I’m not a great believer in New Year’s resolutions and generally work on the philosophy that if you’re going to do something then why not do it now rather than wait for a date on a calendar? However, I am a huge believer in small changes making a big difference.

Now I’ve broken the supermarket habit (99%) my new aim is to cut down on using the car (see the tenuous ‘revolution’ link? wheels?). Its not like I drive everywhere though and our car is very efficient. Twice a week I have to go to work in the city and for that I take the bus, we have a local shop at the top of my street so no driving to that and now I use the veg box delivery scheme there’s a lot less travelling to buy groceries. However, I’m sure that there are more times when I could opt out of using the car and just walk (I need the exercise, that’s for sure). We all know though that when you’re really busy and time is short you just can’t take an hour to walk somewhere you could drive to in 15 minutes or stand waiting for a bus or get drenched on your bike on the way to an important meeting. So, for those times there must be other things we can do.

Because most of us aren’t in a position right now to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cameron Diaz and Leonardo Di Caprio and treat ourselves to a Toyota Prius or have our cars converted to use used chip shop oil (although apparently its not that difficult – if you know what you’re doing of course) we need to either quit the car forever or find other ways to reduce their negative impact.

Here are a few ideas which we can implement now or make plans for the future in cutting down our fuel usage and pollution from our vehicles:

1. Offsetting your vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions:

• Driving Green you can also calculate your air travel and events impacts
• TerraPass
• Climate Care
• Carbon Clear

2. Use your car more efficiently

• Simply slowing down and driving in the appropriate gear will use less fuel. That’s good for your purse too!

3. Car share

• Either join a car share scheme or organise your own system with friends or colleagues. Make sure you stay safe though, don’t ride with strangers (yes mum) and make sure you have adequate insurance.

4. Choose green insurance

• Lots of insurance companies are now providing the option of green policies which will automatically offset a percentage of your car’s emissions.

5. Alternative types of car

Of course we can all dream and dreams do come true. Don’t rule out having a hybrid, electric or biofuel car:

• Electric Cars are for Girls is a great website, it gets you thinking about the possibility of electric cars, converting your existing car to electric and discusses the benefits of an electric car as opposed to a petrol/deisel.
• The Green Car Guide is a vault of information about green cars on the market and which one would suit you best, they also have a blog.

Whatever your own revolution is going to be, tell us about it and don’t wait for the next New Year to start making changes, just do it now! If you’re like me once you’ve taken the step you’ll never look back.

I’ll keep you posted on what I decide to do about our car and please let us know your ideas about vehicle usage and reducing their impact.

Vicky
Make Hay