The EE Sampler - Jefferson County Public Schools

Brian Durham
Similarly, riding the bus, my other big contribution to our environment, became a regular,
enormous waste of natural resources. I rode the bus on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On
Tuesday and Thursday, the bus was always full from the time I got on until nearly the end of the
line, where I got off. On Fridays, though, I was often the only person—other than the driver—to
ride the entire length of the line. It was fun having such a big, comfortable ride, but that ride got
5 miles to the gallon of diesel fuel for one person—me. My car gets nearly 40 miles to the gallon
of gasoline. Very quickly you can see my dilemma: should I ride a gas guzzling, polluting bus, or
drive my car, which uses less gas and pollutes less?
I am not suggesting that I or anyone else should not recycle, use mass transit, or keep an
eye on our environment. Instead, I want everyone to think about this: sometimes the actions with
the best intentions have consequences we do not immediately understand and may not even be
able to predict.
After realizing that I consumed more natural resources because recycling was so easy, I
considered other ways to get, store, and use the materials I had been recycling. I still like soda,
but buy it either in glass or plastic. Glass can be very easily recycled without using as much
energy as aluminum. Plastic is a little harder to justify, but one two-liter bottle holds as much as
eight cans of soda, and recycling plastic bottles takes less energy than recycling aluminum.
I have thought of no easy answer for the bus problem. I have decided to keep taking the
bus. Perhaps others will see how convenient it is for me and join me, and make the miles-pergallon-per-person
issue less of a problem. Besides, the bus runs whether or not I drive. If I drive,
I pollute less and consume less than the bus does, but I am still adding to the bus’ pollution, and
using resources, too. The perfect solution—walking or biking—simply is not realistic right now.
I am considering other alternatives, including working in a school nearer to my home, or moving
closer to work.
Please remember that everything we do has consequences, even good things. Recycling
certainly feels good. So too does using alternative transportation. Be sure, though, to consider
every alternative and the effects they might have. Sometimes doing a good thing is not the best
thing.
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