I posted an article today at Examiner.com about how a popular coal tar based pavement sealant is found in the dust of many homes and contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been proven to lower IQs and may also cause skin problems and immune system disorders.
Let's take it a bit further and look at the bigger issue than just the fact that these PAHs are bad for us. The Discovery News article that I used as a source for my article mentions that coal tar sealants are popularly used on parking lots. And parking lots are used for... that's right. CARS.
The more people who have cars, the more we're going to need spaces to put them. Think for a moment - every car in regular use today requires at least one and possibly up to three parking spaces - for home, work, and stores that the drivers frequent.
And if the substances that we're using to make the parking lots are making us dumber and possibly making us more susceptible to disease... doesn't it behoove us to do something to reduce the number of parking lots? And doesn't it also behoove us to do something to keep cars out of places as much as possible to reduce the NEED for parking lots?
Let's take a look at the things we can do to reduce the need for cars:
1. Encourage cycling as a transportation means.
2. Promote and FUND better public transportation.
3. Stop widening existing roads and building new ones. Period.
These three measures will work together to make the need for parking spaces be greatly reduced.
People, not speed.
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