It's easy to feel hopeless and helpless in the face of the relentlessly bad news about the Gulf oil spill. But each one of us can commit to helping the country kick its oil addiction, starting with using less gasoline. Of course, the best option for using less is to walk, bike, or take transit to your destinations. But because that's not a reality for all of us, here are five tips for more fuel-efficient driving, thanks to
EcoDriving USA.
Stop and go easy. Jackrabbit starts use fuel; just a few seconds of putting the pedal to the metal can use as much gas as driving several minutes at slower speeds. Accelerating and braking gently can save more than $1 per gallon. Here's a hint: imagine you've got a mug of hot coffee in your lap, and drive to avoid a painful scorching.
A/C over 40. Air conditioning can reduce mileage-up to 20 percent. But the drag on your car when the windows are down can lower fuel economy as well. Your best bet is to keep the windows down at lower speeds-under 40 miles per hour-and use the air conditioner when you're driving faster.
Avoid idling. Letting your car idle is truly wasting gas. Idling equals zero miles per gallon-avoid it whenever possible.
Top off at 60. It's totally unsexy, but sticking to the speed limit will save you fuel and money. Every 5 miles over 60 miles per hour equals paying an extra 20 cents per gallon of gas. Factor in the expense of a speeding ticket, and the pay-off is obvious.
Warm up on the go. Midwesterners know the torture of a cold car on a winter morning. There's no need to sit idling (and shivering) for longer than 30 seconds-that's all your car needs before it's ready to drive. It'll warm up much more quickly while driving, too, so you'll save gas while shortening the heat delay.
Get more tips as well as news, events, maintenance practices, and more at EcoDriving USA.
Have you seen one of the 26
HOURCAR hybrids driving around the metro and wondered what it was all about? It makes not owning a car possible! We all know that our beautiful metro area has many great transportation alternatives to the automobile, but sometimes these options don't fit into the demands of modern life and urban sprawl. For those instances our staff, who almost entirely take the bus or bike to work, can now use HOURCAR to get to where they need to go! HOURCAR is easy to sign up for and easy to use. Here's the gist: you sign up online to become a member (nonprofits get a membership for free!), you complete a short orientation online, pay $25 per driver for a traffic background check, and they send you a key FOB and a great t-shirt! To rent the car you either call or go online to book the HOURCAR nearest you at one of the 21 locations. You can rent the car from 45 minutes up to the whole day. At $6 an hour and $0.25/mile (this includes gas) it's a steal of a deal. Our favorite car to rent is located at Selby and Dale - it's an electric car charged by solar power. You can't get much better than that!
The Center for Neighborhood Technology recently released maps and a report of the Housing + Transportation Affordability Index for 337 metropolitan regions around the country. These easy-to-use maps show how much families pay for housing and transportation costs based on where they live.
A new report from the National Resources Defense Council highlights the absolute cost of our dependence on oil. In Minnesota, the average driver in 2008 spent $2,354 a year, or 5.5 percent, of their income on gasoline, which was 25th in the country. Drivers in Mississippi spent the highest percentage of their income - 9.14 percent - while those in Connecticut spent the lowest at 3.24 percent. While gasoline topped more than $4 a gallon in July of 2008, these data are based on the average cost of gasoline in 2008, which was $2.77 a gallon (or 10 cents a gallon less than the U.S. average right now).
Real, affordable electric vehicles are coming to market soon. Here's a Wired Magazine
story about the
Nissan Leaf, expected to be in production by this fall. With a 100 miles/charge range, these vehicles are an appealing, clean fuel option for those of us who can't afford a
Chevy Volt (to be available by late fall). You'll even be able to rent a Leaf by early 2011. Hertz has recently signed an
agreement with Nissan to make the Leaf available in the U.S. and Europe.
If you've been keeping up with Fresh Energy's Transportations Connections Department, you've probably heard about its push for a state Complete Streets policy. The measure aims to make streets safer and more accessible through various planning measures. This includes sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, and shoulders. But as far as understanding how exactly these road changes would equal improved safety and a cleaner environment, it's a little bit difficult to get from point A to point B--no transportation pun intended. I didn't have a clear understanding of it, myself, until I actually saw it last week.
Representatives and partners of ElectriCharge Mobility visited Fresh Energy yesterday to talk about some exciting developments in the field of electric vehicle transportation. Partner Paul Axt said people often view the development of the industry as a chicken-and-egg problem between the vehicles and their charging stations. What must come first to grow the other? ElectriCharge Mobility and charging-station developer Coulomb Technologies believe we first need to show people charging stations are widespread and accessible, in order for people to purchase electric vehicles.
The wonderful, heart-calming news was that my daughter was okay, with only a bruise. The bad news? My car was totaled. When your work is to advocate for clean transportation choices, what's your next step?
This morning in Washington, D.C., the president and administration officials unveiled their plan to create the first ever national fuel economy standard, calling for a five percent increase in fuel economy every year for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. This nationwide policy would reduce global warming pollution, help break our dependence on oil, and save drivers money at the pump. President Obama described the policy as a roadmap for building the cars of the 21st century.
Read the original White House press release from May 2009.
Complete Streets means that our roads are designed and operated to be safe and accessible for pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists, and drivers - all users, regardless of age or ability. Why is this important? Because too often we build roads that simply aren't safe for pedestrians, people with disabilities, bicyclists, transit riders, and older drivers. Everyone is impacted by "incomplete" streets, which lead to more injuries, fatalities, and very real barriers in our transportation system.
Fresh Energy Blog