Automobiles · Eco-Chick

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Which Cars Win First Prize in Green? Greenopia's Got the Deets

Guest Post By Ayana Meade

According to the newly-released Greenopia Green Care Guide, the top three most eco-friendly cars on the market today are:
1. the Toyota Prius
2. the Honda Civic Hybrid
3. the Jetta Clean Diesel.

All three had incredibly high gas mileage and burned cleanly to boot. To see the top ten cars in the list, check this out, there’s some surprises in the full rundown!

Two pleasant surprises were the performances of Audi and Mazda. Both did relatively well in the Greenopia Automaker Guide (which rates the overall performance of auto manufacturers), as they both had a statistically large number of cars that met at least our minimum criteria for the Automobile Guide.

When buying your next car, keep in mind that just because a car is a hybrid doesn’t mean it’s automatically better for the environment. In fact, largely because of its battery, the hybrid carries a larger environmental production burden. Where the hybrid makes up ground is once it is driven, with its superior mileage and emissions. On balance Toyota estimates that it takes about 12,000 miles before a hybrid and a similar traditional engine car ‘break even’ environmentally (the hybrid is greener from that point on), as long as it gets great mileage and burns cleanly.

Since your choice of transportation is second only to your home’s energy use in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, driving less or not at all is of course the ideal way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you’re like many and need a car to get around in today’s fast paced world, then this guide can help you choose wisely.

About the Greenopia Greener Cars Guide: The Guide uses Greenopia’s EPA-recognized 4-Leaf rating system, and only the top 100 automobiles readily available in the US made the cut—the good news is that they come in all kinds of price points and styles. Fuel-efficiency, manufacturing materials, EPA SmartWay vehicle emissions and proxy data representing manufacturing processes were among the criteria data that were analyzed by the Greenopia research team to come up with the ratings.

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The Five (New) Rules for Driving Green

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by Starre Vartan · 07/15/08

So you have a car, and not only do you feel a wee bit of carbon footprint guilt every time you start the engine, you just plain can’t afford $71 a pop to fill up the tank. But for whatever reason, you can’t quite give that fossil fuel fiend sitting in the garage up completely. I’m in the same boat. I need my car just enough to justify owning one (I won’t get into details here- the most important thing I’ve learned being an environmental evangelist is to cut the judgment).

Rather than thinking: “I should drive less” I’ve come up with a rule system that really work for me. I make rules for my life (I’ve done it with everything from donut consumption to running) and once it’s a rule, I HAVE to stick by it. The key is not to make too many rules for yourself but to pick the most important. And there’s nothing more important than preserving the planet by reducing your carbon emissions. Here’s are my drive-less rules that I stick by:

Drive on a Schedule: I only allow myself to drive on the weekends. Period. Unless there’s an emergency, my car stays in the garage Monday-Friday (I give myself a break on holidays too). Since it’s a “rule” (rather than a passing thought) that I’ve made for myself for a good reason, I treat it as such- like stopping at a red light- you only break it in an emergency.

Don’t Drive if There’s Public Transportation: I work from home but have frequent meetings in New York, and I can walk to the station and take the commuter train. I used to drive to the city on off hours when I knew traffic would be smooth. But now the rule is that if I’m going into Manhattan, I take the train. No excuses.

Combine Trips: You’ve heard this one before; turn it into a rule by deciding a minimum number of errands or stops per trip that’s expected before you turn the engine key. I think three is pretty good, though obviously 4 or 5 is better. Since lots of parents spend time and money driving their kids around, turn it into a game for kids by getting them to figure out how few car trips can be made in a week by combining what they need and want to do (this is a great way to teach them about schedules and organization too).

Have Stuff Delivered: This is a good option for items that you drive a distance or make special trips for. Often you can find some products (like pet food) for less money online, even including shipping costs. The UPS or FedEx vans are driving around anyway, so you may as well get them to do the driving (think of it like public transportation for your stuff). DON’T do this if the products are available somewhere you have to stop anyway.

Walk or Cycle:Yeah, we’ve heard this before- make it work by making a rule that if a destination is within a certain distance (a mile for walking works for me) you’ll strap on those comfy sneaks or flats(that you keep right by the door-make it easy on yourself!). Even if it’s rainy or pretty hot, a mile only takes about 12-15 minutes so it’s not unbearable. If a mile’s too far, make it a 1/2 mile (which should only take 6-8 minutes). Obviously, you can stretch the distances if you have a bike.

Basically these rules all break down to the same basic point: Think before you drive and treat the car as a privilege rather than a joyrider. BONUS- You’ll enjoy driving more when you do it less often.

automobiles, cars, driving, gas

Rally for a Strong, Clean 2007 Energy Bill!

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by Starre Vartan · 11/11/07

By Guest-Blogger Lorna Li

This fall auto industry workers, environmental organizations and student groups rally hard for Congress to pass a 2007 Energy Bill
that includes higher fuel efficiency and renewable energy standards. Will you rally with them?

What’s on the plate is a fuel efficiency standard that the Senate already approved in June – the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standard, which calls for auto manufacturers to raise mileage for cars and light trucks to an average of 35 mpg by 2020. An alliance of the Big Three Auto Makers in America – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – are aggressively lobbying Congress to lower that standard 32 mpg by 2022.

A large group of auto workers and dealers have broken from the industry in order to campaign in favor of 35 mpg by 2020. As members of the American auto industry who have designed, built and sold automobiles in this country for decades, they state that 35 mpg can be achieved, will create jobs, and can help the U.S. end its foreign oil addiction.

