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Be The Change

A 12 Step Sustainability Program for Communities

Step 2: Drive Less & Live More Outside Your Car

How much of your life is wasted commuting and running errands on autopilot? Think of the hours of life you would get back each week if you didn’t have to commute.

TIME

• Cut your commute or the best commute is no commute—Talk to your boss about working from home one day a week. One fifth of the work force (24 million people) telecommute at least one day per month. Most people say they get more done and enjoy their work week more. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
• If you can’t work from home, consider moving your home closer to work or your work closer to home—the average commute time in America is about an hour a day. What could you do with an extra five hours a week?Take a train or bus to work—If you ride a train or bus, you can read or work during the commute so you have more time for yourself at home.

MONEY

• Share the road—Take the train to work or start a car pool. Driving in with neighbors will make your week more varied and interesting and save everyone money for gas. If five days a week seems like too much of a commitment, try one or two days a week. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers. Or just talk to your neighbors.
• Use less gas—You could buy a hybrid but before you do that, you'll need to think twice. Stop and calculate how much waste you'll produce by getting rid of your old car and how much energy is consumed by the production of a new car before you rush into buying a hybrid. Even if you aren't in the market for a new car there are 3 things you can do to start saving on gas immediately.
  1. Get a tune up for your car so that it gets the best possible gas mileage.
  2. Check your tire pressure. Properly inflated tires can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved saves you gas money and keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. If you don’t know how to check your tire pressure, just ask the gas station attendant the next time you fill up. A tire pressure checker costs less than a buck.
  3. Calm down. Avoid aggressive driving and aggressive starts. Start and stop as though you had an egg under the pedal that will flex with pressure but break with shock. All vehicles lose fuel economy at speeds above 55 mph. Driving 65 instead of 75 mph reduces fuel consumption by 13%. Driving 55 would save 25%.
• HEALTH
  • Get your bike tuned up and store it near a door— It’s crazy how we all want to lose weight when there are so many natural opportunities for exercise. Weight loss experts tell us that even casual—don’t break a sweat—exercise will help keep weight off.
  • Less stress—get rid of the aggravation of commuter hour traffic jams.
  • Less pollution—almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. Are we getting our full measure of pleasure for all that moving around? The average grocery store item travels 1300 miles. There’s lots of hidden CO2 emissions in those grapes flown in from Chile. Oh and by the way, doesn’t some of that long distance produce look tired?
• SAFETY
  • Fewer accidents—the less time we spend in our cars, the less chance we have of getting into an accident.

[sidebar] From the Telework Coalition There are few applications that can effectively address so many of today's economic, social, environmental, and traffic related issues as Telework and Telecommuting, yet many businesses and Government agencies are still reluctant to adopt aggressive Telework programs.

Why is telework so desirable? AKA “What to tell your boss”

• The greater work-life balance has driven many workers to desire it over pay increases.
• Employees are more productive, loyal, and are less inclined to look for other jobs.
• Businesses are able to reduce real estate costs by from 20% to 50% through better utilization of office space.
• It allows `baby-boomers' to postpone retirement and keep their skilled labor available to the company
• A more decentralized, dispersed, and distributed workforce eases emergency planning.
• Jobs become more available to rural and disabled populations.
• It creates less air and water pollution.
• Traffic congestion, in many areas, has surpassed education as the number one concern of voters. For lots more interesting facts and figures to bolster your argument for telecommuting, take a look at some facts about teleworking on the Telework Coalition's website.