rating:
Summary: Ending Auto-Dependence
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Ending Auto-Dependence
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Not ready for divorce
Review: 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.
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