London allows many ways to travel and get around the city such as walking, driving, and public transportation. The majority of middle school students either walk or take a personal car. A recent Scroll survey shows that 25 percent walk while 27 percent take a personal car in the morning to get to school. These actions can affect many things, like our environment, that students don’t know about.
After school, 47 percent of students walk after school which is a large increase. Seventh grade student Berto Wadsworth said, “My mom drives me in the morning because I live kind of far away. After school, I walk and take the tube so I can stay after school with my friends as long as possible but after sports my mom drives me because I am tired.”
Other students say they just walk because they live close enough. Mason Yu who is in the eighth said, “I walk to school and back because I live so close there is no point to drive.”
This is a very different point of view from another eighth grader, Julia Laxer. “I usually walk in the morning but if I am ever late I will just take a cab. Also if it is winter and it gets dark earlier I like to take a cab because I feel safer.”
People can be mugged or pick-pocketed at any time in London but especially at night. In the yearly safety assembly, the head of security Mr. Roi Yefet advised that in order to stay safe students should keep belongings hidden and walk in busy places to avoid being a target.
Seventh grader Patrick Gallagher said, “I walk when I am home alone or if I wake up early but sometimes my mom drives me when I am either late or I sleep in.”
Although walking and driving is very popular, some students take the school bus as well as public transport buses or the tube. Eighth grade student Javi McGowan said, “I get to school by public bus because this is the quickest and most efficient way for me to get to school.”
The reason why most of the students take either the school or public bus is because it saves the most time. This is also the case with another eighth-grade student. Nitin Rao said, “I take the school bus because I live farther away from the school than most people and I just find it much more convenient in the morning. It also gives me an extra thirty minutes of sleep.”
Clearly whatever option students choose, they have a reason. The most common choice is for their personal comfort and which one will make their life the easiest.
However that choice affects our environment greatly. Climate change is caused by humans when they increase greenhouse gas emissions. The most common greenhouse gas in carbon dioxide. In human activities, the second largest contributor to carbon dioxide emission is transportation. Fourteen percent of the United State’s carbon dioxide emissions were from transportation and the biggest contributor to that 14 percent is cars. The way kids choose to get to school in the morning impacts the world.
