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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

What Do You Do To Make Your Road Trip Earth-friendly?


beckyrepp
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This past week was Earthweek. American Road staff want to know the steps you take to make your road trip Earth-friendly.

 

To get things started, below are a few steps that we take when we travel:

 

-Reuse sheets and towels at hotels if we are in a location more than one night.

-Keep showers short and turn water off when brushing teeth.

-Pack as light as possible (saves gas if the load is lighter).

:sunshine2:

 

 

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Gas is probably the biggest issue, so the less gas you can use, the better. Last summer this became a financial concern as well.

 

A good word of advice - slow down. Generally, the faster you go, the more gas you consume and the more money you spend. Besides, slowing down is safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

 

Now, I didn't do this for "green" reasons, but for reasons of fun, I ride a Vespa that gets 65mpg. Did Route 66 and a bunch of other places too last summer. I spent very little on gas and had an amazing time. This, of course, isn't practical for everyone, of course - but it's food for thought.

 

-Eric

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Gas is probably the biggest issue, so the less gas you can use, the better. Last summer this became a financial concern as well.

 

A good word of advice - slow down. Generally, the faster you go, the more gas you consume and the more money you spend. Besides, slowing down is safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

 

Now, I didn't do this for "green" reasons, but for reasons of fun, I ride a Vespa that gets 65mpg. Did Route 66 and a bunch of other places too last summer. I spent very little on gas and had an amazing time. This, of course, isn't practical for everyone, of course - but it's food for thought.

 

-Eric

 

EXCELLENT advice! Keeping tires properly inflated and performing routine maintenance helps gas mileage, too. And, slowing down and traveling the back roads --well, that's what we're all about!

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In addition to what has been mentioned,

 

At the motel, I set the air conditioner at 78 - 80 degrees, and the heater at 65 degrees during the day and 57 at night. I turn either off when I leave the room.

 

I unplug the refrigerator in the room if I don’t intend to use it. I turn off the lights when not in use. I walk to the nearest restaurant instead of driving, and I combine activities so that I don’t make multiple trips out to dinner, gas, bookstore, events, museums, etc.

 

I save gas by driving intelligently, by which I mean, I accelerate slowly, maintain a large distance between cars so I don’t brake unnecessarily, and I maintain a steady speed where practical. That saves 2 to 5 miles per gallon.

 

I own a car that gets 30-35 miles per gallon.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bicycle a lot of roads (I mean not just local ones), going on a full road trip by bicycle, and have a car that gets around 30 mpg. So, that would count as being more earth-friendly.

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  • 10 months later...

My city has a pretty decent recycling program, but most do not. My empty soda cans and bottles accumulate in my trunk until I get home to throw them into the ol' blue bin.

 

I don't get radical about it, but practicing a few hyper-mileage driving techniques enable me to gain 5+ mpg over the EPA estimates on my road trips. As long as there is no traffic behind me, I've gotten pretty good at popping into neutral and coasting to that red light way up ahead. About a third the time, the light will change to green before I have to apply the brakes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My city has a pretty decent recycling program, but most do not. My empty soda cans and bottles accumulate in my trunk until I get home to throw them into the ol' blue bin.

 

I don't get radical about it, but practicing a few hyper-mileage driving techniques enable me to gain 5+ mpg over the EPA estimates on my road trips. As long as there is no traffic behind me, I've gotten pretty good at popping into neutral and coasting to that red light way up ahead. About a third the time, the light will change to green before I have to apply the brakes.

 

.

Hi Larry,

 

Thanks for resurrecting this topic. Earth Day 2010 is just around the corner (April 22 - the 40th anniversary).

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