How Drivers Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint refers your activities which release gases into the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide or methane. These are “greenhouse gases”, which have been scientifically proven to accelerate changes to climate and the environment.
Every time you use your vehicle, leave the lights on unnecessarily in your home, or purchase products that are not produced locally, you increase your carbon footprint.
As a driver, here are some helpful tips to reduce your carbon footprint:
1) Adopt environmentally sound driving habits:
Accelerate slowly and gradually, maintain a constant speed and anticipate your stops and starts. These actions will greatly reduce your annual CO2.
Make sure your tires are properly inflated to maximize your gas mileage.
Turn off air conditioning whenever weather permits.
Remove luggage and bike racks when they are not in use. Travel light: 45 kg in the trunk increases fuel consumption by 1 to 2 percent.
When not in traffic or if stationary for more than 10 seconds, turn off your engine.
Take traffic into account when selecting a route.
2) Verify the state of your vehicle regularly:
Your fuel, air, and oil filters should be changed regularly. When your vehicle is running optimally, gas emissions control systems work best, and you pollute less.
3) Reduce car wash sessions:
Washing a standard vehicle requires approximately 600 litres of water! Visit professional car washes, as they tend to use much less water.
4) Choose an energy-efficient vehicle:
If you need to change vehicle and your budget allows it, cars such as the Toyota Prius C, the Chevrolet Spark and the Buick Encore, to name a few, have very good emissions records.
The challenge is on! Will you be able to follow these recommendations and help improve environmental health?
Sources:
Comment réduire votre empreinte de carbone (How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint), from WikiHow. Accessed September 9, 2016 at http://fr.wikihow.com/r%C3%A9duire-votre-empreinte-carbone
Comment réduire votre empreinte écologique (How to Reduce Your Ecological Footprint), taken from the Green Guide by David Suzuki, summarized by Alexandra Bastien for Le Géant Vert – March 2009. Accessed September 9, 2016 at http://cegepat.qc.ca/environnement/doc/resum_guide_vert.pdf
Les aventures de Rafale : Les voitures vertes, taken from the website for Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change of the Government of Quebec. Accessed September 9, 2016 at http://www.mddelcc.gouv.qc.ca/jeunesse/chronique/2014/1401-voitures-vertes.htm