Low Carbon Diet

I recently had the opportunity to present a short talk to a group of business women in Santa Cruz. I spoke on Green Tips to help with a more green-conscious lifestyle. What I found out was that this timely topic was not only well received, but the information or tips were actually put to use by several of the people. This inspired me to share some of the same information with our savvy Rock, Paper, Car readers.

In the automobile world people are concerned with the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of their vehicles. CO2 is one of the green house gasses related to global warming. There are, however, many things we use in our daily lives besides cars which also contribute to high CO2 emissions.

For those of you who really wish to look at your carbon footprint there is a great Low Carbon Diet Calculator online.

What is a Carbon Footprint? Carbon Footprint typically refers to the amount of emissions generated through the actions of people – primarily from the energy used in the home and in transportation. But it also comes from the result of goods and services consumed. All of this is calculated over a period of one year.

Being Green Business Owners Henry & I are always thinking, “Reduce, reuse, recycle!” We support other business owners in their efforts in becoming green certified. And we take our business to businesses who are green certified.

Car related Green Tips: Whenever possible ride a bike, skateboard, rollerblade, walk, jog or run. Consider carpooling; connect with other commuters at Ride Share. Use the local metro systems. Make a game of consolidating the number of trips to different stores and plan the most efficient route.

Consider a car sharing program like the Zip Car Program.

Consider using biodiesel or vegetable oil in your diesel vehicle or ethanol in your gasoline powered car. (FYI: Ethanol can be made from other things besides corn – like algae, food processing plant waste, day-old donuts, etc. See Alcohol Can Be A Gas by David Blume.)

If it is time in your life for a different vehicle take a look at the other technologies available. For example: Triac Electric Vehicles, hybrids, fuel cell cars, etc. How about the beautiful Tesla car?Or take your current vehicle and convert it to an electric car.

Turn off your car if you are going to be idling for longer than one minute.

It seems to me that the inhabitants of the Santa Cruz area are a bit more forward acting when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint. I challenge you to compare notes with your loved ones who visit from other communities. And encourage them to change a habit or two or take on any of their green practices which you have not thought of yet.