One of the easiest ways to reduce car emissions is to change our mind-set about driving; to make driving our last choice of transportation, not our automatic first. And the first step in achieving this new mind-set is to reorganize our lives so we don't need to drive as much, or as far.
What You Should Know
- Studies have shown that telecommuters who work from home are happier and at least 30% more productive in their jobs than their co-workers are back at the office.
- As of 2007, there were 44 million Americans telecommuting, using email, instant messaging and video conferencing to stay in touch with the office.
- Buying a gift for someone on-line and having it shipped via ground transport directly to the recipient saves more energy than any other type of on-line purchase.
- The most important decision you can make after you decide to do your shopping on-line is how to ship your purchases. Even though planes and trucks emit much more carbon dioxide than cars do, because they carry hundreds to thousands of packages at a time, they end up being more energy-efficient than you would be driving to and from the mall. This table compares the amount of gasoline used per item with different purchasing and shipping methods:
Mode of Travel Amount of Gas Used Per Item Driving 20 miles round trip to a mall 1 gallon Shipping 1,000 miles via air freight 0.166 gallon Shipping 1,000 miles via truck 0.100 gallon - Doing multiple errands in one trip will save you gas because you'll be driving fewer miles, but you'll save even more gas if each errand takes 20 minutes or less. That's because a warm engine is much more energy-efficient than a cold engine.
- If just 20,000 people worked at home one day a week instead of driving to the office, they would prevent at least 15,000 TONS of carbon dioxide from being emitted each year. Plus, they would help to reduce rush-hour traffic.
Easy Things You Can Do
Shop close to home. By shopping at local stores and eating at nearby restaurants, you'll cut down on the amount of driving you do and by shopping at local businesses, you'll be supporting your local economy! Of course if they are close enough to your home, don't drive at all.
Create an "Errand Day. Postpone errands until you can combine two or more into one multi-stop trip. Then, try not to retrace your route and, if you can, park your car at one stop and walk to your other errands. Besides saving time and gasoline, you'll also reduce wear and tear on your car.
Shop on-line and choose slow shipping. Even though the products you order on-line are delivered to you via large, carbon-dioxide-emitting trucks (or trains or planes), it's still 40% more energy-efficient to buy products on-line and have them shipped via air freight rather than drive to the store yourself--and 90% more efficient to have them shipped via truck. Try to plan to choose the slowest method of shipping, which saves the most energy. Note, however, that shopping on-line does not stimulate the local economy. So try to achieve a balance--support the stores closest to you and shop on-line for everything else.
Bank and pay bills on-line. Conducting your financial affairs on-line saves energy because less paper and ink need to be manufactured for paper statements and less mail needs to be delivered to you by big trucks.
Telecommute more often. Ask your boss if telecommuting even one day a week is an option. Thanks to the advent of e-mail and video conferencing, communicating with your office and clients while you work at home is no longer an issue.
Move closer to where you work. The next time you're planning to move, try to move closer to your workplace. You'll be much happier with your commute, and the Earth will be much happier with you. Also, consider moving to a more compact community so your car trips will be shorter and your family will be able to walk or bike to school, the grocery store, or even to the movies.
Drive your most fuel-efficient car. If you own two cars, always take the one that gets better fuel efficiency.