by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I admit, whenever I felt a bit lazy or rushed, I used to tell myself driving just a few miles to get somewhere couldn’t be so bad. Other times, I tell myself I have too much to carry. And that’s just what I was thinking last night when I started to my car to make my weekly CSA pick-up last evening.

I live only 3 miles from the drop-off site, but I’ve been driving my car there for almost a year. The bike ride hasn’t been the issue - it was the jars and cartons. For some reason, I’ve assumed that I needed the car to transport them. Well, you know what they say about assumptions - !! This time, I stopped and looked at the jars…looked at my bike panniers…looked back at the jars…and it finally occurred to me that they would easily fit inside. And, if I put a jar on each side, there would be no danger of them hitting together and breaking. The 2 egg cartons fit snugly alongside, stabilizing the bags nicely.

As it turns out, this decision is more important than I previously thought. Not only do short trips matter to the environment, but “Sixty percent of the pollution created by automobile emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively.” Whoa. There goes my rainy day rationalization! “Since “cold starts” create high levels of emissions, shorter car trips are more polluting on a per-mile basis than longer trips.” For more, go to Bike2015Plan.org.

Needless to say, I hopped on my two wheeler and was back with my milk and eggs in less than 25 minutes. And, as always, feeling energized and lighter from the exercise. In fact, after putting things away, I rode again until sunset, wondering about how many other ways I could save energy, fuel and emissions that I had not thought of yet.

There’s good and bad news about all of this. The bad news first from League of American Bicyclists: According to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of all trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work. Yet, more than 82 percent of trips five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle. (Read more details about driving habits here.)

The good news is that many of us can change these daily driving habits with a little creativity and determination. Consider walking, riding bicycles or scooters, ride-share and public transportation. If possible, carry less, or simply get your gear on. You may have to get used to stepping out of the “race” to get places, but there’s no better way to avoid stress and tension. Your fitness and stamina will improve quickly as your habits change and your body will thank you for many years to come.

Tags: bicycles, transportation

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Eco-News, Green Misc., Living Local, Voluntary Simplicity, activism, environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.