In today's world commuting to work makes up a large part of the the time we spend in our vehicles. Amazing, 91% of Americans commute to work alone, averaging 30 miles per round-trip. Although its not always possible to do it any other way, there's one great way to reduce your commuting -- work from home! If we all cut out just one trip a week we'd reduce our CO2 emissions by 149 million tons.
Here are a few great ideas to help reduce your carbon footprint:
A great way to save money, be healthy, and help the environment is to ride a bike. 40% of all car trips made in the United States are under 2 miles, which could easily be done on a bike. There are many options when purchasing a bike. Two great commuting style bikes are Elektra Amsterdam and the Trek Lime. The Amsterdam is only around $500, has a chain guard to protect your clothing, a luggage rack in the rear, and a headlight in front that is powered by your pedaling. The Trek Lime is around $600, has automatic shifting and a seat trunk that locks. Mountain bikes are more rugged and heavier, whereas "road" bikes are easier to ride but more fragile and more expensive.
Almost every town has a carpooling community of some type. A few great online sites for carpooling are www.erideshare.com and www.carpoolworld.com.
Using public transportation is a cheap easy way to cut down on you driving. Its not always possible or desirable but if you try to use public transportation once a week it can really cut down your carbon footprint.
Ok this might not always be possible but ask your boss or inform your employees that working from home one day a week is the new green trend. With the advancement of online meeting software the need to spend time in a conference room or traveling to out of town meetings is becoming less significant. Remember, if we all cut out just one trip a week we'd reduce our CO2 emissions by 149 million tons.
Again, this might not always be possible but if you live in urban environment and you can walk to work then why not. You'll save money on gas and parking, and help the environment.
|