Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Transportation
Over 40 percent of each person’s
carbon foot print comes from transportation. This equals 16 TONS of carbon emissions per person each year! So doing
activities to reduce your transportation carbon is a great way to reduce Our Big Carbon Footprint.
1. Learn the carbon emissions of
your car
2. Learn the carbon emissions of
air, bus, train, and boat travel
3. Carpool/Rideshare
4. Walk
5. Bicycle, Unicycle, Tricycle to
work, school, errands, etc.
6. Take Bus, Take school bus
7. Take Metro (once a week, every
day, or whatever works for you!)
8. Combine errands to make fewer
trips
9. Replace air travel with car, bus,
train, or boat travel
10. Learn efficient driving
techniques. Don’t speed.
11. Moderate use of your car’s
air conditioning (and heat)
12. Service your vehicle
regularly
13. Keep car tires properly
inflated
14. Don’t idle car
15. Remove excess weight from your vehicle
16. Drive a low emission vehicle
17. Telecommute and teleconference
18. If you must fly, fly economy class (each flyer’s
share of carbon emissions is less because it’s spread over more people). Avoid private jets.
19. Vacation closer to home
20. Buy local produce. Avoid produce that is transported from South
America or other distant places
21. Offset your carbon
transportation use
Resources:
Offset Transportation
Emissions
Offset your carbon transportation
use. Avoiding the release of CO2 and
other greenhouse gases is the best and most direct way of reducing our climate
change impact. Yet, some emissions are
unavoidable. For those, offsetting is a
worthwhile option. This is done by
purchasing ‘carbon credits’ from accredited companies which offer this service,
who will then invest those dollars in (for instance) renewable energy projects
or planting trees.
Fuel-Efficient
Driving Techniques
Fuel-efficient driving can not only save you hundreds of dollars in fuel each year but also improve road safety and prevent unnecessary wear on your vehicle.
Accelerate gently: The harder
you accelerate the more fuel you consume. Pretend there is an open cup of
coffee on your dashboard and try not to spill it.
Maintain a steady speed:
Consider using cruise control for highway driving. However, it can also be helpful to allow your
speed to drop when you travel uphill, then regain your momentum as you roll
downhill.
Anticipate traffic:
Anticipate traffic, pedestrians, etc, and keep a comfortable distance between
your vehicle and the one in front of you.
This will help you maintain a steady speed and keep everyone safe.
Avoid high speeds: Most
vehicles are most efficient between 30-55 mph.
A vehicle uses about 20 percent more fuel at 75 mph than at 65 mph.
Coast to decelerate: This
uses less fuel, and reduces wear and tear on your tires and breaks, which can
reduce your maintenance costs.
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