Green your transport, not only for the environment, but for your health, happiness, personal finances, and time….
I discussed the environmental impact of eating meat and dairy a bit in the previous Going Green Tips post, due to it being a leading contributor to global climate change, air pollution, and water pollution. Another clear biggie when it comes to the environment is transportation.
Transportation is one of the leading causes of global warming, the largest net contributor to climate change, and a major source of other pollution (as we all know by now). This is a topic I’ll come back to in more detail in a future post, but, for now, let’s focus on some positive transportation topics.
So, knowing that driving a car is horrible for the environment, a lot of people might feel guilty that they drive (or drive so much) and might feel a great pressure to drive less. But it doesn’t have to be a pressure!
Ditching the car, or, at least, letting it rest at home, is an opportunity.
Driving Less Saves You a Ton of Money
- Transit riders in the U.S., on average, save nearly $10,000 a year. (This is not counting the money you would get if you sold your car.) Could you use another $10,000?
- I’m sure people who bicycle for transportation purposes save even much more — a bike and a lock costs a lot less than transit in most places.
Riding Transit and Bicycling is Good for Your Health and Lengthens Your Life
- Living in transit-oriented, “smart growth” communities is also much better for you health and saves lives (a lot of them).
- Again, I’m sure living in bicycle-friendly communities and bicycling for transportation purposes is even much better for your health than riding transit.
Bicycling and Riding Transit Can be Fun
- Bicycling is one of the most popular recreational activities in the U.S. Why? Because it’s so much fun. You may think, “Sure, it’s fun on bicycle paths in nature, but not in the city.” I would disagree completely. Though bicycling in nature is nice, bicycling through the city is (or can be) a great deal of fun and very interesting. I can honestly say that I prefer it.
- Riding transit is not for everyone, but I love it because buses, streetcars, and trains are interesting places to interact with people and observe society or humanity, in general. I’ve always loved that about riding transit, but maybe it is just the sociologist in me.
Bicycling and Riding Transit Can Save You Time
- A lot of people think they need to drive because they have so little time in the day. I beg to differ….
- On transit, you can often work (or do whatever else you need or want to do) — you don’t have to focus on driving. So, aside from the moments when you are getting on or off transit (or observing humanity), you have free time to use however you want. With all the technological advancements that pop up every day, this is even more true.
- Cities are, by definition, places where a lot of people live and work in relatively small areas of land. Big vehicles for individuals are naturally inefficient in such locations. With more than 50% of the population living in urban areas (and the number increasing every day), using big, single-occupancy vehicles is an increasingly inefficient way to get around. In many places, a bike is faster.
- Riding a bike is also a way to get much-needed exercise. So, even if your ride to work is longer on a bike, if you don’t need to spend another 15 minutes to an hour exercising to stay fit and healthy, you are probably still saving time!
These are just a few of the many reasons why I recommend trying out green transportation for your daily transportation needs.
If you are interested in getting on the bike more but a little unsure on how to get started, stay tuned — our next Going Green Tips post will be a guest posy by Chip Hanes, author of Wearing Smaller Shoes, on just that issue.
If you are already a bike enthusiast, consider joining the Biking Revolution of Love & Freedom facebook group.
Photo Credits: hmerinomx via flickr; taivasalla via flickr; Andy Lederer via flickr; Pörrö via flickr
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Zachary Shahan
If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them and the topics they cover. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, most of the sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. For more, or to connect, go to: zacharyshahan.com
18 Responses to Green Your Transport! (Going Green Tip #4)
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I think “Bicycling and Riding Transit Can Save You Time” is right.Also can do excise.
[...] Green Your Transport [...]
[...] bikers is clearly growing across the U.S., though. Perhaps you’re thinking about joining the green transport [...]
[...] Use clean, green transportation [...]
[...] option — pleasant, fast, easy, cheap — and bicycling for transportation purposes is one of the greenest things you can [...]
Hello, we are students and we are doing a project. What does this green “bici-taxi” cost?
PD: Thanks for the information.
no idea, sorry. i’m sure the info is available on the web tho. do a quick Google search (or check out the photgrapher page for the photo & see if he knows about this one in particular).
[...] Canadian residents and visiting cyclists. Hopefully this feature will encourage more people to use green transport as [...]
[...] give it a shot) and help communities in whatever ways they can along the way. A nice combination of green transportation, community service, fun, and healthy [...]
[...] better for the environment and society than bicycling for transportation [...]
[...] of American Bicyclists (LAB) recently reported on some good and bad news for those who like clean, green transportation. For the second year in a row, federal spending on bicycle and pedestrian projects exceeded $1 [...]
[...] we need to take action now to cut our carbon, especially by switching to clean energy, using green transportation, and eating vegetarian or [...]
Something to think about. To truely green out our commute we need to start taking a seriouse look at braking systems and the dust they leave on every traveled road in the world. 2.75 million tons of copper, asbestos, antimony, lead etc… every year (bare minimum). Its the number one source of Copper contamination in Bay area riparian waterways. There is some science on this so hit me at if you want it. I would love to hear more about this issue.
interesting additional point
[...] I get to see people trying out and enjoying the cool things about transit. I get to see people enjoying the freedom and great fun of bicycling for transportation, like the lucky people in Amsterdam (1st picture below), Copenhagen (2nd picture below), and Groningen (above) do every day. I also get to see people enjoying the simple, meditative pleasure of walking (ever heard of that?), which is my mine mode of transport these days, and one that I genuinely love. In general, I get to see people enjoying and talking about all the great features of green transport. [...]
[...] needs. Also, I wonder what sorts of transportation are used and what could be possible there. Transportation is one of the most important things to green if one is serious about helping the [...]
[...] on making their transportation systems more efficient, hundreds of millions of hours can be saved, our health and well-being can be improved, and a ton of money can be saved every [...]
[...] Going Green Tip #5 comes from guest author Chip Haynes. Chip is author of Wearing Smaller Shoes: Living Light on the Big Blue Marble and The Practical Cyclist: Bicycling for Real People (New Society Publishers). More info on Chip is below the post. Enjoy this great follow-up to Going Green Tip#4: Green Your Transport! [...]