08.04.08
And On Our Left…
A good friend of mine will soon be guest-blogging here as the automotive correspondent. So, give a green welcome to Jason Gullickson…
06.07.08
Weekend Census VIII
For the few of you that can afford traveling with gas prices being what they are, a series of links on green hotels:
- Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies Green Hotel Initiative
- International Tourism Partnership
- Green Hotels Association
- GreenSeal
- Green Leaf Eco-Rating for Lodging Program (Canada)
05.26.08
I Want to Ride My Bicycle
Since I now live in a warmer climate, I’ve been riding my bike to work on the non-rainy days for about three months. (Unfortunately, since it’s a warmer climate, the temperature is now - mid-May - at the intolerable stage to my frigid northern blood.) My round trip to work is about 3 miles, so it takes me about 20 minutes on my bike, including unlocking and locking the bike, walking from bike rack to door, etc. Given that it takes me 10 minutes in my car, it’s not really a big time suck.
I had originally considered what I was saving in terms of gas and carbon emissions, but the Commute Solutions website has a nifty calculator that reveals all sorts of other costs, like water pollution and wear on your vehicle. So, according to their calculations, I’m saving $3.39 each time I ride my bike to work. Assuming that I’ve riden an average of two days per week for the last three months, I’ve saved $81.36 by riding my bike. I get another figure - $2.19 per day - using the SmartTrips calculator, but I get the impression they’re not adding in as many factors as Commute Solutions. Their calculator also reveals that I’m reducing my carbon footprint by 0.15 pounds each day I ride.
Overall, according to suite101.com, a bike can travel 960 miles on the equivalent energy of one gallon of gas (I’m guessing this accounts for food used for the bicyclist’s energy). Is your car’s gas mileage 960 miles a gallon? If so, where can I buy your car?! With gas prices climbing, more and more people will be biking, so even if you’re not a cyclist, keep your eyes out for them and respect their rights. And this post would not be complete without a mention of BRASS - Baton Rouge Advocate for Safer Streets - who hosted a wonderful (if overly hot) bike tour of cemetaries this past weekend. Kudos to them for all their efforts!
(And I’m back, after an overly long and mysterious absence!)
12.31.07
Insurance: Greening a Necessary Evil
If you watch even a little television, you’ve probably seen those silly cartoon videos for esurance.com. I don’t know how good their insurance is since I insure my car through another company. But, one of their recent commercials attracted my attention more than usual. Apparently, they’re making big efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.
According to the environmental page on their website, their claims vehicles are hybrids, and they do most of their communication with customers online to reduce paper use. They store all their records using document imaging, which I think is pretty cool, since what’s the point in having a computer if everything gets printed? According to the page on what they do, their reduction in paper in 2006 saved 649 trees. And what they can’t eliminate thru paper reduction and hybrid vehicles, they offset in partnership with Carbonfund.org.
Because of moving to a new state, I may have to switch insurance carriers. If that happens and I switch to esurance, I’ll make sure to keep everyone updating on the quality of their customer service and product. I checked an automobile insurance review site, and while esurance definitely had its share of bad reviews, most of the other companies had similarly low or lower ratings. Bad news travels faster than good, I guess. Regardless, if you’re considering switching, do your research and see what others have experienced with the agent in your area.
08.31.07
Driving Companion
That scooter of cool is now even cooler. Vespa is rolling out (ick…bad pun…sorry) two hybrid scooters. One is the Vespa LX 50, and the other is the Piaggio X8 125. Unfortunately, I think they’re only launching them in Europe for now with European 220V plug-ins, and I doubt that more than a handful will make their way here since Vespas seem to have a smallish counterculture following here (and there’s always that plug conversion problem). Vespas always remind me of that song by the Who - Talking ‘Bout my Generation. I read somewhere that they wrote the song (with the stutter in it - m-m-m-my) about the kids in the 60s, I think, that used to ride their mopeds around London all hopped up on speed. What? Oh, that was a tangent?
I have been a slacker with updating! Argh! So, I’ll give you two posts today to make up for it…
08.05.07
Weekend Census V
This weekend, a list of hybrid automobiles, with mpg ratings for the 2007 model year cars:
- Honda Civic - 51/49 mpg
- Toyota Prius - 51/60 mpg
- Toyota Camry - 38/40 mpg
- Ford Escape - 31/36 mpg (the 2008 model drops to 30/34 mpg)
- Mercury Mariner - 29/32 mpg (2008 improves to 30/34 mpg)
- Honda Accord - 35/28 mpg
- Lexus RX 400 - 27/32 mpg
- Toyota Highlander - 27/32 mpg
- Lexus GS - 25/28 mpg
- Saturn VUE green line - 32/27 mpg
- Lexus LS - 20/22 mpg
- Chevrolet Silverado - 21/18 mpg
- GMC Sierra - 21/18 mpg
07.31.07
Gimme the Car
(I’ve been so darn busy lately! Sorry for the lack of posts.)
