''Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile'' is a 2000 non-fiction book by Katie Alvord, with a foreword by Stephanie Mills. It was first published on June 1, 2000, through

New Society Publishers Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. is a Canadian book publishing firm. Douglas & McIntyre was founded by James Douglas and Scott McIntyre in 1971 as an independent publishing company based in Vancouver. Reorganized with new owners in 2008 as D&M P ...

. In the book Alvord proposes that

automobiles A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

have become more troublesome than helpful, as she argues that automobiles contribute to issues like

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

and

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

as well as

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...

and

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

Synopsis

In the book Alvord argues that air pollution from cars is directly responsible for damaging the health of humans because of contaminants in pollution and indirectly through the destruction of the environment and contribution to global warming. She also argues that the destruction from oil spills can wreak havoc on entire ecosystems and that purchasing and maintaining a personal automobile is expensive. Alvord proposes alternatives to owning a car such as walking, cycling, and

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

, and that utilizing these alternatives can save money, raise self-reliance, and promote exercise. She states that by modifying land use, financial policies, and urban infrastructure, efficiency can be increased worldwide and society can learn to function without a car in every household. Alvord also claims that the ease of the Internet and decreasing phone prices makes it easier for people to effectively work from home or hold video conferences online, which could save businesses money.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' praised the book, writing that "Even for readers who are not ready to permanently abandon their auto, this book provides a wealth of ideas for unbuckling the seat belts and enjoying the fresh air."

References

External links

* {{official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014150/http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3683 2000 non-fiction books Car-free movement

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

External links