Earth, Wind & Power Blogazine

Five Ways to Greener Driving

By Liz Kaadou

If the world were an eco-oasis, we would all proudly drive swanky electric cars, jump on the super efficient subway or simply stroll to our desired destination.  But the world is not that perfect, and with work, school, the gym, errands and anything else penciled on our “to-do-list," being environmentally friendly is sometimes the last thing on our minds.  To make life a bit easier and driving a bit more “greenified,” here are five practical ways to take your car rides to the green level.

 

1)  Take the Junk out of your Trunk - we tend to accumulate everything from soccer balls to pop bottles in our trunks, and adding extra weight to your car only guzzles more gas. Try emptying your trunk and throwing away the junk every night to ensure a swift car ride the next morning.

 

2) Be Creative with Carpooling - find some buddies at work or school that live nearby and set up a car sharing schedule.  Not only is it a great way to reduce pollution but it saves you money at the pump!

 

3) Keep a Detailed Drive Schedule - keeping a schedule of all your driving destinations for the day will allow you to plan the best routes and group errands that are close to each other, thereby avoiding any unnecessary travel.

 

4) Shade Yourself - a simple way to reduce energy use is to invest in window shades. These inventive devices keep your car cooler during warm weather so your A/C can take a breather!

 

5) Fuel up at Night - Heading to the gas station later in the day is actually a plus for the environment. When you fill up your tank at the station, fumes are created by the patron in gas and are more potent during the day because the temperature is warmer.  At night, less gas evaporates, lessening the potent fumes released in our atmosphere.

 

For more eco-friendly driving advice, visit RTM's Earth Tones section.

 

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Go Green with Hybrid Tips & Fuel of the Future

by Larry Blumberg, Gina Cunningham and Jim Philion,
Co-Founders of the Coronado Speed Festival

As Americans are counting their dollars carefully, cars that use alternative fuels, such as hybrids, are rising in popularity. With the recession, consumers are paying close attention to hybrid vehicles in order to save money at the pump. However, the benefits of a hybrid vehicle are more than economical; hybrid cars benefit the environment as well.

What exactly is a hybrid car?

A hybrid car is basically a normal, fuel-efficient car with two motors – an electric motor and a gasoline powered motor. Hybrids capture the best of both worlds. Electric motors use no energy during idle, they turn off, and use less gas at lower speeds. Gas motors do better at high speeds and can deliver more power for a given motor weight. That means during rush hour and stop and go traffic, the electric motor works great and does not produce any exhaust, reducing smog levels. At higher speeds, the gas motor kicks in and gives that powerful feel that so many car owners desire. The gas efficiency is higher than electric cars — hybrids get 48 to 60 mpg.

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Is Car-Sharing for You?

If you don't live in a city or on a college campus, car-sharing may not be for you... just yet. Check this list of all car-sharing services to find your area and which car-sharing company you may be able to use. But if your area doesn't offer car-sharing yet, it doesn't mean you shouldn't know what it's all about. Rather than focusing on higher fuel-economy, car-sharers focus on driving sparingly. Zipcar, the biggest car-sharing company, claims that each and every of their 5,000 Zipcars take 15-20 personally-owned vehicles off the road.

People who frequently use car sharing tend to sell their own cars eventually and start using alternate modes of transportation, like biking and walking. Car-sharing is also ideal in place of a second family car. It's healthier, because you'll have to walk to the car parking spot to pick up your car, and walk or ride your bike more often to compensate for not having your own car to drive everyday. some people are even competing in a challenge: the Low Car Diet by Zipcar. It's also very convenient that car-sharing programs allow you to request a certain type of car - get a convertible on the nice days out, a truck for moving day, a hybrid when you're just driving around getting stuff done.

Car-sharing helps to reduce highway congestion, and has a ripple effect - less road damage, less construction, less need for more parking infrastructures. Finally, the savings are exponential. Not owning a car means not paying for insurance, parking, gas, payments, or maintenance. You can rent a car by the day or by the hour, and rental plans include insurance, maintenance, parking, gas and some mileage.

For more earth-friendly information, visit RTM's Earth Tones Section.

