Cars and Alternatives
A car produces roughly its own
weight in carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas,
every 6,000 miles; transport accounts for a quarter
of UK carbon dioxide emissions, more if related
industry is taken into account, and this damage is
growing as we continue to travel more; technological
progress is not offsetting the growth. The greenest
thing you can do is to walk or cycle rather than use
a car – and your health will benefit too.
National organisations
promoting cycling include
CTC
and
Sustrans, and a local group is the
Abergavenny Cycle Group.
If cycling is a little too energetic, consider a
battery-assisted bike (from about £600) or an
electric scooter - e.g
www.sustaincycles.co.uk or
www.powabyke.com. Folding bikes (from £500) are
good for public transport and the workplace.
The next best thing is to use public transport.
Use
www.transportdirect.info,
www.nationalrail.co.uk or
www.traveline.org.uk to plan your journey
– the last has timetables as well as a journey
planner. Long distance rail tickets are expensive if
bought on the day, especially for peak times. A printed guide to local bus services is
available from the County Council (01633 644644,
Transport@monmouthshire.gov.uk or on-line
here).
If you are over 60 or disabled, and permanently
resident in the area, you are entitled to a Free
Bus Pass enabling you to travel free on
virtually all local bus services in Wales. For
further information click
here
or contact Newport City Council.
Using taxis and occasionally
hiring a car may be a better alternative for you
than owning a car. But we know that many, especially
in rural areas poorly served by public transport,
have little choice but to own a car. Buy as
small and fuel-efficient a car as you need for most
purposes – a diesel is usually better for CO²
than a petrol
engine equivalent, though the fuel is more expensive. You might consider a petrol/battery hybrid
such as those offered by Honda and Toyota. Don’t own
thirsty 4x4 if you do not really need its size and
off-road abilities.
'What Car' magazine or
www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk
will tell you the efficiency of the makes and models
available - many models are now much more green than
they were a year or two ago.
Remember that the production of a new car produces
pollution and waste – but in use it may be much less
polluting than older vehicles. Nearly new is usually
the best buy. There’s lots of advice on
www.eta.co.uk
(the Environmental Transport Association, which also
offers a breakdown service).
Share a car with others for your
journey to work – there is a regional car-sharing
scheme that you can join –
www.sewtacarshare.com. A new option is offered
by
Parkatmyhouse.com, but use this to park-and-ride
rather than to find parking near your destination. Even better, work from
home some of the time – many employers now see this
as cheaper than providing office floorspace and
parking, as well as better for staff morale.
Try to plan multi-purpose trips –
e.g. to shop, to the recycling centre and to the
keep fit class in one trip. Try to avoid
congestion by listening to traffic reports on the
radio and using
www.transportdirect.info.
www.traffic-wales.com gives you up-to-date
information on motorways and trunk roads, including
current camera views.
Efficient Car Use
For fuel efficiency, have your
vehicle regularly serviced; remember that air
conditioning increases consumption by about 10%;
drive gently, changing up at below 2,500rpm (petrol)
or 2,000rpm (diesel), and moderate your speed to 50 - 60 mph
if possible; close windows above 50mph, avoid
carrying excess baggage; avoid unused roof racks
that increase drag; check your tyre pressures.
Short journeys from cold use almost twice the fuel
of a warm engine and catalytic converters take up to
five miles to become effective.
Recycle oil and batteries by
taking them to your nearest Civic Amenity Site.
Buy retread tyres – if from
reputable dealers they are safe.
Visit
www.targetneutral.com and contribute a sum
(around £20 a year) to support projects that
‘neutralise’ your CO2 emissions;
www.co2balance.com offers something
similar, emphasising compensatory tree-planting.
We’re not entirely convinced by these schemes but
it’s better than doing nothing. You could consider
www.ecoinsurance.co.uk too.
Consider converting your car to a
less damaging fuel (check for any warranty
restrictions). LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is a
cleaner by-product of natural gas extraction subject
to lower fuel duty (though there are no longer
grants to help with purchasing and conversion costs,
which can be substantial); biodiesel is a
carbon-neutral, clean burning bio-fuel produced from
renewable oilseed crops or used cooking oil, usually
blended with petroleum diesel and needing little or
no engine modification (diesel engine vehicles
only). Visit
www.vegoilmotoring.com,
www.greenfuels.co.uk for more information. Of course, if we all
switched to biofuels there might not be enough room
for our food crops!
Air Travel
Air travel is becoming the
fastest-growing contributor to climate change. Avoid
flying, or fly less often, and avoid night flights,
which generate more emissions. A return flight to
Australia produces 3.74 tonnes of carbon dioxide per
person, more than driving a family car 12,000 miles
in a year. You can pledge to limit or stop your
flying at
www.flightpledge.org.uk or you can
(debatably) offset your CO2 emissions by tree
planting via
www.co2balance.com - £34 worth for the
Australia trip at the time of writing (www.carbonbalanced.org is similar), or you
can look at train and boat options at
www.nofly.co.uk.
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