Gas prices at the pump are soaring. Right now, many Americans are having conversations about the trade-offs of environmentalism. Some environmental organizations are promoting policies that make Europe and Ukraine more dependent upon Russia and that enrich Russian oligarchs. People are also reconsidering how much they are willing to pay for environmental benefits during a time of war.
Although we are an environmental organization, our cause doesn’t have a cost trade-off. There’s another way to “stay green” without propping up Putin AND without driving up gas prices even further. You might be surprised to find that supporting school choice is one of the greenest decisions you can make.
A quick look at the census data of most larger cities in the US shows a common theme. Families with school-age children often move to areas with the best public schools, but these areas are rarely the downtown communities where parents work. Take Atlanta, for example. Known for horrific traffic, it is also known for its excellent suburban public schools. Good suburban schools, weak urban schools, and traffic congestion are all intertwined. Parents find the best school for their child, and then they pay for that choice, often with a long gas-guzzling commute.
But what if families could live near work and have access to high-quality education? What if parents didn’t have to sit in the traffic for hours on end? Research suggests that many families that currently move when their children reach school-age would remain in more diverse and convenient neighborhoods if they had more educational options. Supporting school choice options and policies is pro-environment and anti-traffic. Less commuting means fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less demand for gas.
People who don’t have children often think that school issues are not relevant to them. But if you don’t like being stuck in traffic, if you don’t like high gas prices, if you are an environmentalist who can’t get comfortable supporting policies that benefit Putin, welcome to our environmental school-choice cause.
American car and transportation culture play a huge role in school decisions and vice versa. If so many families were not forced to commute or to move to the “right neighborhood,” traffic patterns would change. Considering the effects of our daily transportations habits is a valuable step right now. Join us in being green without any of the other trade-offs.