americans the selfish, and the slow trend of carpooling

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It is apparent that many growing cities often lack mass transit systems that can aid in reducing communting congestion, smog, and ultimately the average person's carbon footprint. Given the increasing cost of fuel, I am appalled by the number of solo individuals that I see commuting to work on a daily basis in their vehicles. These are folks that I see commuting both to and from work at the same time of the day going to practically the same locations. Many of these citizens live in the same subdivisions or in very close proximity to each other and their work hours are very similar as evidenced by their presence during morning and afternoon rush hours. I am sure that others have identified the same scenario in many regions of the country where folks commute an average of 10 to 50 miles per day for work. These solo commuters serve as a harsh reminder of where we are as Americans as a whole. It seems that most Americans remain committed to avoiding our neighbors, minimizing interaction, and escaping to our caves called home. There has been a tremendous loss of community in America. Now is the time to join together and make a committment to reducing fuel consumption and optimize cost savings by creating more car and van pools. I understand that there are often outlying factors that could limit the ability to share a commute; however, there are more people that can share a commute than cannot. If there were few that could not then rush hour would not be as consistent part of the day. Home owners associations and community organizers alike must rise up to aid in this effort and lets show the world that we are not as selfish as it appears we are driving riding solo in our SUV's, listening to our ipods, as we whip into the garages of our McMansions in suburbia.