1. Take a walk
Evolution has equipped us with a need for physical activity – about 10,000 steps a day to stay fit, the experts say. That's about 8 kilometres and 100 minutes of walking. Yet the conveniences of modern life mean you might get away as little as a tenth of that. Make the effort to walk whenever you can. Every litre of petrol you avoid using avoids about 2.3 kilograms in greenhouse pollution.
2. Get on your bike
One in 10 car trips is for a distance of less than a kilometre; one in three is less than three kilometres; and about half are less than five kilometres, a distance studies have consistently proven can be covered as quickly on a bike when you factor in traffic snarls and parking. It takes an average less than five minutes to cycle a kilometre, and (depending on the hills) less than 20 minutes to cover five. Even if it takes a little longer than a car, you are getting valuable exercise.
3. Be a passenger
Three in every four car trips transport only the driver, which makes using a standard five-seat sedan a hugely inefficient form of transport: 95 per cent of the fuel used is to move the vehicle, not you. Join the two Australians in 10 that use public transport, the one in 10 who regularly uses it to get to work or study – or better yet the one in 20 that walks or cycles. Taking a bus instead of driving a car for a typical 15-kilometre commute avoids up to 1.9 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions over a year.
4. Pool your resources
About 40 per cent of the fuel used by vehicles in major cities is due to interruptions to traffic flow, typically during peak congestion as people drive to and from work. This adds about 13 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year to the atmosphere – or about 17 per cent more to emissions from all domestic transport – along with many more noxious pollutants. But just a 4 per cent change in traffic volume can be the difference between free-flowing traffic and gridlock. Which is a good reason to car pool (or use public transport, or ride, or walk).
5. Think smaller
Australian vehicles use an average of 11.3 litres of fuel for every 100 kilometres travelled – no better than in the 1960s thanks to the trend towards bigger, heavier cars. Driving a large 4WD in city traffic, where you never negotiate terrain more hostile than a speed hump, uses up to 25 litres per 100 kilometres; a traditional six-cylinder family wagon uses about 15 litres; a smaller four-seater sedan uses about 12 litres. A scooter with a 250cc engine uses less than four litres – and with the thousands of dollars you save each year you can afford to get a taxi when it rains or rent a car for the weekend.
6. Drive smart
By accelerating slowly, driving at moderate speed and avoiding hard braking you can increase the kilometres you get from a tank of fuel. Avoid high speeds: at 110 km/h your car uses a quarter more fuel than cruising at 90 km/h. A car engine also produces about 40 per cent more emissions when cold, so avoid short trips: plan ahead to combine multiple errands and avoid peak-hour traffic when possible. Keep your car well-maintained and tyres inflated to the correct level. Remove the clutter from your boot or back seat that adds to the car’s weight.
7. Buy better fuel
There are three main choices: First, use a fuel brand with Greenhouse Friendly certification, such as BP Ultimate, where the price of the petrol also pays for abatement projects offsetting the carbon emissions produced by the petrol’s production and use; Second, use petrol blended with biofuels made from renewable or recycled sources, such as ethanol (made from cereals and sugarcane) and biodiesel (derived from vegetable oils or animal waste). A 10 per cent ethanol blend produces a third of the air pollutants of conventional petrol. Third, use high-octane fuel, which contains up to a third less sulphur than regular unleaded petrol, provides more engine power, more efficient consumption and cleaner emissions.
8. Go hybrid
A hybrid car has both an internal combustion engine (powered by petrol) and an electric moors (running off batteries). The batteries are charged during operation by the internal-combustion engine and the kinetic energy dissipated during deceleration. The electric motor helps in acceleration, takes over while cruising or when idling, and otherwise acts as a generator. A family-sized hybrid is more fuel-efficient than even the smallest conventional models, using less than five litres of fuel for each 100 kilometres travelled and burning fuel more cleanly so up to half the emissions of a comparable sized car are produced.
9. Limit your air travel
Air travel produces about as much carbon dioxide per passenger as driving your own car the same distance – and aircraft emissions, because they are released high in the atmosphere, are estimated to have a greenhouse effect three times greater than road vehicle emissions. A single return trip to Europe contributes more to global warming than an average Australian’s emissions from all other sources over a year. Shorter jaunts are proportionately worse due to the extra fuel used in take-offs and landings. Avoid unnecessary and frivolous air travel.
10. Offset your emissions
When you can’t reduce your travel emissions any further, mitigate the greenhouse emissions through a creditable carbon-offsetting scheme. To absorb the carbon dioxide produced by the average car in a year, for instance, requires planting an estimated 17 trees (for the biggest 4Wds it is more like 30 trees). There are questions about how effective tree planting as an offset mechanism is, though when planted in the right place they also help tackle dryland salinity, improve water quality and provide habitats for native species. The (probably better) alternative is to choose an offset company that invests in renewable energy projects that help to avoid emissions in the first place.
