A more efficient system of transportation would include more public transportation, more use of bicycles, and more people walking to and from their destinations. This medium sized city could limit the amount of roads, highways, and even parking garages to get the citizens to use their cars less. This city can also implement more public transportation, like subway systems and trains. To encourage people to walk and bike more, they can make more sidewalks and safe areas for pedestrians and bicyclists to get to their destinations more easily. When thinking of this more sustainable city, I automatically revert to thinking about Eugene, Oregon, where I have spent a few of my summers. Although there are many roads and highways, their use of bicycles is astounding. Nearly every person owns a bike and uses it to get to places that are in close range. This city is very close to being a low carbon transportation city, because they do not use their cars as frequently as people in the Bay Area do and they ride their bikes whenever possible.  Personally, I would like to live in a cit y like this because the idea of less pollution in the air is very pleasing to me. This city would also create a much healthier environment for all of the inhabitants, because not only would they be less troubled by the pollution, but they would also be more physically active by walking and biking more.

yes, I agree with you. According to the source I have attached the link to a site that shows that even big cities are beginning to reduce their contribution to CO2 emissions http://esci-ksp.org/task/lcmt-low-carbon-model-town/

Great post Aerielle! I really liked how you connected your plans for more bicycles and public transportation to your own experiences in Oregon. I travel to Maine in my summers and I have noticed as well that people in Maine tend to ride their bikes very often. The Department of General Services published an article called "19 Bike to Work Day Facts." In this article they stated that riding your bicycle to work can reduce your carbon emissions by 6%, imagine if everyone in the world did that! Not only does riding a bike cut down on carbon emissions, but it helps prevent forest clearing because it involves much less rubber than a car. I think it would be great to live in a world in which bicycles were the main form of transportation.

I agree. Using bikes is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Cars are a huge part of why our air is not clean. Bikes are a great alternative and they are great exercise as well. This article from PACommutes, http://www.pacommutes.com/biking/eco-impact/
shows why bikes are such a great alternative form of transportation.  In the summer, I visit a small town in Pennsylvania. The town is based around a lake and the most common form of transportation is biking. Everyone bikes everywhere and I love it. The air is so clean and fresh. I think if bikes were the main form of transportation everyone's carbon footprint would be decreased and the air would be fresher and cleaner!

I agree with you, where I live, everyone drives everywhere no matter how far they live. Even though transportation is not what causes the most greenhouse gas emissions, it still contributes heavily to the amount that goes into the air every year. That is not very surprising to me after seeing all the people in the bay area driving, and all the traffic on the freeways. In 2014, more than 26% of emissions were caused by transportation, which has probably gone up by now. Fuel coming out of cars and trucks is what causes most of the emissions of carbon dioxide. Half of the people are doing normal daily things, such as driving to school or work, or running errands. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation have increased by about 17% since 1990.
   It is very easy to lower your carbon footprint in transportation. You can walk or bike places instead of driving. If it is a long distance, you can carpool with multiple people. If cities took more steps to make them more pedestrian and biker friendly, I think a lot more people would think about walking instead of driving. If c ities put in more bike racks and left more room on sidewalks and roads for bikers, that would help a lot. I would also like to live in a town with low pollution levels. It is very nice to see a lot of people walking, and it helps make a really nice environment. I also agree that subway systems are very good for cities to have, that way several people can travel at much, without the same amount of gases.
"How to Drive Down Your Transportation Footprint - Harmony." Harmony. N.p., 05                          Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. <http://harmony1.com/6-ways-to-drive-down-your-   transportation-footprint/>.
"Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency,    n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016. <https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source … emissions>.

I strongly believe that our community can make a significant difference in climate change by each day by eliminating much of our carbon footprints. If society works to take action in what we can change, the overall health of the biosphere will improve. For example, I think that with the help of locality, city planners able to make changes in overall carbon release by creating opportunities for people to be more conscious of transportation along with the wasting of food and recyclables. When being mindful of the trips we take or the food we annually throw away, the consequences of a high carbon footprint will significantly diminish.
I am under the impression that implementing frequent areas for bike rental will promote strategies to lower a carbon footprint. In other words, if cities arrange a way to provide bike services to help people get around in other ways besides their cars, both the carbon footprint of an individual along the city will decrease. According to the Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Science, transportation contributes to the highest pe rcentage of carbon emissions when compared to industry, residency, and commercializing. This is a clear indicator that more frequent bike usage would have a major effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Furthermore, benefitting a city may require the process of putting recycling and compost bins next to every trash can. Often times, people actually want to recycle their paper scraps or leftover banana peel, but are left just throwing it away in a trash can after several minutes of hopeless scouting. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) suggests that about half of our landfill consists of food scraps and other non-trash items. This clearly demonstrates the mass problem our country has at being mindful of recycling and composting. If cities can supply more recycling and composting bins, society can turns these “wastes” into beneficial recycling units. The UCS states, “U.S. waste-derived biomethane could produce nearly 4.5 billion gasoline equivalent gallons of fuel annually—enough energy for 10.4 million cars or 13.7 million homes” (UCS). Being more mindful of what we throw into trash cans can and will lower the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide and, because the recycled energy may power cars, decrease the rate at which carbon dioxide rises to an even faster pace.

Works Cited
"Causes of Climate Change." Marian Koshland Science Museum, www.koshland-science-museum.org/explore-the-science/earth-lab/causes, Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.
"Turning Trash into Low-Carbon Treasure (2015)." Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/better-biofuels/biomethane-energy#.V-2kt TtK6FI. Accessed 29 Sept. 2016.

I agree with you! Using bikes instead of cars is a great idea, because people would pollute less and exercise more! As someone who lives in the Bay Area, I see people driving everywhere, and I would love to visit the place you speak of in Oregon! I wonder how they have gotten so many people to bike around rather than drive. I've been to other countries that have tried and failed to limit the use of cars and prevent pollution. For example, from my experiences in Santiago, Chile, I've learned that people are not allowed to drive their cars on certain days, but the majority of the people who cannot drive those days just take a taxi... I wonder if they've considered riding a bike instead?

Instead of just trash cans we could use more composts. Organic materials decomposing in landfills produce large amounts of methane that is 70x more effective at keeping in heat than carbon dioxide. Composting is a better alternative because it not only greatly reduces the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, but it can be used to produce a soil enhancer, retain water, and can replace synthetic fertilizers. Composting makes the water, soil, and air cleaner and is a great alternative to trash cans.
SOURCE: http://www.lhpowerandlight.org/benefits … sting.html

I agree with you Aerielle! However, where I live, it is almost impossible to bike or walk everywhere, especially if you must commute downtown. that's why I think that biking and walking instead of walking should be encouraged in shorter commutes, but not a, say, 8 mile round-trip commute.

I completely agree with that Hannah. Some people live close enough that walking or biking would be a great option. However, many people live very far away from where they work/go to school and walking or biking would not really be an option. It would take me almost 5 hours to walk to my school through not so nice neighborhoods. Bikes are a great alternative to cars, but bikes can not replace cars for a lot of people.