Top 10 Tips to Get Off Oil

Top 10 tips to get off oil

1. Tell President Obama that you support a 54.5-mpg fuel efficiency standard. A 54.5-mpg standard could cut our annual oil use by 23 billion gallons by 2030.

2. Keep up on your vehicle maintenance. On average, an efficient engine could cut your gasoline use by over 46 gallons per year, saving you $139 and reducing your carbon footprint by 900 kilograms per year.

3. Keep your tires inflated and invest in low-rolling resistance tires. With well-inflated advanced tires, you’ll save over $50 per year on your gas bills.

4. Drive efficiently. Driving at a steady, reasonable pace can reduce your fuel use by as much as 15 percent. That means over $175 per year in savings on gasoline, and over a ton of carbon removed from the atmosphere per person.

5. Get rid of unnecessary weight in your car. Your fuel efficiency drops by 1 percent for every 100 pounds of stuff that you keep in your car, so it pays to clean out your trunk.

6. Carpool. Social networking websites like eRideShare have made it increasingly easy and convenient to match up with people with similar commutes. And companies such as NuRide offer discounts at restaurants, free tickets to events, and other rewards to  commuters who carpool, vanpool or find other green ways to commute to work.

7. Consider telecommuting as an alternative to the daily drive to work. New technologies are making it easier and easier to do more of your work from home. Working from home saves Americans an average of 46 minutes a day on their commute, which adds up to over 100 hours a year that would otherwise be wasted in traffic – more than the total vacation time many of us earn in a year.

8. Be efficient with your shopping and other travel. When you can walk, walk.  When you have to drive, plan ahead and try to hit multiple stores in one trip. Shopping locally saves the gasoline consumed by trucks and ships transporting goods, and shopping online saves the gasoline costs of driving to the store.
 
9. When you purchase a car, consider its energy costs and impact on the environment. This summer alone, a 60-mpg car would save the average consumer over $500 at the pump. Plug-in electric vehicles, meanwhile, offer superior driving performance and can be operated for just pennies per mile while producing no tailpipe emissions. 

10. Prioritize public transportation and walkable, mixed-use communities when you choose a home. Online resources such as the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index can help you figure out which neighborhoods have the most transportation choices.