Econundrum: A Greener Commute

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Considering how much car travel affects a person’s carbon footprint?, I’m always looking for ways to cut down on my driving time. Luckily for me, the commute isn’t a problem, since a rapid-transit train whisks me under the San Francisco Bay practically to MoJo HQ’s doorstep every day. But if you don’t live near public transportation or a bike-friendly commute (and you don’t happen to have an extra 25 grand kicking around for a Prius), you’re probably going to have to get creative.

One idea: Get a GPS device. The technology company Navteq recently found that German drivers who were given navigational devices with real-time traffic information increased their fuel economy by an average of 12 percent. The researchers calculated that GPS systems could save 2,006 pounds of carbon per driver per year, a 24 percent reduction from current emissions levels.

An ABC poll estimated the average American commute at 16 miles one way, creating about 29.3 pounds of CO2 round-trip every day. According to the Navteq researchers’ findings, then, getting a GPS device is the same as not driving to work 68 days every year.

A caveat: Since Navteq, the company behind the study, sells software to GPS manufacturers, it has a vested interest in touting the benefits of navigational systems. Still, some independent traffic-savvy types told me they think that the study is solid, if taken with a few grains of salt. First, the study was conducted in Germany—and any American who’s been to Europe knows that US freeways take crowded to an entirely different level. Another problem: Once everyone starts using the alternate route that a GPS suggests, it’s, well, no longer an alternate route. “The impact for any one driver may be somewhat smaller if more people use these devices and start to clog up alternate routes,” said Tai Stillwater, a graduate student who studies traffic and sustainability at the University of California-Davis.

If you don’t want to shell out for a GPS (they run about $150-$200), consider these fuel efficiency tips. You can also talk to your boss about telecommuting a few days a week. And for advice on whether to junk your clunker in favor of a hybrid, read our piece on the subject here.
 

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate