A Response to Wired.com’s Article “Germany Has Proven The Modern Automobile Must Die”

While studying for last week’s Current Events quiz, one particular article stuck out underneath my Google search pertaining to the matter. The original headline read, “To Confront Climate Change, The Modern Automobile Must Die.” Especially considering I was riding a bus at the time, the headline was shocking. It wasn’t until a week later, though, that I looked deeper into the article. The main subject of the article was new scientific research from Germany proving that modern modes of transportation are the largest emission of carbon dioxide. According to Heinrich Strößenreuther, a German mobility scientist, to meet German emission targets, half of all German car owners and users would have to switch to biking, ride sharing, or taking public transportation. This was alarming to me, so I did a bit my own research. In 2016, the total number of registered vehicles in Germany was 45,071,209. Since half of car users would have to switch to a different mode of transportation, at least 22.5 million people would have to give up their cars. If the same regulation was put in place in the U.S., 31 million people would go carless. To implement this would require many new government regulations, such as banning certain kinds of cars, and dumping funds into improved infrastructure. For Germany (who has the fourth highest GDP), this might not be a huge inconvenience. But for larger and less financially and politically stable countries, it would be more than a small hassle. Not to mention, our world essentially runs on cars and modern transportation. It’s the reason we’re able to get around, and largely aids in the spread of information. Removing cars would be a detriment to society and would not be as beneficial as some news outlets say it would. But did the journalists do their jobs in writing the story? From the outside, some people would say yes. The journalists included important facts, quotes from scientists, and the story was relevant and important to a wide variety of readers.

However, this story was blown way out of proportion. To any sane person in tune with today's culture, the thought of getting rid of the modern automobile sounds crazy - and it is. Yes, global climate change is an issue that we need to be doing more about. However, instead of educating people, all this story is doing is shocking them.

To be specific, they have violated the third yardstick of journalism, explanation. This article could have been much improved if they had explained the big picture and added more relevant information, instead of just this isolated event. In order to better serve and inform the public, this news organization could’ve effectively explained science facts and made the headline calmer and less startling.

To sum it all up, the point of journalism is not to shock or scare our readers/viewers. Instead, journalists should focus on reporting all the facts, explaining every situation, and making sure our audience has as much accurate information that is available. By Lily Wobbe

To read the full story from Wired.com: https://www.wired.com/story/germany-proves-cars-must-die/