The Green Minute: Green Your Car Today

With gas prices soaring in the state of California to $5 a gallon, is a jump in gas prices in store for the rest of the United States? For today’s Green Minute, we’ve got some simple “greening your car” tips that are useful whether prices skyrocket or stay the same in your region of the country.

Don’t Idle. Waiting in your child’s school carpool line? Turn off the car. Stuck in an afternoon rush hour traffic jam? Turn off the car. Leaving your car idle for 9 minutes releases twice as many pollutants as if you were to turn it off and then restart. Restarting does not waste excess gas.

Tune ups. Regularly service your car. Change the oil and air filter. Check your tires. An air pressure gauge may be the most valuable $4 purchase you can make. When cars are not serviced, fuel efficiency can be reduced 10-20%.

Stick to the speed limit. Along with being safer, driving the speed limit saves money. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph adds 20 cents per gallon. Sudden stops and starts will also reduce your gas mileage.

Don’t be Alone. Carpool, Transit, Bike or Walk – Much like the old slogan, reduce, reuse, recycle – when possible – carpool, transit, bike and walk. Don’t drive alone if all possible. Join a carpool and take transit if available and/or just park the car and walk or bike. Obviously, the more eco-friendly transportation options you use, the more gas and money you will save.

These four tips will get you started toward greening your car and your lifestyle today. For additional tips visit Grist and
Treehugger.

by Pat Byington, editor The Green Register