Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Driving Green

At PaintGreen, we drive what amounts to hundreds of thousands of miles a year. We realized that our driving is probably the largest impact we have on the environment. By becoming smarter with our vehicles, we can dramatically reduce the "footprint" our business creates.

We have contracted with TerraPass, a California-based company to reduce the environmental impact of our driving. TerraPass offers a way to reduce the driving footprint for both companies and individuals. Check them out at www.terrapass.com.

More ways to improve your car's environmental impact according to the EPA:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml

1.

Drive Sensibly

cartoon of carAggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

2.

Observe the Speed Limit

Graph showing MPG VS speed MPG decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mphWhile each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.

Observing the speed limit is also safer.

3.

Remove Excess Weight

Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones

4.

Avoid Excessive Idling

Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

5.

Use Cruise Control

Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

6.

Use Overdrive Gears

When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.