Marshall+H’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

Use Your Feet So about a month ago I got my license. Before that I relied on ether my bike or my parents to drive me somewhere. Typically my parents were too busy to drive me, so I took my bike. I used to ride to Cabrillo everyday and in 8th grade, for whatever reason (probably to go faster), I decided I wanted to get a cheap road bike. From 8th grade on, cycling was not only my way of transportation but my one true passion. If I wasn't at school, doing homework or at cross country practice I was ether on my bike or on some website reading about bikes. Last year I bought all of the components and a frame and built my dream bike, on a high school-I-have-no-job-budget.
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Anyway, after being a bike nerd for five years getting, my license was kind of a shock. I could get somewhere without being all sweaty and gross upon arrival. This is great for going to a friends house, but I soon realized I was taking it too far. For example, last Sunday I had to put something in the mail box. There are two mail boxes within a half mile radius of my house, instead of taking my bike I drove. The sad thing is that I probably could have done it faster had I been on the bike.

The America we live in relies far too heavily upon automobiles. The reliance of cars in America, and the world and general has greatly contributed to the greenhouse effect, or global warming. Now you may say “How can me riding my bike or walking to the mail box save the plane?” And you're right. The effects of one person has little to no effect on the world as a whole, but what if you changed someones mind? If your actions cause someone to make a change thats now two people and that person told two people and they told three and soon everyone is walking, skateboarding, biking, and that would have an impact. If everyone did there part and did what’s responsible for society and not what was easier, the would would be a better place.

Now trust me I know how hard it is to have to leave thirty minutes earlier than you would have to if you were in a car to get somewhere if you were biking, but riding a bike isn't the only thing you can do. According to the American Public Transportation Association, “A single person, commuting alone by car, who switches a 20-mile round trip commute to existing public transportation, can reduce his or her annual CO2 emissions by 4,800 pounds per year, equal to a 10% reduction in all greenhouse gases produced by a typical two-adult, two-car household.” Ten percent doesn't seem like that much but it is. Just think if you would have gotten a higher score on the last test you took by 10 percent, exactly.

During the school year I will continue to drive to school, but during the summer I plan on riding my bike to my volunteer job, cross country practice, and the mail box. I encourage all of you to think next time you decide to go somewhere, how long would it take to walk, skateboard, scooter, rollerblade, pogo stick or bike there. Because when you do you're not only doing your body a favor, you're doing the world a favor. The America I want to live in is one that doesn't rely so heavily on automobiles for transportation but one that can use their heads for prior planning and their own two feet for transportation.


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American Public Transportation Association http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/greenhouse_brochure.pdf