Why Go Green with your Automobile

Making motor vehicles cleaner and more efficient is an important step toward sustainable transportation. A large part of this task is up to automakers, but choosing a greener vehicle is a step you can take that will head us in the right direction. Today's automobiles are made much cleaner than those of a generation ago. Nevertheless, they remain among the largest causes of environmental damage. Environmental impacts start when automobiles are made, continue throughout their life on the road, and don't end even when the vehicles are scrapped, since waste disposal creates pollution, too.

Ways to Go Green

A vehicle's greenness depends not only on its design, but also on how it is used. A car is greener when it's carrying two people rather than one and it's greener still with three. Consider your opportunities to reduce car use when practical, such as ridesharing, and combining several errands into one trip. Driving habits and regular maintenance on your vehicle can increase fuel efficiency.

Think about your Driving Habits. Every time your foot hits that gas pedal, you are burning fuel. Be light and delicate with it and you could see up to 30% gains in fuel efficiency. Also, your car doesn't like going super fast. For every 5 mph over 60, you'll see a 7% decrease in fuel efficiency. Try not to max out above 60. The brakes also require more ginger treatment. You lose energy every time you hit the brakes.

Keep your car well maintained. Tires and oil are the big ones. You'll lose 1.4% of your fuel efficiency for each PSI your tires are under recommended values. Not having enough, or the right kind of motor oil in your car could lose you 1-2%. And make sure you get your regular maintenance check-ups. A clogged air filter could cost you 10% efficiency, and a faulty oxygen sensor 40%.

Limit the weight you haul. The more weight you haul around, the less your fuel efficiency. Remove whatever excess weight you can from the vehicle: snow chains, boxes, etc. Every 100 pounds you can take out will improve your fuel economy another 1-2%.

3. Make your car aero-dynamic. The easier air flows over your car, the better mpg you'll get. Removing your luggage roof rack will buy you 5% fuel economy. Keeping your car sleek with regular washings and waxings will improve its efficiency another 7%.

Reasons For Buying Green

Investing in fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles is well worth it for many consumers. The decision to buy a green car remains largely an ecological and financial one. The simplified reason to buy a car that emits less pollution is to prevent global climate change. However, efforts to clean up automotive emissions started as an attempt to address public health concerns by reducing smog. Besides vehicle pollution controls, consumer choices are Americans' only tool for decreasing these automobile-generated carbon dioxide emissions.

For some, green cars offer another tangible benefit: lower costs at the pump. Because there is a direct relationship between fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions, a car that produces less carbon dioxide will cost less to fill up.

 Increase Energy Sustainability

Sustainable energy use is energy use that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their energy needs. Achieving sustainable energy use requires that energy be developed from renewable resources, produced by cleaner, more-efficient technologies, used more efficiently and with greater conservation

Almost all of the cars and trucks we drive run on fuels derived from oil, which is non-renewable. While there is some debate as to how long this resource will last, we will eventually have to find new ways to power highway vehicles. Researchers are hard at work exploring new fuels and vehicle technologies. In the meantime, it makes sense to use fossil resources such as oil more efficiently to buy time to develop new and better energy sources and to make the transition to these sources smoother and less expensive.