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Got any eco-friendly tips for my 50-mile daily commute?

To make a long daily drive easier on the planet (and yourself), use that cruise control, for starters.

By Chanie KirschnerThu, Sep 24 2009 at 5:00 AM EST
 16

commuter train illustrationQ: I have a 50-mile drive to work every day. Got any eco-friendly driving tips for me?
Tired behind the wheel in Atlanta
 
A: Gulp. 50 miles? How’s about changing jobs, sweetheart? A 50-mile drive is a killer, but if you’ve gotta do it (and I assume you’ve gotta do it), here’s some eco-friendly tips for you.
 
Firstly, a great way to go green during your commute is to carpool or take public transportation. Sites like carpoolconnect.com and erideshare.com can help you find other people in your area going your way. Lots of states have their own local carpooling websites. For instance, if you’re in Southern California, check out commutesmart.info.
 
A lot of people suggest biking to work, but unless you have a shower at the office or the sweat glands of a gerbil, this one ain’t so practical. But if you decide to go for it, and your coworkers don’t mind (or pretend not to), more power to ya. Research shows that active commuters (people who walk or bike to work) tend to be slimmer and fitter (not that you need research to back that up, but whatever).
 
Or, if you have a boss like mine (I’m currently sitting here writing this column in my TikiTown pajamas — thanks MNN), ask if you can telecommute one or two days a week. These days, with Skype and ichat, you don’t even need to be in the office to have a productive meeting. Just make sure you don’t set up your webcam with a view of your unmade bed, or your dirty dishes, or anything else you don’t want your coworkers, clients, and bosses to see. Oh yeah, and if you want to keep your telecommuting gig, then make sure to treat the day as a work day, and not a paid sick day.
 
If you do have to drive your own car to work, there are a few things you can do during the drive to lower your carbon footprint. First, use cruise control while traveling on highways and interstates. This helps you maintain a constant speed, which in turn helps you use less fuel while going easy on the environment. Secondly, next time you’re filling up the tank, make sure your tires are properly inflated — this can increase your gas mileage, which, you guessed it, helps out the environment too. To sum up (I was never that good at getting to the point), anything you can do to conserve fuel (like not letting your car idle for too long, not topping off at the pump, etc.) will help green your ride.
 
Another thing you can do while you’re driving is opening the windows instead of using the air conditioning. I do this all the time, and unless it’s 90 degrees out (or 30 degrees out for that matter), it’s pretty cool. If you live in a place like San Diego, where the weather seems to be at a perfect 70 degrees all year round (or maybe it just seems that way to a bitter East Coaster), this one can also save you gas and put less strain on your engine when you’re sitting in traffic.
 
Finally, if all else fails, the least you can do is THINK green on your drive to work. Download some eco-friendly podcasts to listen to on the way.
 
— Chanie
 
Got a question? Submit a question to Mother Nature and one of our many experts will track down the answer. Plus: Visit our advice archives to see if your question has already been tackled.
 
ALSO ON MNN: To see more green driving tips, check out this video.  
 
Photo: Alfredotisi/iStockphoto
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Related Topics: Alternative Transportation, Carpooling & Rideshare, Emissions, Green Commute

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anonymous
Nikki 03/09/2012 10:32 AM

If you read the other stories about saving gas, the information about a/c is not correct. The article I read said that it's best to leave your windows down with no a/c when in town and to use a/c with windows closed on the highway because of wind resistance. It also said that to even crack your window with the a/c on will cause more loss of gas. Just saying.

anonymous
Cynthia Gottlieb 03/01/2011 18:04 PM

This article was useless. Change jobs? I live in the Detroit area. I'm grateful to be working. I teach high school, so telecommuting isn't possible. "Thinking green" may sound nice but doesn't produce concrete results. I have a car that is fairly fuel-efficient. Reliability and safety were my first concerns, since I drive over 50 miles a day to and from work. Turning off the AC isn't an option in warmer weather, unless I want to come to work stinky. Besides, at over 55 mph, it's.... More

anonymous
RaStar 07/04/2010 14:21 PM

Fortunately, I leave at 4am when there's no traffic, average speed 75 mph. It takes 1.5 hours to drive 110 miles on cruise control from Atlanta to Chattanooga, S500 Mercedes!

