The results of a two-month experiment in getting around without my internal combustion engine

Living a green life wasn’t my conscious goal when I moved to the Central North Side in 1998 and began commuting Downtown on foot. I simply didn’t want to pay to park. I saved on gas and insurance, too, and walked at least an hour a day.

As my green consciousness grew, like the rest of the country’s, it became a calling. I reused then recycled everything possible, I began to compost, got a rain barrel and eschewed air conditioning.

With few exceptions, my old Volvo (Goldie) had become a weekend accessory. Each Saturday, she woke up for my Spanish class and the big grocery trip and, occasionally, took me to meet friends for a movie or dinner.

It started being fun figuring out ways to do more without her, but she was always there in a pinch. Lightly using a car is a different lifestyle than not having the option, or cutting yourself off from it.

Last winter, Goldie turned 22. She was as reliable as ever, though she had become a gas-guzzler and was exhibiting the eccentricities and creaks of the elderly. My mother in West Virginia worried. To give me no excuse for not visiting more often, she offered me her 2001 Toyota Camry at a bargain price. She would buy a new car when prices dropped.

At the time, I figured I would buy her car — but toyed with the idea of finding out if I really wanted to. If I was going to reject Goldie, a dignified and fine old car, maybe I should reject cars altogether.

Read the rest of this article»