Auto companies are finally getting the message that people want fuel economy, so shop around. The most fuel-efficient cars are hybrids, which run on electricity and gas. Lots of traditional gas-powered vehicles provide excellent fuel economy, too.
Fact is, most SUVs don’t even leave city streets. Be honest about your daily needs. Do you really need that big four-wheeler if you never camp or haul anything? Better to buy a car suitable for city driving, it that’s what you mostly do, and use your fuel savings to pay for the occasional rental of a larger vehicle.
The BEST option is a car built in a plant where the manufacturer has taken other eco-measures – environmental managements systems, green buildings, recycling options, rebates or deals for lower-emission cars. As a consumer, you get to vote with your dollars, so support companies you think are environmentally responsible.
Sometimes you need a van. Sometimes you need an SUV. (Nobody needs a Hummer…). Join a car co-opand just about any vehicular configuration is there for the borrowing. Requires some advance planning, but it’s a lot cheaper than owning your own.
When traveling on business, use coach buses or Hybrid taxis to and from the airport. Either mode provides the same service and comfort at a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions. (Hybrids are quieter, too.) If your company provides cars for employees, recommend they fleet lease fuel efficient vehicles. (Did you know you can bring David Suzuki to work?)
If you can, choose human power first. Walk, bike, scooter, skate board – you choose. Not only will you help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, you’ll get fit in the process. If you’re not used to physical exercise – go slow! The idea is to stay motivated and moving.
Never taken a bus? That’s okay. Challenge a friend or a group of colleagues to a 'try it once' with you, then get feedback. It’s always easier to make lifestyle changes with others.
If you are an employer, launch a ‘try it once on us’ project and provide one week's worth of bus tickets for your employees. For more fun ways to green your office environment, take David Suzuki to work.
Take the children in your life for a transit ride. Teach them how to use the public transportation system in your community and why it’s important to the environment. It’s fun and it will make them better eco citizens.
When and where public transit is not an option – carpool! Break that filthy SOV habit: get as many people into a vehicle as there are seatbelts wherever possible. (According to one study, if you and three neighbours who commute 20 km per day travelled together, you’d reduce you CO2 emissions by 75 per cent and save as much as $360 per person per year! What will you do with that wad of $$$? Another carpooling plus - someone else does the driving on most days!)
Action: Shrink the travel distances in your daily life
If you are moving, choose a home that is within a 30-minute walk, bike or transit ride from work and/or school. If you are not moving, try to get out of your car more and help reduce problems associated with being car-dependent.
Okay, so you love your dentist. But if you’re looking for a new one (or any other helping profession or service), try someone closer to where you spend most of your time.
Shop close to home - support your friendly neighbourhood greengrocer, shoe store, whatever.
Learn more about what is going on your community: listen to the radio and read the local newspapers. Most cities in Canada are faced with a range of urban sprawl issues - road expansion, poor transit, new shopping malls and mega-stores, new suburban development, and stresses on existing water and sewage facilities. You can’t get involved if you don’t know what’s going on. Urban dwellers need to get involved in city planning. Here's how.
Why are these actions so important? Here's the lowdown on our transportation habits.
Don’t drive the planet to destruction. Get around smarter.
Diet for a healthy planet
Transportation facts
