This is my contribution for Blog Action Day 2007

Picture 1

Picture 2
See those fogs in the background of picture no.1, well it isn’t a fog actually, it is the haze of pollutions in Jakarta. Now, you can see from the picture no.2 that the traffic were mild, since it’s still Idul Fitri. Most of the offices are still off and the employees are taking vacation. Whether taking a road trip to their relatives out of town (or what we called ‘mudik’) or just staying home enjoying quality times with family.
The point is the traffic in Jakarta this past two days are delinquently clear and quiet. No flocks of motorcycle, just a few running around. The traffic is so smooth that I managed to go to the office this morning in about 40 minutes when in normal working days it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. The roads were seamlessly clear.
Yet the haze is still there. Good God. Is this how Jakarta has become? Yet in this holiday where less cars and motors are around, the pollution levels are still somewhat high.
A couple of days ago, the newly appointed governor of Jakarta, Mr. Fauzi Bowo said that the pollution level in Jakarta were less this past few days compare to normal work days. Yes, it was lessen but not necessarily in a moderate level.
On his campaign to become the new governor, he point out a couple of things, a workaround to this pollution problem in Jakarta: a monthly Car Free Day, Bicycle as a Feeder for Bus way, car control mechanism. This is actually some point to lessen the traffic in Jakarta, which in the end will lessen the pollution level too in some ways.
As you might expect, for me, my solution to lessen the pollution level is using Bicycle as an alternative transportation mode. This is a start.
You may think, “Gosh, I live in Bekasi and I worked at Pluit, it’s miles away! How the heck will I work, when all of my energy is consumed while I’m cycling, dude?” Yes, I concur. But every effort needs a sacrifice for a start. Trust me, after you cycle about 4-5 times, you will eventually get used to it. The important (yet the hardest) thing is to try.
Okay, if bicycle isn’t your choice, try mass transportation! Haa! I know, mass transit in Jakarta is a joke, once again I agree with this. Nevertheless, like it or not this option is considerably a better option than using your own vehicle. I know that the government should fix the quality of our mass transportation, hey, that’s why they build bus way, right? Whether you hate it so much with its construction that made traffic more complicated, yet we must condone this sacrifice for the greater good of good transportation. You can beg to differ with me on this one. But hey, I told you I prefer using bicycle then mass transit right?
So overall, pollution and traffic in Jakarta are getting worse and worse. But stop relying and blaming government for this problem. Try to fix it by yourself, use mass transportation or use a bicycle if you don’t mind since it’s far healthier. Do not litter. Start from yourself don’t rely on others. There is still hope for a clean air in this city. Make it a beautiful city again. I love you Jakarta!