While gas prices may have gone down in the last few years, there are still plenty of reasons to not get to comfortable with your fuel burning car. In addition to ample evidence that the earth’s fossil fuel supplies are limited, there is also mounting evidence of the damage that they create. Fossil fuels create an enormously profitable industry, however, that shows no signs of slowing down. Demand drives supply, however, so one way that every American citizen can help shut down the fossil fuel industry is to individually seek alternative means of transportation other than fuel burning cars. Here are 4 ways you can help the environment by greening up your transportation.
While completely electric cars are available, they are generally not feasible for the average driver. Charging stations are few and far between and cars only run for so long on a single charge. Electric cars may be great for people who only take short trips around town, live in an area with access to a charging station and can afford to rent a car for longer trips, but for most people they are prohibitively expensive and just not practical. Hybrids, however, have come a long way and are becoming more and more popular among more than just the militantly earth-friendly. Today’s hybrids can even be charged from a standard outlet.
- Scooter and Motorcycle transport
While scooters and motorcycles still burn fossil fuels, they consume a fraction of the fuel that most vehicles consume. In addition, they are significantly cheaper than a car – in some cases less than $1,000 and are extremely inexpensive to insure. In some cases, you don’t even need a special license for some scooters or even need to register them. This means you can even use a scooter or motorcycle most of the time, but keep a car handy for when you really need it most.
- Public Transportation
While public transportation in most cities is still slow and sometimes unpredictable, more and more cities are installing light rails or other forms of high speed public transportation. While you may not want to give up your car entirely and be completely dependent on public transportation, you can lower your carbon footprint by taking a bus or train on occasion.
- Car share services
With the advent of ferried services like Uber and Lyft and short term rental services like ZipCar and Car2go, many dwellers in major metropolitan areas are in fact giving up their cars entirely – and even saving money. Not only are car share services often far easier and faster to find than a cab, but they also add a significant number of available options to the pool. In the past, even people in large cities have been hesitant to be completely dependent on cabs even if they could afford them simply based on how long it could take to get one. Now, hired transportation is quicker, easier and more readily available than ever before. And you can even pick up a Car2go to drive yourself to a train station and catch an Uber or Lyft at the other end to take you to your final destination.