Images from Zipcar.com 

When it comes to the form of transportation you use, would you consider yourself biofriendly?  Do you own a hybrid or electric vehicle? Do you bike to work, car-pool or take public transportation? Do you use proven fuel additives or biofuels? Do you walk whenever you can?  Well, no matter what you’ve done in the past, there’s a relatively new form of public transportation you should know about for your future…car-sharing.

What is car-sharing? Simply put, it’s an innovative way to provide people a temporary vehicle to use when the need arises.  Let’s say for example you use public transportation most of the time, but need a car every now and again, then car-sharing could work for you.  What if you just don’t want to add more monthly payments to your budget, cover maintenance costs, etc, then car-sharing could work for you.  What if your family could really use a second car sometimes, but you don’t need one fulltime?  What if your company wants to provide “company vehicles” without having to purchase or maintain their own fleet?  What if you’d just rather find a greener form of transportation…again, car-sharing could be right for you.

Enter Zipcar®…”The best new idea in business” (Fortune Magazine).  Zipcar boasts car-sharing locations in cities across the United States, as well as London, England and Toronto or Vancouver, Canada.  Zipcar locations are also conveniently located on over 100 university campuses across the United States.  Perfect for when it comes time to send your kid off to college.  Now there’s no need to buy them that new car, just enroll them in Zipcar and they are ready to go. 

So, how does it work?  Simple…you enroll on the Zipcar website and once approved you will get your Zipcard in the mail.  You pay a yearly fee for the service and then pay the hourly/daily fees associated with each time you use a Zipcar.  You can make your reservation online, but then get this…once you arrive at the Zipcar location all it takes is a wave of your Zipcard and you have immediate access to the vehicle.  Another amazing convenience is that each car comes with a gas card, insurance and 180 free miles at no additional cost.  

Needless to say, car-sharing is the smart solution when you need to travel as their cars can be rented by the hour or by the day.  Why pay for a full-day rental if you only need the car for an hour or two?  Even if you have a last minute trip, you can use your mobile phone to find the closest Zipcar location, make a reservation and your car will be ready to go when you arrive.  What are you waiting for?  Time to try out the latest biofriendly mode of transportation!

Getting a jump on the rest of the world, the California Air Resources Board recently approved a landmark regulation designed to cut carbon emissions from California’s transportation fuels.  The Low Carbon Fuel Standard aims to reduce harmful emissions from California’s transportation fuels by 10% over the next 11 years.

How does it intend to do this?  Well, for one, having a new standard in place should boost the market for alternative-fuel vehicles.  That alone could eliminate around 16 million metric tons of emissions.  The new regulation is also expected to dramatically cut gasoline consumption (by around 20-25%) and of course encourage the development of low-carbon fuel sources for vehicles.  As reported by sustainablebusiness.com, fuel sources such as algae, post-recycled garbage, wood, straw, weeds, etc are all being considered.

The LA Times also reported, “The regulation requires producers, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10% over the next decade.”  With 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions being generated from the transportation section, it is good that measures such as these are being taken to lower these harmful emissions.

But I guess that means if you are planning to import gasoline to California, you’d better ensure it meets the new low-carbon fuel standards or start using an effective fuel additive to get it to conform to the new standards.

On a more immediate basis, one benefit of California’s new Low Carbon Fuel Standard is that it should create an estimated 3,000 new jobs.  With over 1.5 billion gallons of biofuels needed to sufficiently lower emissions (as per estimates from the California Air Resources Board) more than 25 new biofuel factories will need to be built.  So not only will workers be needed to build the factories but employees will be needed to run them and with the current condition of unemployment in California, new jobs are definitely good news.

Image by Randy Read 

If you are in the market for a new car and want something that is “greener”, both for your wallet and for the environment, you really should check out a smart “fortwo” car.

In terms of what it will cost you, smart fortwo cars start at around $11,990 for the pure coupe (entry-level), $13,990 for the passion coupe (well-equipped) and $16,990 for the passion cabriolet (well-equipped convertible).  Specifics on what features each of the smart fortwo cars are equipped with can be found on their website. 

But one feature that I like is that smart fortwo cars can get around 33 mpg in the city, 41 mpg on the highway (without fuel additives or biofuels) and have an 8.7 gallon gas tank.  They can also go up to 90 mph so you’ll have no trouble keeping up with traffic.  If you are worried about the safety of these little cars, don’t.  In 2008 the smart fortwo coupe received the highest ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for front and side crashworthiness.

Unfortunately….as far as I know, there aren’t any smart car “dispensers” (like seen in the above photo) in the United States.  However, there is a $99 reservation program where customers can reserve, customize and have their built-to-order smart fortwo car delivered to the dealership near them.

So, if you are looking to invest in a greener car (greener for the environment that is, as the smart fortwo cars don’t come in the color green), the smartUSA website reports that smart cars are in stock and in many cases there is no wait time to be able to drive off in your smart car.