Thankgiving Travel Reminders

Going out of town for Thanksgiving? Remember to be on your best packing and driving behavior!

1. Only bring what you need! Transporting excess stuff in your vehicle or on an airplane can greatly reduce the fuel efficiency of your mode of transit. Review my previous post "Luggage" to learn more.

2. Drive wisely. Review "Straight and Level Wins the Race" and especially "8 Easy Steps to Greener Driving."

To your (mental) health

So we know that biking or walking instead of driving whenever possible is better for the environment. And it's pretty obvious that it's better for your physical health, too.

But have you thought about the benefits of walking or biking to your mental health and happiness? Exercise has been proven to elevate the mood, reduce anxiety, and help cope with depression. When you make biking to work, for example, part of your daily routine, you are measurably helping your body and mind, as well as your planet.

For an interesting article about the mental health and community benefits of biking, check out "Cycling is Good for the Mind as well as the Body" in the UK Guardian.

Straight and Level Wins the Race

Did you know that driving in as straight and level a way as possible can help your vehicle's fuel efficiency? When you swerve around your lane, you are slowly but surely increasing your trip's mileage. And when you drive on uneven surfaces, your vehicle has to work harder to keep itself moving.

So pay attention to how you're driving. Swerving is not only inefficient, but it's also dangerous. And watch out for debris, potholes, standing water, and/or uneven pavement up ahead. Avoiding them is better for the life of your vehicle and your fuel efficiency.

*Inspired by Ronald Weiers' 365 Ways to Save Gas. Check it out!

The Nose Knows

Our sense of smell is a wonderful thing. It's no wonder some people like to surround themselves with nice scents all the time. If you are among them, however, make sure you are aware of the health and environmental effects of your methods. That commercial stuff you spray or plug in or hang from your rear view mirror doesn't list any ingredients -- don't trust it! The manufactures haven't had to disclose that information. Is that really what you want to breathe?

Instead, try natural scent producers. Green Is Sexy suggests using "pine needles, lavender, green tea leaves or fresh flowers." Consider dried mint leaves, too. Soy or beeswax candles can be good choices, just be sure to avoid other types of candles!!

Many of us just seek to eliminate bad odors from our homes and cars. Again, think natural and simple. Opening a window and increasing air circulation works the best of anything. Remember to fill your home with those air purifying plants we've talked about in previous posts. And you know that thing about baking soda soaking up odors? It works outside of your refrigerator as well. Just set out a plate of it or sprinkle some at the bottom of your trashcan, and let it do its thing.

8 Easy Steps to Greener Driving

Because most of us don't have super-awesome electric vehicles yet, it is important that we all learn to get the best mileage possible with our current cars, trucks, and vans. There are many aspects of American driving that are just plain bad for your mileage. Fixing them, luckily, is pretty easy. You just have to be aware of some simple rules.

Fuel Efficiency Center lists 8 simple steps to improve your mileage:

1. Accelerate Smoothly -- Don't mash the gas
2. Brake Easy -- Don't start and stop abruptly
3. Observe Traffic Ahead -- Don't rush to stop signs or traffic lights
4. Coast Whenever You Can -- Not always on gas pedal
5. Maintain Constant Speed -- Don't tailgate and jockey for position
6. Cruise Control On Flat Surfaces -- Don't use cruise control on hills though
7. Avoid Idling and Long Lines -- Don't wait with car running for a long time
8. Control Highway Speeds -- Don't drive 10/15/20 MPH over speed limit

Changing some of these is just a matter of habit, like avoiding idling and controlling highway speeds. Others are things you were probably taught incorrectly, like coasting instead of keeping your foot evenly on the gas. [Tip: Think about driving your car as you would your bike.]

A few of these changes, however, require you to be self-assured and forceful. You will initially feel a lot of "peer pressure" to jack rabbit start from every red light. Likewise, you'll drive some really high-strung people insane by not accelerating up to red lights and stop signs. However, be strong in your knowledge that accelerating to a stop makes no logical sense and is bad for your wallet -- as well as the planet. With practice, the peer pressure you feel subsides.

And remember: the brake pedal is your worst enemy. Avoid if at all possible. Braking wastes the fuel you just injected with the gas pedal. Practice timing stops better, and you'll be surprised how little you really need to brake.

Don't be idle

Very few driving sins are as wasteful as idling in your car. Seriously. You're getting zero mph when idling!

Need a rule of thumb? If you would have to idle for 10 seconds or longer, turn off your engine.

This means that going inside the bank or fast food restaurant instead of using the drive-thru is the far better choice. Yes, it's hot outside, and it's tempting to just sit in your car (with the AC on, no less!), I get it. But think of your children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren, and do the right thing.

