Driving in Oregon & Bike Riding in Phoenix

I recently got my driver’s license, after learning how to drive only a few months ago. The strange part to meis, that I should have gotten it over 10 years ago. I am kind of surprised that I even have a car, since I never thought about having one. Suddenly I feel a whole different set of possibilities opening up. When I growing up, my family usually didn’t have a car, except for short periods of time where we had a rundown car. The car would usually last less than a year, and the rest of the time we just rode our bikes. It sounds nice, but it usually wasn’t. We lived in Phoenix for several years, and still had to ride our bikes in the blazing sun, where it almost always seemed to be over 100 degrees. There didn't seem to be a bus system, oddly enough. Anyway, it was like riding through hell, since the city is polluted, and you could see how the air seemed yellowish, especially in the summer. I'd almost always have a sunburn, and my eyes would water whenever I was outside. I did want a car, but I guess it was never feasible.
So now, I do have a car, and I can really see how everything is designed around it. Suddenly everything is wide open to me. The pedestrians and bicyclists are shoved to the sides of the road. In some areas of Phoenix, there aren't sidewalks or bike lanes, so you have to walk by the side of the road. I'm also familiar with people screaming or throwing stuff at you as a bike rider. I guess it's strange to own a car, since I really do have a negative opinion of them. For one thing they are one of the worst polluters, they cause urban sprawl, and they're dangerous to people and animals.
It's ironic that in order to see any of the wild areas that cars (and other factors) are destroying, you need a car to get there. Which is why I wanted to get a car, really. It opens up my area from several miles within the city, to the entire state or more. All of this may seem obvious to someone who grew up with a car, and has always been around one, which seems to be 95% of the population. I guess not having one gives me a different perspective, and makes it more exciting, since I never took it for granted that I would own a car. But I do still wish that more people rode their bikes, for short trips within the city, and maybe then they wouldn't be so eager to scream at bike riders.