Share a ride today

Whether people notice or not, every week or month seems to have something connected to its surname.

It is no longer just September, October or the first week of January. These days it is fancier, there are things like Water Ski Week and Mammogram Month.

This week, it is a laudable candidate - Rideshare Week. So everyone in the media rehashes what was said at this very week last year - the freeways are congested, the smog is making everyone's eyes water, one person per car is too few and cars are burning more gas than nature is capable of providing.

People need a mass-transit system. Everyone needs to start riding their bikes, walking or jogging to work. If people choose their cars, they need to pick up at least one of their co-workers before going to work and they need to remember to drop them off before going home.

Now frightening figures must be revealed so people become so depressed that they put their cars up for sale tomorrow, start walking everywhere, lose those extra 20 pounds, save the world from a doomed future.

According to the Southern California Association of Governments, which promotes Rideshare Week, by the year 2020, Southern California's population will grow from 15 million to 22 million.

People need to come to their senses. For this one week, if they cannot pick up their bikes, they should pick up a friend. It may not be so bad.