WHAT AND WHY? By Rachel Bauman
Massive
amounts of fossil fuels are injected into our atmosphere every day from
vehicles and other forms of transportation. The gas emissions from cars are the
largest portion of greenhouse gases released into our atmosphere, usually in
the form of CO2 (Energy Refuge). These gases are causing significant global
warming and changing our weather patterns and climates. Evidence of this weather difference and climate change more recently, is Hurricane Sandy.
The amount of CO2 that
cars are responsible for emitting into the environment equates to 8.8 kilograms
of CO2 per gallon of gasoline. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s) Other
gases are also released into the air from vehicles such as methane, nitrogen
oxides and hydrocarbons all adding to the greenhouse gases warming our global
environment. By finding alternatives to fossil fuels, or lessening our use of
each, we can slow the process and hopefully find a permanent solution that
won’t hurt our environment as bad. Two easy solutions are carpooling and
Trimet, and a bigger commitment is buying a vehicle that uses electric power or
a hybrid.
Your "Average American" Statistics, Fun Car Facts (Knowledge)
-According to ABC News, the average
American drives 16 miles to work each way, with a daily commute totaling nearly
an hour round trip. Yes some people may walk across the street for work but
there are others that have very long commutes bringing that average up
significantly.
-According to ABC News, 220 million Americans average an hour and a half each day in their cars. About 3.3 million people travel at least 50 miles to work one way, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (Harris)
-Average gas prices in Oregon $3.41, Washington $3.44, California
$3.67 needless to say Americans are spending a lot on gas. A nice average
of MPG is 22.
-By the end of 2011, we will have spent more
than $490 Billion dollars on gasoline.
(OREGON $3.41 x 32 miles/day = $109 !!!!!!!)
Just for one week. ????????
SOLUTION? EASY... Greater Portland area Trimet:
MAX runs every 15 minutes or better most of the day, every day. Service is less frequent in the early morning, mid-day and evening. Adult 1-month pass = $100.00, Youth $30.00.
So this solution seems quick and easy and also affordable. The Max lines have increased immensely and now cover a much larger geographic area than ever before, and continue to grow. The public transportation is easy to ride and offers many options, Bus, Max, or Streetcar and because of that, Portland has been voted one of the easiest cities to get around on Public transit.
Here is a link to look at a chart of Bus pases which are also much more economical than keeping up a car and cost of gas, but also helps have less cars on the road reducing CO2 emissions!
http://trimet.org/fares/index.htm
IF you are super hardcore... BIKE! =)
Best Use of Time tip for the day! Carpool or use Trimet! Help clean up our air... You breathe it so it effects you directly not just global warming and climate changes.
References
Read more: How Far Do Americans Drive to Work on Average? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7446397_far-americans-drive-work-average_.html#ixzz2E2kdNijB
Harris, David http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/renewable_natural_gas.pdf
http://retireby40.org/2011/10/spend-driving/
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