Skip the car one day each week. Instead, choose to walk, bike, take the bus, or ride the train. Remember when walking to school was a great way to start the day?

What’s In It For The Planet?

  • For every gallon of gasoline our cars consume, we emit 19 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (Low Impact Living)
  • The average American drives 250 miles each week. Replace a weekly 20-mile car trip by telecommuting, biking or combining errands and you’ll reduce your annual carbon dioxide emissions by nearly a thousand pounds.
  • 40% of U.S. energy consumption comes from petroleum oil – used to fuel our cars, trucks, and airplanes. (Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Review)
  • Oil drilling, spills, and pipeline development destroy natural habitats, endanger ecosystems, and
    pollute waterways.
  • When oil leaks out of our car engines and onto the road or driveway, rainwater carries that dirty oil into our rivers, streams, and oceans.
  • Converting your diesel engine to run on vegetable oil will emit up to 70% less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

What’s In It For Me?

Giving up the convenience of a car is a big challenge for most of us, even if it’s only one day each week. If the idea of ditching your car leaves you quaking in your boots, let’s consider what you may be missing.

According to a study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), families that use public transportation can reduce their household expenses by $6,200 annually. That’s big money. And, most public transit companies will handsomely reward your commitment by offering monthly discounted plans. Don’t forget to look into your employer’s public transit policy as many offer pre-tax commuter checks.

The benefits don’t stop there. Using public transportation – or your own feet - connects you to your community and frees up time in your day for other pursuits. Next time you skip the car, pay attention. Do you meet a new friend while walking to work? If you take the train to work, do you read more? Do you feel more relaxed because you don’t have to fight traffic? Do you exercise more?

We want to hear about it. Share your story with others who are also taking steps to live greener today.

Finding the Sacred in…Skipping the Car

Why do I drive my car every day, sometimes several times a day? Well, let’s think about it. Often I am trying to do as many things as possible (sometimes more than possible).

When I decided to walk to church on the occasional Sunday morning, it was a gift to myself. I felt almost guilty - it was so pleasurable. I had to say to myself and to others, “Sorry, I can’t do all that on Sunday, I need a couple more hours to walk to and from church.” I put on comfortable shoes (yay!) and set out with a small backpack instead of my somewhat un-ergonomic shoulder purse. I looked at the plants, trees and flowers along the way. I noticed the things that I miss going 25-40 mph. I ran into a few dogwalkers in my neighborhood and found out about an ailing neighbor. Even when I hustled along the heavily trafficked stretch, I saw the natural life fighting its way up through the concrete. I noticed homes and people – just a few blocks from my own home - I had simply never noticed before.

Time slows down when you trade in a hectic drive and its accompanying search for a parking space for a brisk walk. I can’t seem to slow down even when I walk, so I get some pretty good exercise, too. I can see, feel, and hear the life around me. I feel like I take in more oxygen. Recently I noticed the bees working away, which sent me into a flight of thoughts about the mysterious disappearing bees. Isn’t that better than being concerned with why the person in front of me was driving like a lunatic?
- Hilary, Berkeley

Wanna Learn More?

Want to know Who Killed the Electric Car?

Get the global warming basics with An Inconvenient Truth

Honor our beautiful Planet Earth

Calculate your own eco-footprint with the
Carbon Footprint Calculator

Explore the Deep Ecology Movement

Learn more about the California Hydrogen Highway

Help build a network of electric cars at Better Place

Join the League of American Bicyclists

Read Wendy Johnson’s article on walking and gardening

Turn a parking place into green space at the annual PARK(ing) day

Don’t forget about car sharing

Great resource to help you make the switch from diesel to veggie oil

“Practically speaking, a life that is vowed to simplicity, appropriate boldness, good humor, gratitude, unstinting work and play, and lots of walking brings us close to the actually existing world and its wholeness.”
- Gary Snyder

Wanna Do More?

  • Trade in your fuel-burning car for a hybrid.
  • Leave your car at home more often. Consider skipping it a week each month. Or set a mileage goal for the year for your car.
  • Convert your diesel car to run on vegetable oil.
  • Sell your car and use a car-sharing service when you really need wheels.
  • Bike to work.
  • Carpool!

Offset your carbon emissions through organizations like CarbonFund, NativeEnergy, and Climate Trust.

Have some suggestions of your own? Share them on HabitChat.