Green Page

For the new year, I’m going to offer smart living tips on this blog site.  These tips will save you money while saving the planet. 

Nothing will change your financial future faster  and improve the planet quicker than the decisions you make about transportation.  Most Americans work 2 to 4 months a year just to pay for their car!  There’s the obvious initial expense of buying a car or truck.  Then there’s the license tabs and registration, insurance, gas, oil, maintenance, parts and repairs, parking and cleaning.  It all adds up!

Besides the expense of owning and operating a personal vehicle, there’s devastating damage to our environment.  We pump 1,300 million tons of CO2 into our air each year.  That’s about 7 tons per driver.  Every 2 weeks our automobiles drip enough oil to match the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.  Oil and other automotive toxins pour into Puget Sound everyday with each rain that washes the pollutants off our streets and into our storm drains. 

The automobile makers spend about $14 billion a year to convince us to buy another new shiney, sporty, sexy new car or truck.  The Federal Highway Administration says there are 241 million cars and trucks on the road in the US.  That’s 30 percent of the world’s automobiles.  (We only make up about 5 % of the world population.)  To fuel this frenzy we use 8.2 million barrels of oil a day.  About as much as Saudi Arabia can pump out of the ground.  That accounts for about 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries that causes Climate Change putting our future and life as we know it at serious risk.

So, the first step is changing how you drive.  Let’s start with idling.  It takes less than a minute for a modern car to warm up.  Anytime your car is idling in traffic or waiting at a take out window longer than 30 seconds you are wasting gas and polluting the air.  This is especially noticable at schools when parents are lined up to pick up their children.  The kids are collecting outside in a cloud breathing thick smog.  It is actually better for your engine to turn it off and restart it than to idle. 

When you’re driving, ease in and out of starts and stops.  It will save your brakes, take less gas, cause fewer accidents and save you money.

Next consider what you’re driving.  The average fuel economy in the US is 20.2 miles per gallon.  Shocking!  (In Europe it’s 35 mpg.)  It’s because so many people drive SUVs or large trucks which average 18 mpg.  Look around.  There are several cars that get excellent gas mileage even without investing in a Hybrid.  A Honda Civic gets 36 mgp on the highway and 25 in town.  A Toyota Matrix wagon gets 33 on the highway and 26 in town.  Now let’s do the math.  If your car gets 35 mpg, you’d spend $884 less on gasoline every eyar than if it got 20 mpg.  Check out your vehicles fuel efficiency at www.epa.gov/greenvehicles and find a greener ride at www.greenercars.org

Better still, leave the car at home.  Have you ever taken the bus?  Island Transit is a great bus system.  There is no fare.  The drivers are friendly and helpful.  You can get the schedule at www.islandtransit.org  And they connect with ferries and other bus lines around Whidbey.  I’ve been taking the bus to work about 4 days a week for over a year.  Even though my car gets 30 mpg I can save $650 a year in gas alone by taking the bus.   I spend less on oil, parts and maintenance, too.

Carpooling is another way to cut the cost of transportation.  If you share your ride with one friend you cut your costs in half.  Take two and you’re really reducing your financial and environmental burden.  Carpooling and taking the bus allow time to relax with friends going to and from work.

Friends of mine ride bikes to work and for fun all year round.  The more cyclists we have on Whidbey the stronger our lobby for bike lanes or bike paths.  It’s a great way to stay fit and costs a fraction of the expense of a car.   Don’t forget your helmet, wear bright clothing, lights and reflectors and use the appropriate hand signals when moving through traffic.   http://www.be-safe.org/css_com/bicycle/rules.html 

There are bike clubs in the Seattle area and Skagit County which offer group rides, bike maintenance workshops and other fun outings.  Visit http://www.cascade.org/Home/ or http://www.skagitbicycleclub.org/  I especially like their spring Tulip Pedal.  Look for more about Like2Bike Whidbey when Bike to Work month rolls around in May.  And the Tour de Whidbey is a great way to get the family involved and it benefits the Hospital Foundation.  For more information visit: http://www.whidbeygen.org/whidbeygeneralhospitalfoundation/tourdewhidbey

So green your ride, green your planet and green your wallet all at once!