I saved this for last because the transportation sector is the largest source of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in CT, in the US, and worldwide. Transportation accounts for a whopping 39% of the US carbon emissions annually. You might have thought that electricity generation was #1, but we’ve made good progress (good not great) toward carbon-free generation with nuclear, hydro, solar and wind power. We have not made satisfactory progress on moving away from internal combustion engines (ICE) that use fossil fuels for transportation.
Here are some ways to reduce your carbon footprint when getting around:
Walk or bike: Choose walking or biking for short trips. Walking and cycling are excellent, low-impact exercise as well so you get a bonus health benefit. We walk rather than driving to our local park to stroll around the lake or along the rail trail, and if we’re visiting neighbors we always walk. Throw a small day pack on your back and ride around town when it’s nice outside.
Use public transit: Take buses or trains to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. If you don’t have buses or trains near you, well then you don’t. We try to pile into one car whenever possible, and we always take the train into NYC when going in for a show.
Use carpools or rideshares: Rather than driving solo, ride with friends, co-workers, or through organized ride share services. Two solo drivers sharing one car cuts the emissions in half, three reduces it by 67%, and four by 75%!
Drive efficiently: When you must drive, maintain your vehicle and drive efficiently to reduce emissions. Keep your tires inflated toward the upper end of their range. The US DOT estimates that cars running on underinflated tires waste 5 million gallons of fuel each day! In hybrid, plug-in, and all-electric vehicles it can be a game you play trying to grow new leaves on your energy efficiency screen or stay in the most efficient mode. Make efficiency fun: I often try to see how far I can get on battery-only mode in my plug-in Toyota Prius Prime before it switches to gas, or how many miles I can get on a single tank of gas.
Reduce air travel - Air travel is a significant source of carbon emissions. While aviation contributes about 2.5% of global emissions, the industry’s impact grows to about 4% when taking into account the impact of other pollutants emitted like nitrogen oxides, soot and sulfur aerosols. When possible, choose alternatives like trains which are much more efficient on a per person basis for emissions. We had a wonderful time on a family vacation taking a train cross-country with our children it was magical seeing the whole country from ground level! You can also purchase carbon offsets. They don’t negate the emissions of the plane, but they do fund organizations that are preserving forests and other natural areas that sequester carbon so that they won’t be sold off to developers. Some airlines are experimenting with low-carbon jet fuel, but it is not yet available in mass quantities.
Find alternatives to cruising - Cruise ships are one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions, waste and other forms of pollution when it comes to leisure travel. The newer super-sized cruise ships can emit as much as 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 annually (the equivalent of over 600,000 cars). In addition to that staggering fact, because they burn fuel oil they also emit other toxins like sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and black carbon which are all linked to cancer, heart and respiratory diseases. Because of the number of people on these floating cities, they also generate massive waste streams that include sewage, greywater, and solid waste (which some cruise lines still dump at sea untreated). When possible, choose alternatives or look for smaller sustainability-minded cruise lines. Some cruise ships now offer carbon-neutral excursions by reducing waste, being more efficient, composting food waste, and purchasing carbon offsets. Smaller hybrid cruise ships are on the horizon too which could move the industry even closer to its net zero emissions goals.
Electric Vehicles (EV) and Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV): Electric Vehicles in CT are defined as hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric vehicles because they all use some level of battery-electric assist to reduce or eliminate the need for fossil fuel to provide propulsion. A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) is an electric car that makes its own electricity using hydrogen gas instead of plugging into a charger. FCVs combines hydrogen from a tank with oxygen from the air and the chemical reaction creates electricity, which powers the car’s motor. It’s only emission is water vapor—no tailpipe pollution. I hear people talking down about EVs because of the charge infrastructure. They are right, there aren’t nearly as many charge stations as there are gas stations, but think about it – when do you really need a charge station? When you buy an EV you install a charger in your home, and the average new EV now gets about 300 miles per charge so unless you’re someone who drives more than 150 miles to work, you’re going to charge at home each night where your electricity is cheapest anyway. So long as there are high-speed chargers on highway rest stops, most people are all set with charging needs. I also hear people saying that EVs aren’t safe and there are too many EV battery fires. The fact is, an ICE (gas powered) vehicle is 60x more likely to catch fire than an EV, however the media sensationalizes every EV fire because it’s new, but gas-powered car fires are old hat. The 2023 NTSB statistics show that for every 100,000 vehicles sold, 1,530 ICE vehicles will catch fire, while only 25 EVs will catch fire. Learn more here, then charge up and drive on!
FCV Drawback: Unfortunately, most hydrogen currently comes from fossil fuel (methane) and the byproduct of the chemical reaction that extracts the hydrogen is – wait for it – CO2 (booo!).
EV Drawback: In the US, the majority of our electric grid is powered by natural gas and coal, so the nifty plug-in hybrids or EVs we buy are still powered mostly by fossil fuels until our state & federal governments prioritize converting our energy grid to renewable energy sources. In CT, about 40% of our grid energy comes from zero-carbon sources. I’m not downplaying EVs, at least 40% of its energy is carbon-free here in CT compared to 0% for gas-guzzlers, and they can have a tremendous impact on air quality in densely populated metro areas.
Note: I’ve been driving hybrids and plug-in hybrids since 2006 and have loved every one of them. I am so confident in electric propulsion and comfortable with charging infrastructure, that my next vehicle will be my move to a full EV!
I’m with you. After a couple decades of hybrids my next will surely be electric.