CONTENTS
Lamentable Effects
Of The Automobile
RALPH SLOVENKO
N
early every country
proudly reports the
number of
automobiles owned by its
citizens as a mark of progress.
But, is a large number of
automobiles truly a sign that
the people are doing well?
Who, after all, really likes liv-
ing in a place inundated with
automobiles? The automobile
has desecrated the land,
polluted the air and taken an
awesome toll in human lives.
The automobile makes
enormous territorial
demands. In the United
States, simply accom-
modating all the cars now re-
quires 40 to 50 percent of the
land area of a city. The
number of motor vehicles in
14,000 Israelis
have died in auto
accidents since
1948, far
exceeding Israel's
casualties from
war and terrorism.
the United States rose by 2.2
million annually in the
1950s, by 3.7 million a year in
the 1960s, and by 4.4 million
a year in the current decade
— or five times as fast as the
population.
Building lots are dwarfed
by the space allocated for
parking. Apartment com-
plexes are surrounded, not by
grass or fountains, but by
parking lots. Shopping
centers and places of employ-
ment and entertainment are
built where there is virgin
land so as to have space for
parking. The more they are
spaced out, the more they are
unreachable except by private
car. Once green areas are
turned into parking lots.
America the Beautiful has
been turned into America the
Parking Lot. The national
flower has become the con-
crete cloverleaf. As one ar-
chitect put it, "God's own
country" is now "God's own
junkyard." The pusher is dif-
ferent but between cocaine
and cars, we have become a
junkie nation.
Automobiles contribute
over 90 percent of the carbon
monoxide in the air. By far,
the major culprit in the
amount of ozone in the at-
Ralph Slovenko is professor of
law and psychiatry at Wayne
State University Law School.
mosphere is the automobile.
Each vehicle emits an
average of one ton of con-
taminants per year. Los
Angeles was named as a place
for the angels but now it is
not possible there even to see
the sky. It ranks (with Mexico
City) as the world's largest
open gas chamber.
People spend more and
more of their time ensnarled
in traffic, travelling long
distances, driving themselves
ragged. They spend more
time and energy commuting
than working. Billions of
man-hours are wasted daily.
The world's toll of traffic in-
juries is approaching one
million deaths each year. In
the United States, the
automobile kills nearly
50,000 people per year (that's
137 per day) and seriously in-
jures another two million.
Auto accidents are the
leading cause of death among
Americans in the first half of
their normal lifespan.
Of course, Americans are
not the only people with traf-
fic problems. Bad as it is, it is
worse in many places. Israeli
black humor has it that
Arabs could easily destroy the
Jewish nation without the
need for war or combat, just
supply Israelis with more and
more cars. The problem of
road safety in Israel (as in
many other countries) has
reached crisis proportions.
Israel (after Hong Kong)
has the highest density of
cars per highway mile. As a
rule, the greater the density
of cars, the greater the
likelihood of casualty. The
"population explosion" of cars
in Israel — 50,000 additional
cars every year — has
resulted in staggering
fatalities. In a population of
barely 4.5 million, up to 500
people are now being killed
every year. Fourteen thou-
sand Israelis have died in
auto accidents since 1948, far
exceeding Israel's casulaties
from war and terrorism.
According to figures recent-
ly released by the Israeli Cen-
tral Bureau of Statistics,
there were 15,455 traffic ac-
cidents in 1988, claiming 500
dead and 22,570 injured. Two
Knesset members were re-
cently killed in road ac-
cidents. In Israel, where peo-
ple do not drink, the blame is
put on the temperament of
the people, on road conditions
or on the sun.
To be sure, the automobile
is the mainstay of our
economy, but it has become
Continued on Page 10
NOTEBOOK
20
Aids Factor
GARY ROSENBLATT
The dreaded disease is hitting
closer to the Jewish community.
CLOSE-UP
The Jewish Father
24
ARTHUR J. MAGIDA
No longer the patriarchs, dads
are groping toward a new identity.
24
AROUND TOWN
49
Breaking Ground
Temple Israel's ground breaking
was a summertime holiday.
SPORTS
52
Little League
RICHARD PEARL
The great American game impacts
kids and parents alike.
ENTERTAINMENT
61
Master Of Fun
RITA CHARLESTON
Jack Carter's clowning has taken
him from drama to the comedy stage.
49
LIFESTYLES
Community Volunteer
84
CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
After escaping the Holocaust,
Margot Colville gives her time to kids.
DEPARTMENTS
30
38
41
42
50
74
80
86
88
94
96
97
Inside Washington
Life In Israel
Community
Synagogues
Education
Fine Arts
For Women
Teens
Engagements
Births
Single Life
Classified Ads
CANDLELIGHTING
52
8:53 p.m.
June 16, 1989
10:01 p.m.
Sabbath ends June 17
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
7
]MiaM
OPINION