Extreme Commuting Still Commonplace

There are more extreme commuters (a minimum of 1.5 hrs round trip) than ever, with a 95% increase since 1990, says Michael Graham Richard at Treehugger.

1 minute read

April 7, 2010, 10:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Richard writes, "Extreme commuting has high environmental costs, because it takes a lot of energy to move people long distances (and it's worse since most of them are alone in their vehicles), but there are also high health and social costs. The stress adds up and can lead to health problems ("raised blood pressure, musculoskeletal disorders, increased hostility, lateness, absenteeism, and adverse effects on cognitive performance"), as well as family problems (especially for parents with young children)."

He notes that there could easily be another category of extreme extreme commuters, since lots of people regularly commute more than the minimum suggested in the Census.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in Treehugger

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