In their report titled Energy Bill Must Guarantee Real Oil Savings, the Union of Concerned Scientists calculated the difference between the 35 mpg by 2020 and 32 mpg by 2022. Here is what they found:

Barrels of Oil Saved Per Day:
– 500,000 Auto Lobby Proposal
– 1.2 Million Senate CAFE Compromise

Consumer Savings at the Pump:
– $11 Billion Auto Lobby Proposal
– $25 Billion Senate CAFE Compromise

Emissions Reductions
– 85mmt CO2 Auto Lobby Proposal

In addition to the 35 mpg by 2020 proposal, another provision for the 2007 Energy Bill up for debate includes a Renewable Electricity Standard that requires 15% of U.S. electricity to be derived from renewable sources, also by 2020. This provision alone can spark a thriving, alternative energy industry in the U.S., we need more.

Environmental and student groups have also been aggressively lobbying against a scary nuclear provision that stands to provide unlimited loan guarantees to the nuclear power industry.

Gas prices keep going up with no end in sight. A new Energy Bill that includes the highest standards in fuel efficiency and renewable energy will not only save American consumers money, it will significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce foreign oil consumption, thereby making us better global citizens.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Tell Congress you want a strong, clean 2007 Energy Bill by signing this petition.

2. Send this letter calling for 35 mpg by 2020 in support of American auto industry workers.

2. Send a petition in favor of a Nuke-Free America.

For more about Lorna Li, jump to the next page.

Amazon, automobiles, car, cars, climate change, conservation, consumption, design, eating, electric, electricity, emissions, Energy, Events, fall, farm, fuel efficiency, gas, India, magazine, MPG, nuclear, nuclear power, oil, parties, rainforest, reduce, spa, style, travel

Did You See the Snowman Last Night at the Debates?

1 Comment

by Starre Vartan · 07/24/07

I thought the Dems debates last night were the best I’ve ever seen (I watched them streaming on Cnn.com since I don’t have cable). That the questions came from real people via YouTube was THE BEST IDEA EVER! (and the videos submitted by us crazy citizens were funny, sad, poignant, and most importantly, touched on really tough issues!)

So first off, CONGRATS to all those questioners that I share the great USA with…YOU made me proud to be an American (the politicians, well, they were being politicians, you know?. Of course the highlight was the snowman/global warming question! Check it out!

(Answers taken from the NYTimes transcript of the debates.)

COOPER: It’s a funny video. It’s a serious question. Congressman Kucinich?

KUCINICH: Well, we have to understand the connection between global warring and global warming. Because when we start talking about wars for oil, we’re essentially keeping the same approach to energy.

(APPLAUSE)

So I’m saying we need to move away from reliance on oil and coal and toward reliance on wind and solar.

KUCINICH: Anderson, that’s the basis of my WGA, Works Green Administration, where we take an entirely new approach to organize the entire country around sustainability, around conservation. We don’t have to have our snowmen melting, and the planet shouldn’t be melting either.

COOPER: Are the people on this stage, are your fellow candidates, are they green enough?

KUCINICH: No. And I think that the reason is that if you support, for example, in Iraq, if you say that Iraq should privatize its oil for the U.S. oil companies, then what you’re doing is you’re continuing a commitment to use more oil. If you believe that all options should be put on the table with respect to Iran, that’s about oil.

So we need to move away from reliance on oil…

COOPER: Time.

KUCINICH: … and that’s really connected to our defense policy, and I’m the one who gets the connection.

COOPER: All right.

(APPLAUSE)

WHY didn’t other candidates answer such an important question???? Too hard???

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Don't Believe the Hype

7 Comments

by Courtney Tenz · 07/09/07

First, full disclosure: Unlike Starre, I didn’t watch LiveEarth. Not on TV or in person or on the Internet. It was held, admittedly, for a good cause. But I’m not a huge fan of pop and celebrity, so something about the whole spectacle turned me off. And that’s tough to say because I try hard to not be a cynical environmentalist (the kind who’s so anti- as to be virtually paralyzed in this world) and I appreciate the aim of raising awareness. I really do hope that something comes of it and that people in policy-making power were watching along with everyone else.

But.

Part of the problem with this awareness-raising is that without accountability and corporate responsibility, everyone can say they’re doing green things. Like Carson Daly (thanks Starre, for sharing those words of wisdom), who thinks unplugging his Blackberry is the best he can do to help save the world (it is a nice baby step, but wasn’t Cameron Diaz saying this three years ago in an MTV show?). Greenwashing has become such an issue in the UK that 9 of 10 people surveyed by The Guardian newspaper (which has a wonderful environment section) say they don’t believe the hype. Perhaps it’s McDonald’s entrance into the eco-friendly fold in response to demands from consumers in the UK. Or perhaps it’s the fact that DaimlerChrysler, a not-so-green auto manufacturer, sponsored Live Earth. (From Der Spiegel):

On Saturday, DaimlerChrysler will sponsor Al Gore’s Live Earth series of concerts, where it will promote its Smart “fortwo” line of fuel-efficient automobiles. Daimler’s presence at the event has drawn heavy criticism from some environmental groups, including Greenpeace which has refused to affiliate itself with the global event.
“It’s problematic that a firm like Daimler, which just several weeks ago was doing battle with the European Commission plans for mandatory emissions limits, can now present itself as a protector of the climate,” Jürgen Maier of the Berlin-based Climate Alliance wrote in the July issue of Greenpeace Magazine.
And while Daimler may be packaging itself at Live Earth as an environmentally friendly firm, its recent track record of abandoning support for sustainability projects suggests the company isn’t putting its money where its mouth is.

Though I feel a bit like every little step – including this worldwide concert – counts, I’m not so sure little steps are what we need. I just hope that while everyone’s hopping on the green bandwagon, they’re also, as Der Spiegel said, putting their money where their mouths are. Before green fatigue sets in and consumers stop caring.