The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round, All Through the Town

Many people have called the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico "Obama's Katrina". This great environmental disaster is not the only environmental problem Obama faces. While the oil spill is much more urgent as it affects marine life and the human population presently, global warming is still at a constant rise and we must act now to try to slow the rate and alleviate the problem.

The burning of fossil fuel is one of the greatest contributers to the global warming problem. According to LivingSpace, humans pump about 7 billion tons of carbon into the biosphere yet it can only absorb 4 billion tons of CO2. Transportation counts for 25% of the world's green house emissions and 33% of the United States.

The United States' green house emission problem is in fact largely due to the automobile. We have remade our environment for the car. As more people leave the cities and move further away into the suburbs, more people must now rely on the car to get them to work.

"The automobile creates distance and then offers itself as the solution to the problem it has created". - LivingSpace

There are currently about 245 million cars on the road in the United States and about 800 million cars around the world. With much of the cars traveling to the cities for work, air pollution is choking the cities due to exhaust. 30% of air pollution resides in cities which degrades the health of people and eats away at stonework of historic buildings.

However, there is a way to help reduce this problem. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reduces energy consumption and harmful CO2 green house gas emissions that damage the environment.

• It uses less energy and produces less pollution
• Can reduce CO2 emissions by 37 million metric tons annually
• Reduces congestion in cities and highways

APTA has concluded that:

"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. This is equal to a 10% reduction in all greenhouse gases produced by a typical two adult, two car household"

 Fortunately for visitors and residents in the DC Metropolitan Area, DC offers many ways in which one can travel throughout the city and reach Dupont.

The most popular public transportation is the Metro System. DC's metro system is the second busiest rapid transportation systems in the US in number of passengers after New York City. About 215.3 million trips a year or 727,684 trips per weekday. Fares vary on distance traveling and the time of day.

The metro stations were originally designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese. These stations were designed in the brutalist design of the late 20th century modern architecture. Brutalist designs are normally buildings that are formed with striking repetitive angular shapes and are made with concrete. This can be seen in much of the buildings in the downtown Foggy Bottom area.

The Dupont Station is created with such a design but is also unique as an inscription from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass 1876 is inscribed on the marble to the entrance of the Metro.

Thus in silence in dreams' projections,

Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals;

The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,

I sit by the restless all dark night - some are so young

Some suffer so much - I recall the experience sweet and sad...

Another easy way to get to Dupont is to use the Metrobus, operated by the DC Metro System. It uses the Metro Smartrip card as well as change. It is fueled by natural gas and will take you pretty much anywhere in the city. 

However, the best way to reach Dupont is by foot or by bicycle. Whether you are coming from Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights or Shaw, walking and biking is a great way to experience the city, take in the beauty of the different communities and get some great exercise.