Convenient Truths: Driving Your Way to Lower Carbon Emissions (and a Great Contest Video)
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 01. 3.07
The video submissions to Treehugger and Seventh Generation's Convenient Truths contest continue to roll in, and now you can even take a look at what others treehugging videographers are sending us. Will one of these submissions earn a portion of the over $30,000 in prizes? Hard to say... we haven't seen your video yet! Keep in mind that the timing of your submission might matter also, as you may be able to score a phone conversation with contest judge Daryl Hannah if you are one of the first folks to submit a video(s) in 2007!
A few readers reacted strongly to our notice of "hypermiler" Wayne Gerdes and his, shall we say, unconventional methods of achieving really high fuel efficiency. These extreme methods certainly are dangerous, but much more safe and realistic methods of driving your car (whether it's a high efficiency model or not) can bring your miles per gallon up significantly. Take a drive, and bring along a friend with a video camera or mobile phone to record you using some of these practices:
- Ease up on the brakes: hard braking will significantly lower your fuel efficiency. In fact, one European study found that "jackrabbit start-and-stop" driving in the city increased fuel consumption by 37%. Start braking lightly well before a stop, and look for routes you can take with fewer stop signs and traffic lights.
- Slow down: You lose 7% of your fuel efficiency for every 5 mph you go over 60. Keep in mind that those higher speeds will gain you little in terms of time saved (often its minutes, or even seconds).
- Avoid idling: if you've got to stop for more than a few seconds, turn the car off.
- Keep your tires inflated: make sure that you know the manufacturer's recommendation for tire pressure (usually found on the driver's-side door, or in the owner's manual), and check them monthly.
Keep those videos coming! Remember, we're not looking for professional polish; anyone who can catch a two minute clip on camera or on your cellcan enter the Convenient Truths contest. Once your video(s) is ready, don't wait to upload them -- the entry period ends on February 28!
Can the recent drop in oil prices be explained by people driving less? I know I've made a big shift in my driving habits over the last six months.
Personal driving habit help but I don't think it can account for the oil price drop. Global ecomic condition, oil production, climate, political situation, etc. play much major role on the price. Regardless, drive less is always a very good thing.
Oil prices have decreased due to an expected cool winter in north western countries... Stil, changing your driving habits is a great example for others... drive on man!
Since I drive a stick shift I try to maximize driving in 5th gear. This lowers my engine's RPM's by over 1K, and I get AT LEAST 35% better gas mileage! Also, depressing your clutch as soon as practicable when coming to a stop light...will further cut your engine's RPM's, increasing your gas mileage even more. For awhile I was depressing my clutch any time I could and coasting but my son (a high performance tuner) told me that would wear out the "throw-out" bearings in the clutch system sooner; he recommended putting my car in neutral and coasting instead. That can get tricky though because you have to remember that you have moved into neutral; hence, if you need to make any "swift" moves you're at a disadvantage. Don't waste your $$ on gas additives that claim to stretch your gas mileage; $ for $ it's a rip-off.
Use the draft; time the traffic lights; milk every bit of momentum from your throttle expenditures.
This coming from a racing driver. We do learn a thing or two about efficiency...