Image by busymommy (via Flickr)

I understand lowering emissions is probably not on the top of your list this holiday, but there is no reason it couldn’t be or shouldn’t be factored in. There are many different ways you can lower emissions this holiday season and I’m not just talking about emissions from your vehicle either. Emissions come from many sources: vehicles, animals, people, factories, food production, etc.  You can make your holiday great while at the same time being aware of the emissions you are generating.

Now, you may be expecting to read tips or ideas that include not traveling, using less electricity, buying local, not using your dishwasher or washer/dryer as much, getting a live tree, not buying as much in general, etc.  Those are all valid tips, but I figured I’d narrow it down to give you just a few travel and a few personal tips to get you through the holidays.

So, if you plan to do any traveling in your vehicle over the holidays, these tips can help make sure your trip is not only a safe one, but a low emission one as well:

1) Get your tires rotated and tire pressure checked. 90% of tire blowouts are caused by under-inflated tires. Having properly inflated tires not only helps with fuel economy and lowering emissions, but helps ensure you and your family have a safer trip.  Here are a few more tire safety tips.

2) At the same time you get your tires rotated, you should get your oil changed and fluids checked/filled up. Regular maintenance done on your vehicle will help keep it running better and running longer.  By getting your oil changed regularly, you help prevent sludge and carbon buildup that could increase harmful exhaust emissions and potentially cause serious damage to your car.  Additionally, use of a proven fuel additive can further reduce harmful emissions and improve fuel economy.

While they may be simple steps, each one can help improve your vehicle’s fuel economy, lower your emissions and keep you and your family safe this holiday. Now onto a few tips for helping to lower your emissions on a more personal level:

1) Pass up the meat this holiday…instead of having your usual holiday meal, have something that doesn’t include meat.  One of the largest sources of methane emissions comes from animal agriculture.  If you do plan on having meat, go for ham (pork) or poultry.  Apparently they generate significantly less CO2 emissions in their production than beef.  One kg of beef generates about 13 kg of CO2…essentially the same amount generated from 6 liters of gasoline.

2) Don’t make too much food.  I know my family always tried to ensure they had enough food on the table during the holidays, but did you know that the “US per capita food waste has progressively increased by about 50% since 1974“?  That’s a lot of food going to waste and since emissions are generated not only in the production and preparation of the food, but also in the decomposition of any leftovers, that is definitely something worth factoring in.  It’s better to make a little less to ensure that everyone has enough without food going to waste.

I won’t get into any further ideas for lowering emissions that can result from the holiday season, as I figured these few should give you a good start.  Let’s be honest, nobody needs a huge list of things to do in addition to all their existing holiday preparations.  But if you follow these simple tips, they can contribute to a happy holiday for yourself and the environment.

Image by by Oran Viriyincy (via Flickr)

If you haven’t already nailed down your holiday plans, you might want to consider a few factors which may help you lower your environmental impact over the holidays.  First is to decide whether you are interested in eco-friendly travel or responsible travel. And do you know what the difference is?  GoGreenTravelGreen.com has a simple article on the difference and it’s definitely something to consider before making your holiday plans.

Another thing to factor in is how you are going to get to your intended destination.  Fly? Drive? Take the train? Or are you one of many millions who are going to stay at home over the holidays?  Whether it’s for financial, personal or other reasons, your decision should factor in the environmental impact as well.  Here’s a tip from MotherNatureNetwork on “What’s the most low-impact way to travel to my in-laws’ over the holiday?”

Image by ricardo-pereira

If you are going to travel, fly for example, and the city you are flying into or out of has a “Climate Passport Program” like the city of San Francisco, then I guess you could feel better about offsetting your travel by using one of these.  However, if you have a lower-emission way of traveling, I’d suggest checking it out.  For instance, try renting a car.  Enterprise, National and Alamo boast of having the world’s largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles. Their Keys to Green site states they have:

“…approximately 448,000 vehicles that average a highway fuel efficiency rating of at least 28 mpg and more than 229,000 that average 32 mpg or better.”

