Renew News » conservation

5 Simple Things You Can Do to Increase Your Gas Mileage

Mark — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:15:45 +0000

Here are a few easy things you can do that will lessen your car’s impact on the environment, and reduce your guilt, all while saving you money on gas at the same time. Of course, your first consideration when driving should be your safety, and the safety of those around you, but once you’ve got that covered you can think about the things on this list.

Don’t accelerate up hills- Who doesn’t love punching it all the way to the top of a big hill? You’ve worked hard, you bought a great car, and it’s great to get out there and see what it’s got. Because cars are so good now, it’s easy to forget how much energy it takes to move your 3000 pound vehicle up a hill. To jog your memory, get on a bike and ride it up a hill. Now try it again from a standstill, and continually speed up until you reach the top. Most of the time when you are driving up a hill, it’s not going to kill you to maintain your current speed until you get to the top, and then accelerate when you are going down the other side in order to get up to the speed you want. It’s a minor change that will save you a bunch of fuel.
Check your tire pressure regularly- Boring, I know… but this is actually a big deal. Not only is this a huge safety issue (incorrect tire pressure affects cornering, braking, stability, and can even lead to tire failure), but under-inflated tires allow more tire to touch the road, increasing friction (and tire wear), which causes you to lose fuel economy.
Slow down- The faster you drive, the more gas you use, but let’s be realistic here. We are all busy, and I’m sure you need to get where you are going quickly. If you slow down just one or two miles-per-hour you probably won’t even notice the difference, but you will save gas, reduce your emissions, and be a safer driver all at the same time. This is especially easy to do on the highway: just set that cruise-control one or two notches lower.
Cut down on quick starts and stops- Of course quick starts and stops are fun, and sometimes necessary, so maybe you continue to be a bug-eyed, caffeine-crazed NASCAR driver on the way to work, and just drive home in a relaxed manner. With quick starts you burn a lot of gas to get up to speed that quickly, and with quick stops you are turning all that energy you bought (in the form of gas) into wasted heat with your brakes and tires. If you take your foot off the gas a little sooner on your way up to a red light you can coast into it and maybe even take it on the fly once it turns green, thereby saving gas, and your brakes.
Warm up your car by driving it- I know it sounds crazy, but modern cars don’t need to be warmed up the way cars of the past did. Even in the depths of winter, the best way to warm up your car is by driving slowly for a few blocks before you punch it to get to work.
Drive Less- This one is not so easy, and that is why it is number six on a list of five things, but I had to include it. The best way to lessen your impact and save money is to use less gas. This is not possible for everyone, but if you rode your bike to work one day a week, took mass-transit, or walked to the coffee shop instead of driving, it would make a big difference.

Interestingly enough, several of these lessons were really taught to me by driving my Prius. I think we would all drive very differently if every car had a real-time fuel-efficiency gauge.

If you like lists of simple things, check this one out:

5 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Save The World

Fun Energy Conservation Site for Kids

Mark — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:12:55 +0000

With a bunch of educational flash games energyhog.org is a fun place for kids to learn about energy conservation. There is both an adult section and a kids section on the site. I found the adult section to be pretty basic, but if you are new to all this energy stuff, and haven’t been espousing the benefits of compact fluorescents and hybrid cars for decades like I have, then you can learn a lot. I thought the kid part of the site was the real gem though. There’s nothing like video games to get the learning going, and these games are actually fun too.

Incandescent Light Bulbs Headed for the Endangered Species List

Mark — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 04:40:35 +0000

California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine is going to propose a bill that would ban the use of incandescent light bulbs in his state. Since fluorescent bulbs use far less energy this is a move to save energy statewide. It has created quite a buzz in New Jersey where Edison got over 400 patents, and there is a bill that calls for all government buildings to make the switch to fluorescents over the next three years.

I think that an outright ban on the bulbs is a bit extreme, especially since I am married to an artist who prefers incandescent light in her studio, but aggressive incentives are a great idea.

“Greenest” and “Meanest” Cars: Top Ten list Released

Mark — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:39:27 +0000

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released it’s annual list of “Greenest” and “Meanest” cars once again. Topping the list are well-known and highly publicized hybrids Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, but there are some other interesting appearances as well.

The White House Talks Green… With a Few Notable Exceptions

Mark — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:12:08 +0000

In his recent State of the Union address, George W Bush talked about, and seemed to support, many of the most promising areas of renewable energy. With the current global political climate, and our war in Iraq (that seems to be becoming more about oil every day), it is no surprise that the White House would want to address the security of the nation’s energy supply. The Bush administration does not have a good track record with environmental issues, but it may just be that we have reached a point where the goals of the environmentalists and the politicians have finally met. Despite my natural optimism, my political views combined with history make it very difficult for me to believe the goals of the Bush administration. However, with two major exceptions, if the White House sticks to its stated intentions, the US might finally be on the right track with its energy policy.

The points I’m most excited about:

Reducing gasoline consumption through improved vehicle efficiency, gasoline alternatives (like ethanol), and reductions in commuting and congestion.
More research into hybrid vehicles, especially plug-in hybrids.
Increasing the supply of renewable fuels.

The points that make me cringe:

More nuclear energy. First, it’s not a renewable resource, and second, it creates toxic byproducts that last for hundreds of years. People are starting to talk about nuclear as green energy and that makes me crazy. It is so NOT green.
More domestic oil production, especially in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. Aside from my feeling that we should protect the few wild places we have left, I don’t like a policy of bleeding our country dry of oil first. If anything, we should preserve what oil we have while we develop renewables further to take the place of foreign oil imports.

Some people think that any State of the Union address is nothing but lip service regardless of who delivered it. I don’t agree with that. I have to say that I am very impressed with the majority of the stated goals set out in the new energy policy from the Bush White House, but it’s much easier to talk about doing things than it is to actually do them. We will see if this administration puts its money where its mouth is.

Check out the full policy here.

“This Old House” Tackles First Green Building Project

Mark — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:38:37 +0000

In the next week or so, the PBS show This Old House will start an eight-part series on an environmentally friendly green remodel of an Austin, Texas 1926 bungalow. They are using all kinds of great fancy eco-friendly materials like Trex Brasilia decking (trex.com) and a really cool glass and concrete mix called IceStone (icestone.biz). There’s a great article all about it in this week’s Newsweek, but since it is the current issue it’s not on the website yet. Just go buy the magazine.

Although I couldn’t find showtimes on the This Old House website (which is weird), you can read more about the project there.

Cut Down on your Carbon with Slate.com

Pete Lauf — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 20:40:28 +0000

Slate.com has a step by step list of instructions that will help you cut your carbon emissions. Check it out here.

http://www.slate.com/id/2151739/

Better Mileage (and cool tricks) From Your Toyota Prius

Mark — Thu, 25 May 2006 23:00:14 +0000

There is a new breed of hot rodders sprouting up these days: techies. All kinds of people are finding new ways to hack and modify their Priuses to make them have incredible mileage (100+ mpg) or do cool tricks (like maintain your 12V battery with a solar panel).
Read the CNET News.com article here.

Get your own parts and Prius mod kits here.

Even though most of these modifications are not really about renewable energy, conservation is an important part of the big picture. And besides, it’s only a matter of time until we have hybrid or full electric vehicles covered in solar panels.