Modern America has a fierce addiction to the big metal machines that roll across our many roads. While, in some countries, the amount of goats you have or your ability to throw a discus determines your status, in America, people are judged by the quality or quantity of their automobiles.

Unfortunately, unlike goats, cars are not self-sustaining vehicles; in fact, they require a lot of upkeep and a lot of coordination to keep running. The U.S. alone consumes 19.6 million barrels of oil per day. That’s more than 25% of the world’s daily supply. Not only is this immense amount of oil difficult to pay for and obtain, it is bad for the environment we live in. It’s no surprise then that the earth’s temperature is climbing at an unnatural rate. Every year animals are displaced from their environment, water creeps further and further inland on our coasts, and tumultuous hurricanes devastate domestic and foreign populations,-all as a result of global warming. So, do we really need to be driving our cars as much as we are?

The joys of such transportation devices as the bicycle, the skateboard, or even the human feet fade deeper into the past with every passing day. The average American would much rather amble on in their personalized gas guzzling box than pump forward on their bicycles. Why exert the energy necessary to gain momentum on a skateboard when all you need to do to get from zero to sixty, in less than five seconds, is rotate your ankle?

This is not to say that cars are unnecessary and should never be used. Cars are certainly necessary in the modern world, whether it be in commuting to work or driving across the country. But we do not need to get behind the wheel to travel a block. We do not need to spew all that exhaust just to get from one side of town to the other. If we, instead, use an oil free machine, we save ourselves money, save the environment, and improve our own health. We may even find ourselves arriving at our destination sooner than those who drove.

On bicycles and skateboards and our feet we don’t need to adhere to a road. We are free to meander from sidewalk, to street, to side path, to forest, enjoy our environment, and contribute to its health as well as our own.

So next time you’re about to key the ignition and huff a mile and a half to your friends house, try a different set of wheels, and see how little you have to sacrifice to save the country an extra barrel.