anonymous
s 07/03/2010 13:52 PM

I too have a 50m commute. Changing jobs would be great, but I'm just darn lucky I keep making the cuts every time there's a lay off. That tip isn't going to be useful to anyone in this economic climate. Commute with someone, also a great idea, but if you're like me, chances are, again in this economic climate, that if the boss decides at 5:30 that you need to stay late, you do. It's very tough to coordinate when we're all at the mercy of our bosses and being short staffed. Now, the idea of.... More

anonymous
Brenda 07/02/2010 19:15 PM

How about using ethanol blended gas? Using either E85 (85% ethanol, or E10 (10%) fuel greatly improve air quality and energy efficiency. Result show that ethanol can reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 85%. There is also a 50% to 60% reduction in fossil energy use.

anonymous
Melisa 07/03/2010 16:24 PM

When you figure in all the fuel burned to plant, tend, harvest, transport, and process corn into ethanol it creates more greenhouse gasses and more pollution than just using gasoline-not to mention the increase in food prices caused by the dearth of corn for food and animal feed. Not an eco-friendly alternative. It is also not efficient monetarily as our tax dollars have paid subsidies to the farmer for the corn and then to the grain processors and then the oild company blending the fuel. A.... More

anonymous
Al 07/03/2010 01:17 AM

Ethanol is a farse, just like global warming due to man-made activities. Ethanol production is a huge energy hog and consumes lots of water during production. MPG goes down as well with the blend. Quit spreading false information.

anonymous
Al Gore 07/02/2010 15:23 PM

Before you ride to work with the windows down in the hot Atlanta summer, realize that usually anything over 45mph and the drag caused by having the windows down burns more fuel than windows up and a/c on.

anonymous
scott 07/02/2010 13:07 PM

I go 35 miles each way ... but I live and work where there not much or very little traffic ... so 35 miles takes me 45 minutes ... my carolla gets 38 mpg ... now if I lived in NYC and had to go 35 miles, it would take me 2 hours ... it all depends on where you live

anonymous
Jody 03/20/2011 10:35 AM

I, too, drive 35 mi. one way; it takes me 50 min. BUT I have a paid-off vehicle (Dodge Durango V8). It gets 15 MPG. IT IS PAID OFF - no car payment. Justify to me why I should incur a monthly payment when I don't have one now. Wouldn't it be six of one/half dozen of the other - gas costs or car payment? My car is sound, I keep up on its maintenance. I'm all for helping the enviroment, but who's kidding who?

anonymous
Cynthia 03/01/2011 18:11 PM

That's true, Scott. The article also says to save gas by using cruise control on the freeway. Did the author ever try to use cruise control during rush hour??

anonymous
Guest 07/02/2010 13:01 PM

You think 50 miles is alot? I used too drive 45 miles to get to school, and my job now is 75 miles away. I work 5 days a week for minimum wage. gets boring but I do it.

anonymous
Commuter Swap 05/07/2010 09:31 AM

A better solution is to swap your home and live closer to your workplace. At Commuter Swap we promote a healthy planet and individual. Save time, money and the environment - www.commuterswap.net

anonymous
Cynthia 03/01/2011 18:08 PM

I would prefer not to live in the neighborhood where I work. It's not the friendliest place in town!

anonymous
Amber 02/12/2010 17:19 PM

I use ULTIMATE BIODEGRADABLE motor oil .It cuts down our carbon footprint also does better than mobile 1.
Safe non polluting non hazzard motor oil.www.getgreenearthsolutions.com

anonymous
Rusty Wallace 09/24/2009 20:19 PM

Wow, it really does make sense when you think about it!

RT
www.privacy-web.pro.tc

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