If you drive, it can often be easy to forget about the environmental damage your vehicle can cause. Cars emit various emissions that cause serious damage to the environment. Given the amount of cars on the road, it’s easy to see how this damage can add up. Yet this doesn’t excuse the individual driver; there are plenty of options you can take to ensure your individual footprint is reduced.
Whether it’s sharing a car pool, learning to drive efficiently or buying a hybrid car, there are plenty of options to reduce your carbon footprint when out on the road.
Car Pool
This is one of the more common methods to reduce pollution, especially if you drive to work on a regular basis. If you drive, this most likely means you should consider giving someone else a lift.
If you and a co-worker have the same destination, then there is no need for two separate vehicles. Not only does it save the environment, but it can be cost effective too, if your co-workers cover some of the fuel costs. It’s a drive you were going to be making anyway, car pooling only makes it cheaper and more eco-friendly. Click here for resources on Earthgarage.
Fuel Efficient Driving
This isn’t the easiest skill to master, but fuel efficient driving can, similar to car pooling, save you both money and prevent damage to the environment. Put simply, fuel efficient driving is the act of getting from one location to another without wasting fuel. This can be done by going easy on the accelerator and being smart about your choice of gears. Faster speeds use a lot of fuel, as does running the car in a traffic jam.
Whether its careful driving or planning your routes more effectively, this will save you money through the fuel saved. So, in addition to helping the environment, you can help make your car save you more money through fewer trips to the gas station.
Hybrid Technology
Finally, if you really want to help save the environment, you should invest in a hybrid car. The earliest of these cars were built by the likes of Lexus, but they are now a much more common occurrence on the market. Utilizing both a gasoline engine and clean, electric energy, a hybrid car greatly reduces the reliance on gas. It’s still used when going at faster speeds (something you can further avoid with fuel efficient driving) but relies on the electric energy for the rest.
Once again, this saves the environment through spending as little gasoline as possible. A very fuel effective option, hybrid technology is becoming much more popular. Its encouraged by the government, due to cheaper road tax and exemptions from various local charges. In this way, a hybrid car would be a strong investment for the future, as it is only going to become more commonplace.
In short, these are only a few of the ways in which you can pollute less when driving. Whether you choose to invest in a hybrid car, drive more efficiently or car pool, there are plenty of options for you to consider.