Should We Ban Cars?

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Repercussions

Would banning cars be all good news?

It's been 100 years since Henry Ford rolled out the first mass-produced car – the Model T. Since then the car has steadily influenced just about every part of modern society.

Though the British car industry has been in steady decline for many years, there are few industries that aren't somehow dependent upon cars for their survival. Similarly, there are many individuals who rely on their cars to get them to work and get their kids to school; they would be stuck if cars were banned.

And it's not just the little people that would be affected, even governments stand to lose out. Governments generate significant revenues from the car industry and from drivers. Ban cars outright and the economic effects across the board would be incalculable.

There would be another repercussion – on global politics. Just about every aspect of our future energy needs can be met with clean, renewable energy sources; all except for transportation that is. The reason for this is that there are a multitude of ways to generate electricity cleanly, but currently no viable alternatives to liquid hydrocarbon fuels, such as petrol. This is essentially what keeps the oil industry in business. Getting rid of cars means dependence upon oil and hence upon the oil-producing nations suddenly goes up in a puff of smoke. How would this affect the world?

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