With over 6,400 vehicles travelling to the U of M each day, thousands of kilograms of CO2 is being emitted into the atmosphere, adding to environmental problems.
In his book A New Green History of the World, Clive Ponting explains how the invention of cars has resulted in the production of carbon dioxide that can lead to problems such as eye irritations and difficulty breathing.
According to calculations done by Dr. Feiyue Wang, a professor from the department of environment and geography and the department of chemistry, if a student has, on average, a 40-minute car drive to school and back per day, they would be producing about 10 kg of CO2 daily.
The U of M has a combined total of 6,400 parking stalls on campus. If all these stalls are filled, just once a day that would equate to 64,000 kg of CO2 daily, and 19,200,000 kg annually.
Norma Carswell, Manager of U of M Parking and Shuttle Services, said, “With vehicles continually coming and going, there are certainly more vehicles parking on campus during the day than the 6,400 stalls that are available. There is an ongoing ebb and flow of parking in the lots.”
Until the transit system in Winnipeg sees improvement, even students that choose to drive to school can help the environment by choosing fuel efficient cars or making use of programs such as UMSU’s Carpool.ca, or better yet, if possible, walking to school. In each situation students can find small ways to reduce their impact on the environment.
Daniel said, “We can have a positive or a negative impact on the environmental state of the world through our day-to-day actions.”
It is important to analyse why students are making the transportation choices that they do and to find ways in which we can reduce the amount of CO2 emitted from travelling to the university.
Students generally fall into one of four transportation categories:
“The Car Driver”
Jared Suderman, a U1 student who commutes from outside the city, says he chooses to drive to school because it is the most convenient method.
However, Suderman says, “As much as possible I try to put these thoughts [reducing our environmental footprint] into action when considering my mode of transportation. I drive a small car that has a very efficient engine in an effort to reduce the amount of fuel I use and the amount of gases I put into the atmosphere.”
“The Transit Rider”
Bethlehem Daniel, a fourth-year arts student, says she chooses to take the bus because she has no other option of transportation.
However, she did say that “Although environmental issues aren’t the driving force behind the method of transportation I take, it has given me pleasure to know that I am taking part in the reduction of carbon emissions and preserving the environment through taking public transportation.”
Daniel thinks that Winnipeg has an adequate transit system, but that buses should be running more frequently and shouldn’t have such time-consuming routes.
“It shouldn’t be more than a 30-minute wait, and a 45-minute ride to get home when it normally takes a 10-minute car ride.”
“The Rollerblader”
Eldon Wiebe, a third-year arts student, chooses to rollerblade to school because of its efficiency and low-cost.
“I feel good about having a mode of transportation that doesn’t harm the atmosphere.”
Wiebe, who also uses transit on occasion, says it could definitely use some improvement, primarily by increasing bus frequency, having more heated shelters and a rapid transit system, which provides major areas of the city with faster routes of transportation.
“The Carpooler”
Heather Kuppe, a U1 student who drives a small, fuel efficient car to school, also chooses to car pool.
“I’m sure that if more people carpooled, the environment would benefit. [ . . . ] Carpools and buses can help to reduce the emissions we put out, but we’ll never be able to eliminate them.”
Kuppe also said that, even though she drives a lot, she still shows concern for the environment making small life style changes, such as turning off her car when she is stopped, instead of idling.
