The Greening of Gavin

Zero Footprint Week – Transport

@ By Leave a Comment

 

Transport: How we get from A to B. 

Before man invented the wheel, the only choices we had were shanks pony (our feet), and riding animals.  Both modes of transport were and still are, extremely low carbon.  Then we invented the wheel which for thousands of years were attached to various types of vehicles that were pulled/pushed by humans or animals allowing for greater loads to be carried.  Once again, very low carbon options.

Then the steam engine was invented in the early 1700’s and it took George Stephenson to put wheels on it in the form of the Rocket,  thus began the industrial revolution and the beginning of the human race’s addiction to burning fossil fuels. 

Then, with the discovery of oil and the refining process, and the subsequent invention of the internal combustion engine, it all quickly went to custard.  Cars were relatively rare early on, and it wasn’t until Henry Ford invented the production line method of manufacturing cars making them affordable to the masses, did the automobile have any real environmental impact.  From that day in 1908, carbon emissions have been increasing exponentially  ever since.

So now we know a little history behind transportation, what can we do to reduce our own personal carbon footprint in this area?  Well here are three tips that will help you achieve this goal.

Walk, Cycle or Use Public Transport
A trip to the shop or the beach can be much more enjoyable if you leave the car at home and walk or cycle.  Not only do you save money on petrol, but you can also save time spent waiting in traffic and looking for a car park.  Also remember that kids have legs, and as they begin to look for more responsibility, let them ride or walk to school instead of you being the local taxi service or if they are too little, then walk to school with them.  I used to have a neighbour who’s drove her kids to the same school as Ben, and when I left for school at the same time as her, I actually used to beat her to the classroom, and then win the race back home as well.  We are only talking 1km here people.  So many people forget to factor in the hassle of parking, that they get much  more stressed than I ever would walking, and all because of pure laziness.  You also would not believe how many people actually drop their kids off in their pyjamas that also live very close to the school.  Obviously, none are too worried about their carbon footprint and too eager to get straight back in to bed when they get home!  Which leads me to the next tip.

Drive Smart
Making sure your car is healthy and planning trips ahead of time for maximum efficiency can save on time, money and carbon.  Planning trips will save you a lot of money.  Why do two trips when one will suffice?  When I go out on errands for Kim, she writes me a list of things to do and get, and the places to visit.  I then map the best route out in my head so that I don’t have to backtrack and waste any fuel.  Also, don’t skip on the maintenance.  Make sure your tires are inflated as per the manufacturers recommendations.  Flat tyres increase rolling resistance, and you burn more fuel.  Regular services ensure that the engine is at peak performance and not struggling by moving thicker dirty oil around its block.  This also burns more fuel.  I also find that by accelerating gently from a standstill, I save a lot of fuel.  In my hybrid, it can make the difference of 2 litres per 100km if I have a lead foot for a few hours.  Just think what that is like in a normal car! 

Choosing your next car on the basis of fuel efficiency also helps. Visit www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au to find out more about choosing a more eco-friendly car.  I have notice of late that there are so many V6 and V8 cars for sale on the side of the road around our town.  Even now that fuel prices have gone down a bit from before the global recession started, people are still ditching these gas guzzlers in droves.  I know it is not because everyone in my town has suddenly become environmental superheroes, it is just that the price of fuel is cutting into the household budget more than it used to.  Even by buying a second hand 4 cylinder car, you will reap the environmental benefits and lower your carbon footprint.

Try Car Pooling
Sometimes you need to drive to work, but why not have some company while you do so?  Driving to work with your fellow employees saves money, fuel and stress on your car.  For more information visit http://www.travelsmart.gov.au/links/.  Hey, what a cool link.  Thanks Zero Footprint Week site!  I have asked so many people in my town who work in the same building as me if they want to car pool, and I always get some lame excuse.  I am quite happy to do all the driving, because I have to pay for the lease anyway and have to do a ludicrous amount of kilometres per year to get a tax benefit.  But, alas no one want to share my green trip in with me 🙁

I will definitely be checking out the travel smart site to see if there are any tips on getting fellow travellers in my area.  Share the love I say! 

Tomorrows post will be about Sustainable Gardening, and how you can reduce your carbon footprint in this area. 

Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week web site for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.

See you all tomorrow for the last post on Zero Footprint Week!

Crazy Green Thoughts

@ By 5 Comments

Over the last month or so, I have been having many crazy green thoughts or CGT’s as I like to call them.  Here are a few I have recently come up with.

  1. Why can’t energy/water meters be located on the inside of your house.  That way, by just letting people see how much energy they are consuming, they will be likely to utilise less.
  2. Why can’t every new home be fitted with at least a 1kW Solar PV array as part of the building code.  The price of the home would only increase by about $5000, which is well within the reach of every new home owner.  With the amount of new homes that continue to be built around the country, it would help us avoid having to build any new coal fired power stations for a while.
  3. Why is it that there are so many road works, and no public transport works?
  4. Instead of landscaping new homes with lawns that inevitably die before the home is occupied, and that the owner cannot water anyway due to water restrictions, why don’t they just build raised garden beds for easy to start vegetable patches and supply a rainwater tank. That way a new home owner will be able to save on their food bill and be able to pay their mortgage off quicker with the savings.
  5. If oil is going to peak very soon (or already has) why are we not seeing alternatives to petrol and LPG cars?  Why is the government doubling the rebate for new cars fitted with LPG, and yet we see no rebate for Hybrids or Electric Vehicles which are more efficient and far less polluting?
  6. Why do people still take their kids to school in 4WD (SUV’s) when they live less than 15 minutes walk from the school?  Are they all rich and think that petrol grows on trees, or are more concerned with their precious lives than they are about getting fit and curtailing climate change?
  7. How come energy efficiency never rates a mention during government campaigns for climate change.  Why do we only get told how many black balloons appliances use, and not the real cause which is that we have a TV/DVD in every room, all left on standby because we are all too lazy to turn it off at the wall.
  8. Why is Global Warming all smoke and no rivers?
  9. If you had a choice to buy a property in a low lying coastal area for a bargain price in the next decade, would you do it?
  10. Why do the retailers start putting their Christmas stuff out earlier each year?  Keep Christmas in December! 

These are but a few of the CGT’s I have been having of late, I just forget to write them down!  I don’t profess to have the answers, I just thought it would be good to put them out there.  Let me know via comment if you have been having any of late and what they are.  I would love to hear them. 

An Inconvenient Truth

@ By 3 Comments

A month into my journey and my family began to think I was going crazy. I was behaving in ways that were most unusual for me. I was moody when I saw waste, upset when I saw excess, and generally down in the dumps.

I believe that this was because I knew something that they did not, and that was if humanity continues to spew CO2 and other GHG into the atmosphere, then catastrophic climate change was around the corner, if not already here. Sure, they had heard of the term “Climate Change”, but didn’t really understand the impact on themselves.

The Australian media was not helping at the time (November 2006), with limited coverage on the issue and only focusing on the extended drought which they kept reporting was the result of an unusual El Nino effect. I cannot remember at any time when the press mentioned the real reason for this prolonged event.

So, to get all of my family on the same page so to speak, I managed to borrow a copy of “An Inconvenient Truth” and I held a family meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to show the movie and then discuss it. All family members attended, and about 30 minutes in, I saw a familiar look upon some of their faces. It was the same look I noticed upon the people at the cinema where I saw it! Firstly disbelief, then shock and a sense of overwhelming. Kim was the most vocal during the film and was shocked to see the melting ice around the globe.

Once the movie was over, we had an intense discussion. Adam rightly argued that he felt powerless and that not everyone could afford a Hybrid car like me. Amy indirectly blamed my generation and those before me for creating the mess, and I felt guilty as charged. Megan and Ben understood, but didn’t say much.

Kim and the kids now knew about as much I did, and felt just as helpless as I did. The only action I had taken was to change about 20% of our incandescent light bulbs to compact fluoro lights and had bought a Hybrid car. A good start, but not good enough for me. At the time I just did not know what else I could do! A lot more research was needed before I did know what steps we could all take.

However all was not lost, and I am happy to report that the “Al Gore Effect” worked on my family as it did on me. There has only been action in the right direction ever since we saw the Academy award-winning documentary. Thanks Albert Gore for going out on a limb for the human race. You are a worthy recipient of the Nobel Peace prize!