We have.
arrived at the threshold of the 21st century where nothing less than a global call to action is necessary. We.
can continue on our current path, which will ultimately lead to severe health problems, loss of valuable.
resources, extinctions, and a wholesale denial of contaminated areas, or we can take positive, radical steps.
to break with the past. .
Regarding unsustainable communities and lifestyles, the blame lies mainly with two specific phenomena,.
American's love affair with the automobile, and the "American Dream" of owning a home and land outside of.
the city. A car-dependent lifestyle introduces numerous problems and exacerbates the dilemma of exurb.
migration. With so many cars on the road, they become congested, leading to the need for new, longer, and.
wider roads that encroach on existing ecosystems and animal habitats. With roads and highways stretching.
farther and farther from the city, suburbanites can now live at greater distances from the cities requiring a.
need for increased fossil fuel production. This increased consumption and burning of fossil fuels increases air.
and water pollution and contributes to the greenhouse effect. It is estimated that out of the millions of.
underground storage tanks of gasoline and diesel fuel across the U.S., over 300,000 have failed,.
contaminating the surrounding ground water tables (Nebel, Wright 490). In the case of the fuel additive,.
Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE), contaminated wells have to be shut down entirely. .
Many cities fail to meet air-quality standards even with improved pollution controls.
