Travelling Wisely

 

Travelling Wisely

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   Walk or ride a bicycle when your destination is close to home. Surprisingly, short trips are generally the harder on your car and on the environment than long trips. Next time you only have a short distance to go, swap out your car for your feet or bike.^[26]

   • Ensure that children learn to ride a bicycle at a young age, as the benefits of bike riding far outweigh any risks. Encourage schools to install bicycle racks so that more children can ride bicycles to school.
   • Always wear a helmet and safety reflective gear when riding a bicycle.
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   Organize a carpool to commute for work or school to save gas. Coordinate with another person or 2 that you work or go to school with to set up a carpool. This can help the environment by saving on gas as well as maintenance on vehicles. Work with other parents in your neighborhood to form a carpool to take the kids to school or extra-curricular activities.^[27]

   • Carpooling will also enable you to take the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on a highway, which will usually save time and money on gasoline.
   • If you live near your children's school, consider organizing a "walking school bus" instead of driving. Children walk or bicycle to school together in groups, supervised and guided by parents. Neighborhood parents can take turns leading the group.
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   Take public transport for an affordable, low-impact option. If you live in an area that has a bus, light rail, or subway system, consider taking this option to get to work, school or wherever you may need to go. Replacing car trips with public transport trips reduces congestion on roads and reduces the overall amount of gasoline that is used.

   • Many bus systems in major cities operate diesel-electric hybrid buses, which further reduces harmful emissions.
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   Plan out your errands and combine trips to reduce pollution. Make errand trips more efficient by planning out where you will go and hitting all of your stops in one trip. This will make your trip a little longer, but you will have fewer of them and won’t be driving the same path multiple times.^[28]

   • Don't forget to call ahead or check online to make sure you'll arrive during business hours and that what you want is available.
   • When you can, simplify your purchases by checking their availability online or by phone before you make a trip. For example, you might use a grocery app to select the foods you need so you know they'll be available when you get to the store. Not only will this save you time on grocery shopping, it'll also save you a trip to a different store!
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   Drive an electric car if you have been looking for a new vehicle. Or consider a hybrid car, which runs on both gasoline and electric motors. These types of vehicles not only give off less emissions into the air, but they also can save you money with fewer trips to the gas station.^[29]

   • You may also be able to get a tax credit on your U.S. federal taxes during the tax year that you bought a hybrid car.^[30]
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   Take fewer airplane flights. Whether for work or vacation, lower the number of flights you take each year. Airplanes emit vast quantities of carbon dioxide and other polluting materials, which increases annually due to increased numbers of flights around the world.^[31] Do your part by taking fewer flights.^[32]

   • If you can, opt to stay longer in a location rather than traveling back and forth.
   • Trains or buses are good alternatives to short flights.