It’s no secret that the S in SUVs is short for sucky-fuel-mileage. But, just how much are you saving by driving that subcompact? You can be proud to know that the average car emits 30 tons less CO2 in its lifetime than a typical SUV. And that average car will save enough energy in a year (as compared to the SUV) to power a color TV for 28 years or leave your frig door open for 6 years. !!! And that’s the average car; a fuel-efficient car saves $300 to $700 a year in fuel costs and 2 tons in greenhouse gases. And for those of you with a hybrid, even a family-sized hybrid (a sedan) is more efficient than a subcompact. A family will spend $2500-$2800 in gas on a conventional car, and only $800-$1500 a year on a hybrid.
For those of you who must drive an SUV or are stuck with one till you can afford to buy a hybrid (yeah, that’s me - it’s a small SUV tho), you can join the National Arbor Day Foundation or American Forests. A small amount of money can help to make your commute carbon neutral by donating enough to help plant trees to offset your driving. If you’re looking for a rental car, Enterprise has done its part by giving the Arbor Day Foundation a $50 million donation to plant 50 million trees. Woah!
All this info is thanks to the book True Green.
06.26.07
Who Killed the Electric….Volt?
Several months ago, I watched a really interesting documentary called Who Killed the Electric Car?. It followed the story of the EV1 in the 90’s, a car sold mostly in California that was recalled by GM and summarily destroyed.
Apparently, GM may be realizing it’s mistake because it launched the Volt at an auto show in Shanghai in April. According to the Marketplace report, it won’t be ready to go into production until the end of the decade, but at least they’re now moving in the right direction. Plus, the Volt can go 300 miles on a charge, rather than the 100 that the EV1 could go on a charge (if I’m remembering the documentary correctly).
12.16.06
For Those Who Have Everything
If you’re anything like me, you’re down to the last one or two people on your Christmas list. You have no idea what to get them because they have everything. And the few things they might want cost more than you make in a year. So this year, I decided to make a donation in their name. I have it narrowed down to a few causes to choose from.
The first is holiday cards from NativeEnergy. These are carbon offset cards that come in 1 ton ($12) or 6 ton ($72) denominations. You can choose from helping to build new Native American wind turbines or a renewable methane generator on a family farm.
Another choice in the running is greendimes. For a dime a day, they will rid you of junk mail - all those annoying credit card offers, solicitations, catalogs, etc. Their theory is that its cheaper to pay them to get rid of your junk mail than doing all the legwork yourself. And, they plant a tree a month for you.
The third possible charity I’m considering is terrapass. A friend mentioned this to me as her preferred source for carbon offsets. Like NativeEnergy, they send a card and, depending on the type of offset purchased, they include a window decal or luggage tag. They also have a really good calculator to determine how much offset your vehicle requires. (Sustainable Travel International has information on the quality of Terrapass, NativeEnergy and many other carbon offset programs)
The final charity I’m considering is the World Wildlife Fund. They’re offering virtual ‘adoptions’ of 40 different animals. If you donate $50 or more, you get a little plush version of the animal you’ve adopted. If you donate online, regardless of the amount, you get screensavers, wallpaper and AIM icons for the recipient. If someone on your gift list has a favorite animal, this would be a great choice.
So, happy gift giving and congratulations on finishing your holiday shopping!
12.08.06
Carbon Footprints
I’ve been hearing more and more lately about carbon offsetting. Carbon offsetting involves donating an amount of money determined to be equal to the monetary impact of the carbon you use in your everyday life while you drive your car, have your packages shipped or fly to see grandma at the holidays. The money is then used to fund wind farms, energy efficiency projects and reforestation.
Ecobusinesslinks.com recently chose carbonfund.org as most affordable in their carbon offsetting price survey. Cool Driver offers offsets for your driving habits and type of car, and they even offer a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for signing up. Make mine Half Baked, thank you.
Most carbon offset purchasing sites have calculators of varying complexity to determine your carbon footprint. At some retailers, you can choose to offset the impact of your purchase with them. You can also offset someone else’s carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offset gift packs at Nigel’s Eco Store, Carbon Clear and CO2 Balance, to name just a few.
