Easy Ways to Drive Green
Until automakers develop a more environmentally friendly automobile, it’s up to each one of us drivers to help reduce our car’s footprint on the planet. It only takes one car you know to significantly impact the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average car emits as much as 575 pounds of carbon monoxide into the air each year.
Here are some easy ways to reduce your impact on the environment without changing your lifestyle and without buying a new car.
Your Car: Regular maintenance isn’t only beneficial to your car’s life expectancy but also to the environment.
1. Simply following the recommendations for maintenance in your owner’s manual. An out-of-tune engine can increase emissions and fuel consumption by as much as 15 percent. Always follow your car manufacturer’s suggested tune-up schedule to ensure your vehicle is performing at its best.
2. Upgrade your motor oil. Some of the newer high-performance synthetic motor oils have been proven to significantly reduce emissions. They can reduce carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 62 percent when compared to conventional petroleum-based oils. They also can improve fuel economy by as much as 5 percent and produce notable horsepower and torque increases. So you can switch to an environmentally friendly product without giving up performance.
3. Regularly replace your air filter. Air filters keep impurities from damaging the interior of the engine, so replacing dirty filters will save gas and protect your engine. A clogged air filter can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10 percent.
4. Keep the tires of your vehicle properly inflated. One study estimates that 50 to 80 percent of the tires rolling on U.S. roads are under inflated. The U.S. Energy Department reports that under-inflated tires can increase fuel consumption by up to 6 percent. Astonishingly, we could save up to 2 billion gallons of gas each year simply by properly inflating our tires.
5. Avoid topping off your gas tank. Topping off releases gas fumes into the air and cancels the benefits of the pump’s anti-pollution devices. Capping your tank once the pump automatically shuts off is safer and reduces pollution.
Your Driving: These tips will help you drive in a more eco-friendly way or Drive Green in your current vehicle and they are easy to implement.
6. Avoid “jack rabbit” starts and aggressive driving. Flooring the gas pedal not only wastes gas, it leads to drastically higher pollution rates. One second of aggressive driving can produce nearly the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as 20 minutes of normal driving. The same goes for rushing up to a stop light and then braking hard at the last minute you’re using more gas than you should be. Ease out of a green light and ease into a red light. Studies have shown that you can increase your fuel efficiency from 5% up to about 33% if you follow these two little rules.
7. Use your cruise control if you have one and don’t be a speed demon. When you drive faster than 60 mph, you get less mileage for your money (up to 23 percent less). This is a significant difference. Some lawmakers are even considering a bill to set a national speed limit of 55mph to help.
8. Limit the amount of time that your car is idling. In some places it is illegal to idle for more than 3 minutes. Idling eats up gas but gets you nowhere and it really adds a dense amount of pollution to the immediate area. If you are in line waiting to pick up someone from the airport or a child from school, turn your engine off. You’ll increase your gas mileage and reduce your emissions.
9. Combine your trips. Commuting with someone in your office is a great way to be a green motorist without plunking down some serious money on a hybrid or more fuel-efficient vehicle. If you’re a parent who stays home with the children, consider planning one day for your errands. The less you drive the less pollution you’ll add to the environment.
It’s not necessary to buy a new fuel-sipping car in order to drive green. You can develop maintenance and driving habits that will yield huge savings at the pump. It will help future generations as well by reducing your consumption and emissions. These easy tips will help your car run more efficiently and assist you to drive in a way that saves you money and reduces the amount of carbon emissions, or pollution.
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