What about idling to warm up your car in the winter? A myth! Your car warms up better through driving than idling. So get going!

Overall, it is important to keep your car's motor on as little as possible. Turn it off immediately when you pull into a parking space, before you unbuckle your seat belt or put up your sun visor. Same goes for when you start up your car; wait until you are ready to start rolling to turn that key!

Cool your ride

There are many environmental considerations you need to keep in mind about your vehicles and driving. In this article, however, we are only going to look at cooling your vehicle -- a very timely topic as summer approaches!

Question: Should I be using air conditioning or opening my windows to cool my car?
Answer: Depends on how fast you're going!
~Driving around town: Definitely windows down. Whereas using the AC decreases your vehicle's fuel efficiency by up to 20% at all speeds, "drag" reducing your mileage from having your windows down while driving around town is not a concern.
~Driving on the Interstate: AC. Drag does start to have a role in this decision when you are traveling at high speeds. At 45 mph +, the reduction in efficiency can be up to 10%. At 55 mph, 20%. So be sure not to speed regardless!
[More information about this abounds on the Internet. One source is here though, another here.]

At all speeds, however, it is better to do neither. How do we, especially in the South, pull this off?

Question: How can I keep my parked car cooler?
Answer: Prevent your car from heating up so much in the first place! Always use a sun visor/screen in your windshield. They're also available for side and back windows at lots of places (AutoZone, etc.) Also, make a better effort to park under trees or otherwise in the shade. It makes a big difference too.

Question: What should I look for when buying a new vehicle?
Answer: Color! The lighter the color of your car, the better for reducing solar heat gain. You want as close to white as possible. (Luckily, in America white is the most popular car color, with silver in third place.) Also, look for improvements in the glass used for vehicle windows in the near future. Or consider tinted windows. For more info, read this.

Short trips

We've all heard that we should save up all our errands and do them at one time, instead of one a day or something. Part of the environmental consideration here has to do with miles driven. If you plan your errands in a nice circle around your town, you'll considerably cut down on the number of miles you cover versus going home in between errands or retracing your own tracks.

Another issue here, however, has to do with your car's emissions. As Green Is Sexy tells us, your catalytic converter works best when it reaches temperatures above 600 degrees (about 6 miles of driving in average outdoor temperatures). Therefore, if you take a bunch of short trips, your car is cool, and you're damaging the environment more than just your carbon footprint for the miles.

Walk or bike for nearby errands if you can. If that's not possible, plan your driving carefully and efficiently.

UPDATE: Commenter Ben says, "I'd like to also add that if you floor it from a stop, you not only reduce the amount of emissions converted by the catalytic converter, you actually can damage the converter and reduce its overall lifetime (~100,000 miles is the current standard, I think). So no jackrabbit starts!"

Looking Back on 2008

As I look back over the past year, I am absolutely amazed by how far Ben and I have come on our quest toward sustainable living. Our lifestyle is much different than it was just a few months ago. This is inspiring to me as I look forward to a new year. Many steps toward sustainability seemed far out of my comfort zone when I started them. With practice, however, they've become normal.

In that vein, I think our three largest lifestyle changes this past year have been as follow:

1. Organics: We took the Mission Organic 2010 challenge and just kept going. Now we buy about 90% of our groceries organic. We've also made commitments to organic clothing, which greatly reduces our impulse purchases.

2. Plastics: We use cloth shopping bags almost exclusively now, and we've eliminated the vast majority of plastics in our kitchen, including plates, bowls, cups, spatulas, tupperware, etc. We're starting to eradicate the plastics in the rest of our house (BPA-laden toothbrush bristles will be the next to go!).

3. Driving: Our progress in this category is far from complete, but we are much better than last December. Ben carpools to work, I bike to my volunteer job, and we both really think before just getting in the car and going. We've cut down on our driving around town, and we've taken most of the excess weight out of our cars (car mats, CD cases, ice scrapers -- in FL). When we do drive, we've been learning to incorporate some of the basic tenets of hypermiling.

We still have plenty of room to grow in each of these categories and will actively work toward becoming better in these ways.

I issue you a challenge. If you are can only commit to a few new sustainable behaviors this coming year, I encourage you to consider one or more of those listed above. These are excellent beginning steps toward making your lifestyle more sustainable, happy, and healthy.

Luggage

Traveling for the holidays? Remember to keep your vehicle as light as possible. The less weight your car/plane has to tow, the less gas it must burn. Take only as much luggage as you really need, down to the outfit. No one riding in your back seat? Leave your floor mats at home. In fact, your own weight greatly impacts your mileage. Just another reason to loose some weight!

