5 Things You Need to Know About Going Green

What Does It Mean to Go Green?

They are the two of the most used words today -- in print, on the air, and repeatedly on the lips of celebrities. What does this red-hot trend actually mean? Going green reflects a general environmental philosophy and social consciousness around saving and advancing earth's natural resources -- preserving them overall, but also protecting them for the sake of civilization. This commitment to conservation, frequently used in connection with cars, bears the secondary advantage of bettering life for mankind, fueled by today's newer technologies. Perks to going green include saving power and reducing the spread of noxious tailpipe emissions and carbon dioxide, the latter a greenhouse gas. Saving money is another advantage, too.

Using Green to Get Around

Hybrid cars offer better mileage, fewer emissions, and savings on gas, but they can also sacrifice some power. In all types of cars, there are some things you can do to help aid performance and decrease cost such as carrying less unneeded weight in the trunk, aiming for smooth starts when you accelerate, and striving to avoid speeding. Ensuring your car is properly tuned up, checking and replacing air and gas filters and belts, and keeping tires inflated to recommended pressures also help keep a car running in the most efficient, environmentally friendly way. Evaporative emissions may be saved when avoiding pumping gas on very hot days, while fuel efficiency may get a slight improvement by going without air conditioning whenever possible. The need for air conditioning to vacate really hot air from a parked car's interior can be reduced by parking in the shade or using a windshield cover to help deflect heat, thus lessening heat build-up. Carpooling, combining multiple errands into single trips, using a navigation system to avoid driving unnecessary miles, and taking public transportation can also help the environment.

Work Green

Telecommuting (working at home), if you can swing it, saves substantially on pollution and cost, and more companies are offering this as an option. If your employer does not offer telecommuting options, consider staggering work hours to avoid traffic congestion. If possible, walk, cycle, or use public transportation to get to work. Carpooling with coworkers is another way to reduce the number of cars on the road. Businesses can take advantage of natural light by installing solar panels. Garages can be rigged accordingly, and some car owners are even using solar power to charge their cars overnight. Some who wash their cars at home do so as a two-fold answer to conserving water as well as watering the yard; they simply park it on the lawn during a wash for less runoff.

Car Choices

Carbon dioxide (CO2) gases are felt to be a primary source of climate change, with cars and trucks being responsible for 30 percent of these emissions. There are many driver options for easing into a green lifestyle, and as many states adopt stricter emissions laws, people are looking at their vehicle choices. Zero-emission cars (ZEVs) include those powered by electric motors, which today are battery electric cars. In the future electric drive motors may be powered by fuel cells using pure hydrogen mixed with oxygen. PZEVs, or partial zero-emission vehicles, include over 30 super-clean gasoline internal combustion models available today, along with most hybrids that use a combination of electric drive and conventional engines. PZEVs look like traditional cars, but offer capabilities that pare 90 percent of tailpipe emissions and cut down evaporative fuel-system emissions to almost nothing.

More Alternatives

Using an alternative fuel offers additional ways to eliminate CO2 emissions. Other fuel options include biodiesel (made mostly from soybeans in this country), which can be used in diesel engines, along with natural gas, ethanol, and LPG (liquid propane gas). Some vehicles already offer alternative fuel options; for those that don't, various conversion kits can be employed to allow operation on alternative fuels.

Wendy Clem is a Michigan-based writer/photographer providing material for newspapers, magazines and online--locally, regionally and nationally. Her syndicated auto column for Avanti NewsFeatures appeared in 400 national markets, and her online how-to articles serve an international audience. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in journalism from Detroit's Wayne State University.