Carpooling
Nothing is easier than popping into the car and heading off into the world -- two, three, four, or a dozen times a day without a second thought -- but each trip shoves more carbon dioxide and other pollutants down the planetary throat than any other activity in your typical day. Drive less, drive smarter, and don't drive alone.
Why Do It?
If you want to make a difference for the planet, your driving habits are the place to start. Want to instantly cut your emissions in half? Get a carpool buddy. Worried about the size of your carbon footprint? Nowhere can you more quickly reduce your negative effect on the environment than by increasing your driving efficiency.
Option 1: Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle. Ever thought about a Vespa?
Option 2: Combine trips. Make each trip out of your driveway a multitasking event--cars operate more efficiently once they have warmed up, producing fewer pollutants and burning less gasoline.
Option 3: Carpool. Your own company might offer a carpooling group, or go online to participate in one of these carpooling communities to find some buddies for your daily commute:
eRideShare
Dividetheride
Carpoolconnect
Carpoolworld
iCarpool
Option 4: Road trip! The above sites also present options for carpooling across long distances, a less expensive and far less polluting option than carbon-intensive flights and cheaper than the train or bus.
Option 5: Bike, walk, ride the bus or subway, pogo-stick to wherever you need to go, and stay at home in the company of family and neighbors when you get the urge to go for a Sunday drive.
Option 6: Drive your most efficient vehicle, no matter how tempting that Mustang looks in your garage!
01/15/2009: Michelle from San Francisco, CA writes: "There's this thing they have to group up strangers for carpooling. I think I heard it on the radio, maybe NPR or something, but I don't remember what city it was in. Anyway, people lined up in this same spot in town (and this went of for years) and cars with just the driver would drive up to the head of the line and pick up the next people in line who were going to the same place. So the people in line got a free ride, and the driver got to use the express lanes that need you to have at least one passenger. It's like a taxi stand, but free. I'd love to see it out here. Did anybody else hear the story?"
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PLEASE SEND US YOUR GREEN SOLUTIONS FOR THE PLANET!