Comment and Environment

Going car-free was painful – but you should do it too

No planet B | My car is draining my finances and harming the planet, so I am finally giving it up. Though it will be difficult to adjust, you should consider doing it as well, writes Graham Lawton

By Graham Lawton

4 March 2020

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LAST weekend, I said goodbye to another dear old friend. We had 12 fine years together but our relationship was becoming dysfunctional. Unwanted emissions and serious health issues were the final straw, leaving me with no choice but to make a trip to the knacker’s yard.

I am now car-free for the first time in 20 years, and it feels strange. When I gave up meat, I did so mainly for environmental reasons, and I didn’t miss it at all. I would like to say the same about my car, but I can’t. It was first and foremost a…