Being Blue at PSU

By Liam Sadlier Car dependency is a term that reflects the favoring of cars over other means of transportation, be that public transportation or pedestrian and bike travel. While car dependency is common throughout many parts of the world, in America, cars dominate the culture and way of life of most of its residents. As of 2020, over 90% of U.S. households have access to at least one vehicle (bankrate.com, 2022). This is not always out of desire, as unless one lives in a major city or large town, cars become a necessity for everyday life. Additionally, even in these cities and large towns, the streets are often packed with cars from commuters and visitors. Car dependency leads to a lack of freedom, and the removal of this dependency will mitigate the negative consequences of cars while providing a variety of benefits for Americans. Prior to the introduction of the private automobile, electric streetcars dominated the public transit of many major American cities. These streetcars remai...

By Bianca Walder Bear Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante are located in southern Utah. The monuments were created by Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, respectively, using the Antiquities Act in 2016 and 1996. This act allows for the President to designate an area as a national monument without Congress's approval. It's been used to create parks that have eventually moved up to higher levels of federal protection, such as Acadia National Park, Smoky Mountains National park, and the Grand Canyon. Created in 1906, the Antiquities Act gave then President Theodore Roosevelt the power to protect areas that were in danger of being developed for commercial profits faster than through an act of Congress. While the act allows for the creation of federal lands that are of cultural, historical, or natural significance, it says nothing about reducing their size. However, in 2017, Donald Trump used the Antiquities Act to dramatically reduce the area of Bear Ears Nat...