 Li & Jonathan Watkins in Poundbury, England. Photo by Natalie Wynne Pace. World Car-Free Day, September 22. On Monday, September 22, 2025, people around the world will leave the car in the garage and get around on bikes, public transportation and by walking. So, can you go a day without a car? A week? The great news about doing this on September 22 each year is that it gives us a visceral understanding of the physical health benefits of walking and biking, including improved air quality and even mood enhancement. Perhaps the best upside is that we can save thousands in transportation costs if we are able to make our lives less dependent on single-occupancy vehicles. Have you ever taken the time to add up just how much you are spending on your car? 7 Benefits of Walking or Biking to Errands (Including Saving Thousands in Our Budget) Save $10,000 or More Every Year Transportation is The Biggest CO2 Contributor Health & Obesity Why Our CO2 Footprint is 3X as Large as Many Europeans and 10X That of Africans Air Quality Pollinators, Parks & Trees Cooler Summers And here is more information on each point. Save $10,000 or More Every Year The average person could save up to $10,000 or more, simply by getting rid of their car. When you add up the cost of the car payment, the fuel, the car insurance, maintenance, parking and parking tickets, many of us are spending a lot more than we might realize on transportation. Many cities are making it easier and safer to get around by biking or walking, especially for local errands. In Santa Monica, California, former Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer had 5 bikes and only 1 car for 4 adults in the family. The savings were dramatic, even though they took rideshare or rented cars for destinations that they couldn’t get to easily on public transportation, or by walking or biking. Learn more in my interview with Ted Winterer. What would you do with an extra $10,000 more each year in your budget? Surely there is something we love more than visiting the gas pump. Transportation is The Biggest CO2 Contributor Transportation is the biggest CO2 contributor, and is why Americans, Australians, Canadians and people living in the Middle East have a CO2 footprint that is 3X more than most Europeans and over 10X more than most Africans.  Source: EPA.gov Electric vehicles can reduce CO2 emissions, if they are powered by solar, or if the car owner lives in a green state that is powered by renewables rather than natural gas or coal. Visit SpotForCleanEnergy.org to check out the power generation sources of your state.
However, electric vehicles do not solve the problem of gridlock (waste of time) or traffic accidents. Vehicular accidents are the largest contributors to teen deaths. Amsterdam wanted better air quality and safer roads back in the 1970s. The movement was led by mothers who were grief-stricken and horrified at the number of children who were being killed by frustrated, aggressive drivers.  Amsterdam gridlock in the 1970s. By making biking the main mode of transportation in Amsterdam, the air is cleaner, roads are safer, and citizens are healthier, as a result of getting more exercise. In 2023, about 16% of adults were obese in the Netherlands.  A mother commuting with her kids in Amsterdam. Health & Obesity In the US, obesity is an epidemic. According to the CDC, 73.6% of American adults are overweight and 40.3% are obese. The U.S. spent $3.8 trillion on health care in 2019 – 17.7% of our GDP. This is far higher than any other country – with worse outcomes. Exercise is an antidote to so much. Active individuals are less likely to suffer from many of the diseases that plague people who struggle with obesity. Physical activity also reduces the risk of depression. Why Our CO2 Footprint is 3X as Large as Many Europeans (and 10X That of Africans) Africans have the lowest CO2 footprint per capita, followed by Europeans. China gets a lot of flak for having the highest total CO2 emissions in the world, but on a per capita basis it’s lower than the United States, Australia, Canada and the Middle East. In 2022, China's per capita CO2 emissions were 8.89 tons per person, which is significantly less than the 14.21 tons per person in the United States, 14.99 tons in Canada, 15.01 tons in Australia, 18.89 tons per person in Saudi Arabia and 35.48 tons/pp in Qatar. China is also the factory to the world. So, our consumption choices are part of their CO2 problem. Trucking goods around the world is also a major CO2 contributor. If we look at a map of all the trains that are available to Europeans for travel, it’s easy to see why many Europeans have such a low CO2 footprint. Many European cities are walkable and increasingly available to bikes. Most have a very popular and affordable metro system, as well.  Air Quality Milan, Italy was recently named the most walkable city in the world. However, in my recent trip to Milan, which is a city anybody would love, the air quality was one of the worst in the world – registering unhealthful for all three days that I was there in March of 2025. Why is that? Milan is surrounded by many factories and livestock farms, in addition to being in a valley, which traps the pollutants. Trucks, tractors, and Perelli tires are manufactured near Milan, among other auto parts. Any city with a lot of ICE* vehicles, factories, or conventional livestock farms, is going to have poor air quality. The more that we can make it easy for people to shop for local errands close to home without jumping in a car, the better air quality we’re going to have. Working from home also has the advantage of lowering CO2 emissions on the commute, as well as giving workers extra time in their day. Finally, whenever we purchase anything, it is a good idea to think of the product from cradle to grave. How much CO2 did it require to make the product? What communities are suffering as a result of that? How far did the product travel before showing up on our doorstep? Can we extend our notion of car-free on Sept. 22nd to not having anything delivered to us? *Internal combustion engine Pollinators, Parks & Trees Creating walkable communities often leads to planting more trees and native vegetation. The color green is a mood enhancer, as is walking in nature. Plants and trees absorb CO2 and provide more oxygen. Pollinators and birds can thrive when their shelters and food sources are prolific. (We need them for our food.) And there is one other huge advantage to having more green space in our community. (See below.) Cooler Summers City temperatures can be reduced on average at least 10°F by having more trees and green space and less concrete and asphalt. Trees provide shade, reflect sunlight (instead of absorbing the heat as urban jungles do) and cool the air through evapotranspiration. Bottom Line If we can all go one day without a car, maybe that will inspire us to make it easier and safer for us to walk and bike, at least for local errands, in our own communities. Once we start enjoying the extra money in our budget, the cooler summers and the cleaner air, we might find ways to champion cleaner transportation options. Will you go one day without a car on World Car-Free Day on September 22? Please use #EarthGratitude and tag us on Instagram.com/Earth_Gratitude and Instagram.com/NatalieWynnePace, so that we can like and share your reel! Read my book The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us to learn more ways to live a rich and green life. Check out the 5-part docuseries at EarthGratitude.org for information on:
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