Posts Tagged ‘carbon footprint’

Ways to Erase Your Carbon Footprint

November 24th, 2011

Driving a car is a necessity in today’s society, but it also produces air pollution that is harmful to humans as well as our natural resources. The average car burns about 98 tons of fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are non renewable because they can’t be regenerated fast enough to keep up with the high demand of human consumption.

Your carbon footprint is the amount of deadly greenhouse gases which are measured in units of carbon dioxide. The Duke University conducted a study and over 97 million billion pounds of carbon dioxide was released into the air from fossil fuels in just one year.

A green vehicle will cut down on this problem and minimize your carbon footprint. When someone refers to a green car they are talking about a car that uses alternative fuel sources. A regular car uses petroleum fuel to run this is also known as fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are what is known as non renewable energy and releases harmful gases into the air. A green car uses other fuel sources which include bio-diesel, solar energy or electricity to run the car.

There are other benefits to driving a green vehicle besides helping to decrease greenhouse gases. They are cheaper to run and maintain. They do not contribute to acid rain and create less smog in the air. A green car is better for our environment and reduces global warming.

Others ways to decrease the greenhouse gases that are cause by driving vehicles that are not eco-friendly is to not drive at all whenever possible. You can walk whenever it is feasible and get exercise and help the earth at the same time. Sharing a ride is another way to help cut down on our carbon footprint.

Green cars are considered the “wave of the future” because of the way they are changing our thinking about what we drive. The green car concept makes everyone more aware of the environment and what we can do to help erase our carbon footprint.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

March 24th, 2011

I read a review on a green eco-car a couple of years back; I can’t remember the car but what I do remember is the analysis of how much it reduced carbon emissions.

It came as a shock.

It simply didn’t.

The fuel used (electric/regular gas combination) did produce outstanding mileage figures and the operating carbon footprint was pretty miniscule but this is the misconception that needs to be overcome.

The operating costs are not the only costs involved in the equation.  If you are going to  reduce your carbon footprint you must also take into account the carbon cost of producing the vehicle in the first instance – something many people, including car marketing departments, tend to overlook with all of the hype.

Reducing your carbon footprint in practical terms involves not only how we use our vehicles but how they are themselves manufactured; just take a look at how much water is required to produce a rubber tire for instance!

You can reduce your carbon footprint today by simply addressing your driving habits and this helps no matter what car you drive.

Drive at lower speeds; reducing your speed by 5 miles an hour will result in a dramatic reduction in gas consumption.  To drive a car forward from 65 to 70 miles an hour requires 90% more fuel to be burned so follow the speed limits as they are set not only with road user safety in mind but also the environments.

Leave the car at home; try walking or cycling as an alternative which reduces pollution immediately and is a healthier bonus for you too.

Reduce the weight you are carrying in your car; if you are using your SUV as an extension of the house and garage just remember that every pound you carry is costing you gas to carry around.

Make sure you have your car serviced regularly so it burns fuel efficiently; a regular combustion engine can burn fuel extremely cleanly but it needs to be in good shape to do this.