How to Reduce Your Vehicle’s Carbon Footprint

We are now in spring and not far from today we will be seeing the green buds of tulips, hyacinths and other plants of this season. The clean and fresh vibe outdoors can be quite contagious, and celebrating what Mother Nature created is only just. Whenever thinking of efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, we often forget about our vehicles. Even if you are not ready to go hybrid or all-electric, your car can still go eco-friendly. Miracle Body and Paint in San Antonio have listed down some few steps you can take to reduce your vehicle’s environmental toll:

Go easy on the accelerator

You can lessen your footprint by easing up on the accelerator. If you tend to do the “jackrabbit start”, consciously aim to do slow and steady acceleration and anticipate braking.

Go online

www.fueleconomy.gov has online calculators to check just how much fuel you save by driving within the speed limit. If you have a lot of stuff in your car, it also suggest to unload about 100 pounds of excess cargo so you can save at least three to seven cents per gallon on your fuel cost

Avoid washing the car on the driveway

The US Environmental Protection Agency suggests not wash your car on the street or driveway since it puts tons of contaminants right into the storm sewers, leading directly to lakes, streams and rivers. If you need to wash at home, try to do it on the grass so the soil can filter off the soaps, oils and other pollutants. You can also opt for a local car wash with a water-filtering system instead. There are in fact some stores that have water-less car wash products such as waxes and polishes made without petroleum solvents and other pollutants.

Aim for carbon offsets

You can further help by consciously opting and purchasing carbon credits that offset your personal carbon dioxide footprint. The money you pay for offsets goes a long way with eco-friendly projects worldwide. Green-e.org is a third-party certification site for retail carbon offsets; their page offers links to a variety of projects.