Transportation

We're in the midst a few changes in the auto industry. Hybrid
cars are becoming plentiful. Electric cars are an option. Even
diesel is back and better than it ever was. The car buying
public is demanding changes motivated by rising gas prices
and environmental concerns. The federal government is
increasing fuel economy standards, and every automaker will
have to step up to improve efficiency of their cars over the
next few years.

You may not be looking for a new car right now. If not, we can
tell you how to best maintain your current car in the greenest
way possible.

Things you can do right now:
If you're not ready to trade in your current vehicle right now,
here are some things you can do to increase your car’s
efficiency.

• Keep your car tuned up. This is the easiest way to make
your car more fuel-efficient. A poorly tuned car uses 9%
more gasoline and emits 9% more toxic fumes.
• Pay attention to your gas mileage. This is important
because if there's a sudden drop in the mileage you
getting per gallon of gas, you can get the problem fixed
quickly.
• Don’t let your car idle when it’s not necessary. It takes
less gas to start a car than to keep idling.
• Keep the fuel filter clean. Clogged filters waste gas.
• Remove unnecessary items. Carrying excess weight uses
gas. Did you know that an extra hundred pounds will
decrease your fuel efficiency by more than 1%?

Here's another amazing statistic – if only 100,000 car
owners regularly tuned up their vehicles, it would keep
90,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere... And that's less than 1% of the total drivers in
the United States.

Tire Maintenance
It might surprise you, but tires have a big impact on the
environment. When you maintain your tires properly, you
help conserve energy and resources, save gasoline, and
reduce the problems involved in throwing them away. Just
to make a point, it takes half a barrel of crude oil to produce
the rubber in one truck tire.

One thing you can do right now is to keep your tires
inflated. Under- inflation can waste up to 5% of the cars
you. We could save up to 2 billion gallons of gas a year with
properly inflated tires.

Radial tires improve gas mileage, and steel belted tires are
generally the most efficient.

Buy the longest lasting, most fuel-efficient tires possible.
Make sure your tires are properly inflated, balanced, and
rotated every 6 to 8000 miles.

Alternative Means of Transportation
If you're an American, you have to admit that we love our
cars. Many of us own more than one vehicle per person, and
we do little to control them. Nevertheless, if we really want
to make a commitment to going green, we have to admit
that driving is only one option among many.

Depending upon the city in which you live, you have many
alternate means of transportation – buses, subways, trains,
bicycles, or walking. If you can do it, even one day a week
would make a big difference to the environment.

For instance, if only 1% of car owners chose not to drive
their cars for one day a week, it would save approximately
42 million gallons of gas a year.

Have you ever thought of carpooling? It's a great way to
reduce the number of drivers in highway lanes during rush
hour and a great way to reduce the amount of toxic
emissions in every urban city. Check with your fellow
workers and neighbors to find people heading in the same
direction you are each morning and night. You might be
able to take advantage of the high occupancy lanes on the
highway and get home sooner each day.