I don't think that anyone is asking for a return to nature, but America has shown that adopting the automobile as the primary mode of transportation and adapting all of society wholesale for it has serious side effects. Rather than promote it as (essentially) the only option, automobiles should be a tool in a toolkit of transportation methods.
I didn't see how terrible our system is until I moved to an area that is friendly to walkers, well friendlier than the giant pickup truck havens of the Midwest where I lived most of my life.
Someone above mentioned how this type of dependency problem has happened since the first tool -- I don't think so. The problems I deal with daily are drivers who are staring at their smartphone as they turn, or people simply trying to beat the pedestrian across the crosswalk. I've had moments where my life flashed before my eyes more than I can count, and every single time the driver waves their hand at me like it's my fault. I'd like for them to get out of their mobile uterus so we can discuss this like adults, but instead I'm left yelling at their big metal machine, and they're yelling at the interior. And this is in a "walker friendly" area.
