There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Today, I want to discuss transportation and how it’s important to be more aware of our choices. Vehicles are our main source of traveling. I can remember visiting the busy streets of Los Angeles, California as a small girl and seeing the heavy smog through the city and highway. I was curious and concerned of what it was. These were my first thoughts and introduction to air quality.
Several types of gasses are emitted into the air when a vehicle is running. Carbon dioxide as well as carcinogens, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, metal and more are sent into the air every time a vehicle is turned on. Besides being incredibly bad for our environment, they are also bad for our health. In the 1970’s, the Clean Air Act was introduced and our air quality today is much better than it was. However, it’s still far from perfect.
This week, I wanted to see how efficient I could be running errands and using our vehicle less. From my experiment, I discovered a lot more than what I thought I was in store for! Here is my mom confession: I love to leave the house daily. Every morning, I feel the need to leave and get out somewhere. See something, do something for my children’s sanity and mine! I do not like staying indoors all day and all night and doing it again the next morning. I like to be out and discover new places and fun activities so you can see, this was a challenge for me mentally as well. But the important part, I did it. I made it through, woo hoo!
I managed to stay home and create crafts, clean every spot I possibly could in my house and use our back yard. Yup, I re-discovered my small (but perfect for the kids) back yard. I started to make a mental note on all my errands and how I was going to handle them. In one day, I took my kids for the most efficient fifty minute car ride around our town. I wrote down all my errands and mentally planned out my route of travel. We traveled to the Good Will store, pick-up library window, grocery store and post office.
Why run errands all together?
- Saves gas! This was a biggy for us. I have a SUV and it’s a “gas guzzler”. I can easily spend $90 per week in gas. That’s WAY TOO MUCH. By bundling all the errands together, I wasn’t driving more than I needed to, saving gas and time!
- If your vehicle is off, then gasses aren’t being emitted into the atmosphere so let it sit!
- Save wear and tear on your vehicle making regular maintenance last longer
Other options:
- If walking/biking paths are accessible, use them! This is also a fabulous way to exercise!
- Car pool with friends, family co-workers to your destinations! When I did work (years ago) my job was located 20 minutes away. Due to the traffic, it took me an hour to get there! When I found a co-worker lived ten minutes from me, we decided to meet at her house and carpool the way up.
- Use one family car when can. Although we have two vehicles, we only use one. The other is really a backup for emergencies. I used to think, “how on Earth can we use just one vehicle?” but we easily managed the change. Sometimes my hubby drops me off at a location and he runs the kids to the next one with him. When he’s finished, he picks me back up. It’s a choice that we decided would be good for our family and the environment.
If you are in the market for a new vehicle, make your next purchase a green vehicle!
According to Wikipedia: The Toyota Prius is the world’s top selling hybrid car, with cumulative global sales of 2.0 million units by September 2010,.[1] Some owners use its identity to make an environmental statement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_vehicle)
Take some time to do the research. There are many other options available!
One of the first steps to making a more profound, positive impact on the environment is to become more AWARE of the choices that are being made. Try your best not to judge, but notice everyday choices. After you are more aware of what and how you do daily tasks, think of them from an Eco-friendly perspective. Is there anything you can do to improve your task? Why isn’t the task efficient? What changes can be made to make it more Eco-friendly?