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Driving a Hybrid: Weighing the Costs & Benefits

Thinking about buying a hybrid, but concerned over the high premium (price difference) that would counteract your gas savings? Depending on the way you drive, how long you’ll keep the car, and what you decide to buy, a hybrid could (in its lifespan) either save you money or end up costing around the same as a non-hybrid version. With hybrids, not only does gas mileage increase, it flip-flops: most cars have a higher highway mpg rating than city, but hybrids do much better in the city than on the highway because of their reliance on electric power up to 40 mph. So city drivers have the advantage when it comes to buying hybrids, but there are models that benefit highway drivers just as much.

 

Hybrid versions of cars that are already known and loved seem appealing – and while their environmental impact is reduced, which is an awesome incentive on its own – gas savings and other hybrid incentives may not make up for the higher cost. For example, while the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid (41 city/36 hwy, $25,293) gets almost twice the city rating of its non-hybrid cousin (22 city/31 hwy, $18,272), there’s only a 5 mpg highway increase, and about a $7,021 premium (that is, the difference between the averages spent on a Ford Fusion Hybrid and a Ford Fusion).

 

Just because a car gets better mileage than its cousin doesn’t mean it’s the best deal out there. However, there is, admittedly, one car whose price is definitely worth the extra miles per gallon: the Prius. The 3^rd Generation Prius gets 51 miles to the gallon on the city, and a whopping 48 on the highway, for about $24,011 – so it’s a win-win no matter where you drive.

 

As far as hybrid SUVs go, improvements are improvements, but they’ll always guzzle more gas than a smaller vehicle. For example, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid’s gas mileage, at 27 city/25 hwy isn’t much – if at all – better than the non-hybrid Ford Fusion, and it costs about $15,855 more. Imagine the comparison between the non-hybrid Highlander and the Hybrid Fusion (hint: there’s a $2,735 savings involved, on top of far-improved mpg). After all, you’ve gotta spend money to make money – not to save money.

 

For more earth-friendly information, visit RTM's Planet Driven Section.

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Car Care with Pollution-Free Products

For those who love a good afternoon car-wash and oil-change session in the driveway, but feel a questioning cloud of guilt about the chemicals being put into the ecosystem in the process, Green Earth Technologies products are a must-try. GET's car cleaning products have a "sacrifice nothing" approach to saving the Earth...and "technology" isn't in the name for no reason. This company uses advanced nanotechnology and dehydrogenation in production (what's that?) along with renewable and reused oil bases. To start, the 5-piece starter-pack includes all you need for a thorough, green car wash, for less than twenty dollars. For even more, try GET's exquisite, environmentally friendly motor oil, "G-Oil', which has gained quite a following by green automotive innovation followers. Though all GET products and their packaging are biodegradable, non-toxic, recyclable and renewable, the G-Oil is a little controversial because it's made of the animal-fat remnants from the meat industry. However, GET is simply using waste-product, which is a highly sustainable practice, and using this waste product is what allows it's product to be highly biodegradeable and petroleum-free. 

For more eco-friendly car wash tips, check out Road & Travel Magazine's Planet Driven section.

Gas Past the Pump: Crude Oil's Role in Everyday Life

Just a little something to think about: crude oil - or petroleum - is used in more products than just automobiles. Cars are not the only culprits of consuming an abundance of oil: the

same stuff that has you cursing at the pump is also used in the production and transport of the bottled water in your hand, the diaper on your baby's behind, and the food on your plate. If 10,000 people stopped buying bottled water for a year, the oil they'd save could fuel four cars over the same period.

In reality, only 88 percent of all petroleum extracted is processed as fuel; the other 12 percent is converted into other materials such as plastic. And judging from the absurd volume of bottled water at stores and in trash bins, bottled water is a huge portion of that 12 percent.

From start to finish, it takes at least a gallon of oil to produce a pound of beef. In fact, every year over 400 gallons of oil end up in each and every American's stomach. Not literally, of course, but consider the oil used in fertilizer and pesticide production, operation of machinery like tractors and grain elevators, the creation and maintenance of irrigation systems, and the production of livestock.

Oil's not just on the plate and in the tank, either. Everything from asphalt in roofing, to no-stick frying pans, to computers, to basketballs are not just made from petroleum, they're also made using the stuff.

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For more buzz from the automotive world, check out Road and Travel Magazine.