5 minutes – call a friend: Take a few minutes and call a co-worker or stop for a chat at the water cooler and set up a ride-share. Carpooling is an excellent way to lower your footprint. NRDC notes that EVEN if you live just ten miles away from work you can save 236 gallons of gas annually by carpooling. That’s a lot of gas and a lot of money.

>1 minute – turn off the car: Idling is a terrible waste of gas. In less than one minute you can turn that car off as you wait. NOTE you should only not idle if your wait is longer than 30 seconds. It does take less gas to restart a car then to leave it running BUT a newly started car also releases more start-up pollution.

2 minutes – pump the tires: I just recently put air into my tires (all four) and it took about two minutes. While small, this quick step can save you big on your carbon footprint. Having properly inflated tires can increase your fuel economy by 3%+. According to NRDC, if every single American kept their tires inflated to the correct level it would save 2.8 billion gallons of gas a year! PS now is a great time to check your tires because the cool weather of winter tends to deflate your tires more quickly than normal.

To learn more about green driving take a look at develop eco-driving habits.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Green Your Ride in Just Minutes

In any case, Ford forwarded me nice eco-driving tips that you’ll like because they’ll save you money and help protect the environment. They sent me 10 tips in all – here are five of them…

1. Accelerate smoothly and brake gradually. Jackrabbit starts waste fuel.
2. Don’t be an aggressive driver. Time studies show that fast starts, weaving in and out of traffic and accelerating to and from a stop sign or traffic light don’t save much time but do waste fuel and wear out car components such as brakes and tires faster.
3. Avoid piling a lot of luggage on the roof rack. This reduces aerodynamics and can reduce fuel economy by up to 5 percent.
4. Replace air filters as needed. Consult the owner’s guide for the recommended schedule.
5. Use good-quality oils with the viscosity grade recommended in the owner guide. Ford recommends SAE 5W-20 oil for most cars and trucks to provide the best fuel economy. Only oils “Certified for Gasoline Engines” by the American Petroleum Institute (API) with the starburst symbol should be used.

Visit Eco-Driving: Ten Easy Tips for Saving Fuel to see all ten eco-driving tips.

Thanks to Ford Motor Company for the tips and image.

Post from: Blisstree

Develop Eco-Driving Habits

WHEN BUYING A CAR:

• Buy the most fuel efficient car you can afford in the class and size you want. Overall though, going for a smaller car will usually score you some easy green auto points.
• Choose extras that add to your car’s eco-worthiness. Items like radial tires and fuel injection can help. One biggie extra is buying as new as you can afford. Most newer cars do better than their past relatives when it comes to fuel efficiency.
• Check out car companies backgrounds to see how their eco-ethics stack up.
• Choose a car with a positive long-life rating.
• Use those muscles! Power windows and other power gadgets consume more gas. That said, it’s tough to find manual nowadays. I did see some when car shopping last year though.
• Choose the correct color car. People like to debate this, but most green guides recommend this.
• Get the best tires for your car that you can afford. Tires wear out alarmingly fast and most aren’t recycled. (Although, note, you can and should recycle your tires).

WHEN DRIVING A CAR:

• Don’t drive the damn car. I know that header says when driving, but the best way to save gas is to bike, take the bus, run, skateboard, or walk whenever feasible.
• Carpool when possible.
• Combine errands and shop at places close to home.
• Use cruse control on the freeway.
• Drive the speed limit.
• Keep your engine tuned, change your oil on time, rotate those tires, and keep up on all the other little maintenance chores you should be keeping up with.
• Buy less expensive gas. Gas companies want you to buy premium, but most cars run fine, some even better, on regular. The higher the octane, the worse it is for the planet because aromatics, i.e. harmful pollutants, are added to high octane gasoline.

How are you greening your ride?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Make any car more fuel efficient

The Nissan NV200:

Pop!

And inside – see you could live here.

So, this isn’t even a new car – I’m slower than slow about cars. Structures I get; cars, um, not so much. People are actually surprised when I can pump my own gas. (I grew up in Oregon). I really just like this car for the livability aspects. However, this is a cool green choice of an automobile, that much I do know. You can read all about it at ZerCustoms.

Better yet, learn all about green cars, trucks, and vans by visiting Eco Friendly Driver. Hilary, who blogs over at Eco Friendly seems to know about these things called breaks, sticks, engines, and safety ratings. Plus of course, she knows about it in a green way (double bonus).

[photos via ZerCustoms]

Post from: Blisstree

Not an offbeat house at all…