Here are also a few other tips that can help lower your CO2 emissions while driving.

Now, where are you going to stay?  Of course one of the simplest answers is to stay with the relatives and/or friends you are going to visit.   If that isn’t an option for you then check out GreenHotels.com and see if you can find a “green” hotel in your destination city.  If you can’t find a green hotel, then use simple logic when you are in your hotel room….don’t waste water, turn off the lights when you don’t need them on, follow the hotel’s “conservation tips” when it comes to getting your sheets/towels laundered, etc.  Just because you aren’t “paying” for the utilities in your room, doesn’t mean you need to waste them.

My final tip is if you do travel, try and cut down your environmental impact in the city you are visiting by walking whenever/wherever you can, taking public transportation, eating local and of course buying local…give back to the community.

In September of this year, Governor Schwarzenegger laid out the progress the state of California has made to reduce emissions since AB 32 was signed (3 years ago).   AB 32 was originally laid out as the world’s first comprehensive law to lower greenhouse gas emissions.  California wanted to set the standard for other states and nations across the globe.  And while there are various plans, standards and executive orders that have been approved in the last few years, is California really serious about lowering vehicle emissions? 

The governor did report that $6 billion in venture capital has been put into California’s economy making California the front-runner in clean energy investments and green jobs.  He also stated California is expected to more than double the power generated as a result of solar power installation.  But doesn’t a lot of that comes from individual businesses and consumers?   What about major results in getting air-polluting, high-emission vehicles off the road by providing state-wide green alternatives and infrastructures?

Individual cities in California, such as San Francisco, have taken some great steps.  I mean based on his actions alone, Mayor Newsom leaves no question as to where he stands on making San Francisco a more sustainable city and with $1 million recently approved for San Francisco’s Electric Vehicle Program, he’s on the way to achieving his goal of “…making San Francisco and the Bay Area the most successful electric vehicle market in the country”.  But what about the rest of the state? 

I was reading a great post the other day about how Better Place and DBS (Denmark’s state-owned passenger train company) had joined forces and were going to be offering a combination of sustainable transportation in Denmark.  Essentially they were offering door-to-door service for their passengers.  Once a train passenger arrived at their station, they could get their pre-reserved EV (already charged and ready to go) and drive to their intended destination.  It’s a smart plan for getting commuters off the roads and providing them with an alternative and more environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.

I then I went to the Better Place website to see if anything like that was going to be coming to California.  I was excited to find that on November 19th, 2008 (almost 1 year ago), a press release was published and announcement made that “Better Place and California Bring Electric Vehicles to the United States“.  The press release went on to state:

“Today, the state has announced a historic private/public partnership for sustainable transportation infrastructure and ‘green’ job creation that once again serves as a model for economic and environmental innovation.

“California has defined a plan for a sustainable transportation model in which state and local government are working in partnership with the private sector to move the state from greenhouse gas-emitting cars that run on fossil fuel, toward clean, electric cars fueled by renewable energy, supported by an open network infrastructure.”

Excitedly I checked around for an update on how things were progressing….but unfortunately I couldn’t find any update.   It’s almost a year later, there had to be an update.   After looking around for awhile, I finally called Better Place to see if they could give me an update.  What did I find?  No update…no further progress has been made in getting this brought to California.   I couldn’t believe it.  

Now I know Californians will continue to do what they’ve been doing – buy electric/hybrid vehicles, use public transportation (when and where available), use fuel additives to lower emissions, ride their bikes or walk, etc. but wouldn’t it be better to have more consumer-friendly options in place?  For example, an electric car ready for you to use when you arrived at the airport, a bike available for you at the train station, electric vehicle charging stations easily accessible up and down California, bike lanes so people feel more confident about safely riding their bike to work, etc, etc.   What do you think, without these in place is California (or your state for that matter) really serious about lowering vehicle emissions?