So, empty out your car, and think before you pack!

Emergency Ride Home

Check out the following article from No Impact Man on a growing solution to newly-converted greens who are hesitant to leave their car in the dust. Certainly not a complete solution, but one of many that are growing into viable realities. [Find the original article here.]

"If you'd like to ditch the car but worry about emergencies"

Suppose you'd like to commit to leaving your car in the driveway or getting rid of it altogether and instead making your commute by foot, bike, carpool or public transit.

You want to save the money, skip the traffic jams, get the exercise, cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and have less stress. It's just that you're worried about emergencies.

What if you're stuck at work without your car and your child has an emergency? Or your older parent? Or you got last minutes tickets to the game or even a voicemail from that hot wannabe date who finally said yes?

Well, suppose somebody promised they'd pay to get you home by taxi if that happened?

According to "Penny Nickel" at Money and Values, that's just what more than 50 cities and counties will do if you agree to leave your car it home:

"Guaranteed Ride Home (or Emergency Ride Home) programs are designed to get commuters off the road and onto public transit or another method of transportation, by helping assuage fears about how to get home in emergency circumstances. They are often sponsored by counties, cities, or transit agencies, but may also be sponsored by individual employers. If you enroll in such a program, then the sponsor will cover the costs of you getting home if unexpected circumstances interfere with your regular plans. Each program has its own rules, but typically "emergencies" are defined as unpredictable events like illness/injury of yourself or a family member, unscheduled overtime (verified by your employer), an emergency at your home (like a flood/break-in/fire/etc), or the early departure of your carpool driver. Covered events for bikers and walkers may also include severe weather.

"If you register for the program, you'll qualify for a set number of trips home per year (often two to six.) If an emergency arises, typically you call the Guaranteed Ride Home coordinator and they'll call you a cab, although in some programs you can skip that step and just call the cab yourself (either filing for reimbursement later or using some sort of voucher.) Some programs cover the tip, some don't. They may also cover the costs of a stop at your child's school or daycare on the way home."

Go here for Money and Values' excellent list of municipalities offering the scheme. And don't forget, if your local government isn't on board, to check and see if your employer offers the program.

AAA: Atrocious, Abominal, Abhorrent

Living in the suburbs, we all likely do a lot of driving. It makes sense, then, that many of us are interested in roadside assistance programs. The most well-known of these, of course, is AAA. Many of us probably know that AAA has a very powerful Congressional lobby. But we probably don't realize how evil their lobbying efforts are.

Some facts. AAA:
-Lobbied against the Clean Air Act in 1990.
-Doesn't recognize domestic partners as "family members."
-Is a member of the American Highway Users Alliance, who unsurprisingly support the destruction of virgin land and the construction of more, well, highways.
-Lobbied against California's 2006 Proposition 87, a "$4 billion program to reduce petroleum consumption by 25 percent, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy vehicles, energy efficient technologies, and for education and training."

...and if you're a member of AAA, your membership dues are directly paying for their fight against the environment!

But, have heart, there is another option! Better World Club, the fastest growing automobile club in the nation, offers an eco-friendly roadside assistance plan. An Alternet article about Better World Club says, "Discounts are offered to hybrid vehicle owners, and carbon offsets are offered to all members. 'Our pricing is based on the cost to the environment, not the cost of service,' Rofsky is proud to say. It works out nicely that the pricing comes in at the same as, or in some cases cheaper than, AAA."

But that's not all! The article continues: "Better World Club encourages people that don't drive everywhere too, offering the nation's first and only bicycle roadside assistance plan. Members who bust a chain, pop a tire, or run into any other bicycle related mishap will be picked up and driven anywhere they want to go (home, nearest bike shop, a hotel, etc.) up to 30 miles away. Members can add the bicycle plan to their existing roadside service package, or individuals can sign up for the plan independent of the car service..."

Please give Alternet's article "Did You Know AAA Is Bad for the Environment? But You Can Get Green Roadside Assistance" a read. Then consider switching to Better World Club next time your AAA membership is up for renewal.

More on Water

My mom had another couple suggestions about how to use shower water to reduce your water needs:

- You could also use the water to wash your car! For starters, using a bucket full of water and a sponge is a much more water-efficient way to wash vehicles than using a hose. So why not use water you already have sitting around...in a bucket no less!

- You can keep your bucket in the shower to collect extra water as you shower, too. If you plan to use your water on plants (indoors or out), make sure you are using 100% biodegradable soap and shampoo to keep your plants safe and healthy.