Green

Reducing Emissions

Dozens of ways to reduce our carbon emissions.  Here are a few:

Electric Bicycles:

    Who needs a second car?  Or, for that matter, who needs to drive a car on short errands?  About 40% of all car trips are less than two miles away.  One four-mile trip each weekday can cost 1200 pounds of carbon emissions and over $300 for fuel each year. Conventional bicycles can be outfitted with battery-assisted drives to add speed or pick up the slack, especially when you add baggage racks.

This is the Xtracycle, one of a few dozen electric bikes out there. The rear wheel has been extended to add saddlebags.  You can also add passengers or flatbeds.  You can buy them whole or in kits to convert your own bike.

Hybrid Cars

More forthcoming, but for now, consider:

One year of driving a 13 mpg SUV instead of an average 25.2 mpg car wastes more energy than if you:

• Leave a refrigerator door open for six years;
• Leave a light burning for 30 years;
• Leave a TV turned on for 28 years.

Some interesting sites for research:

• "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from US Transportation." Pew Center on Global Climate Change. http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-in-depth/all_reports/reduce_ghg_from_transportation.
• US Dept. of Energy: Alternative Fuels Data Center: http://eeredev.nrel.gov/afdc/altfuel/fuel_properties.html
• US Dept. of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/vbg/consumers/
• Worldwatch Institute: http://www.worldwatch.org/features/consumption/sow/trendsfacts/2004/07/07/
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• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy: www.greenercars.com
• Clean Car Campaign: www.cleancarcampaign.org
• Environmental Defense Fund: www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=928
• Green Car Congress: www.greencarcongress.com
• Hybrid Cars:  www.hybridcars.com
• Union of Concerned Scientists: www.ucsusa.org/clean.vehicles/