Category: Environment

Related to environmental issues.

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Get the Best Mileage

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

Get the Best Mileage

 

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

            The cost of gasoline is over four bucks a gallon and diesel is getting close to five—what a horror! So what did I do? I went out and bought a macho four wheel drive turbo diesel truck!

            Can you imagine all the grief that I got from friends about increasing my carbon footprint? Well, most of the time this truck (which already has almost a quarter million miles on its odometer) will stay parked while I drive my Prius. The truck’s former owner told me that it gets 19 miles to the gallon, but I know that a gallon will take the hybrid 52 miles.

            I think that a hybrid is a nice gimmick, but it is not the solution to the petroleum crisis. It is too complicated. Furthermore, there is a lot of lithium in a hybrid’s battery, which is toxic to mine and process.

            The future holds small, efficient vehicles. Europeans have already recognized this. You’ll find Smart cars and similar vehicles everywhere in Europe. The price of gas there is much higher there—over seven dollars a gallon in many countries.

            We have been slow to change our driving habits in the USA. Domestic car manufactures are finally catching on that fuel efficiency is vital, although they have fought this for years. Fortunately, many imported vehicles are quite efficient. My current favorite (not a carefully researched opinion) is the Honda Fit. Two friends have bought these cars and rave about their flexibility and performance. Although it is predicted to get 34 miles to the gallon on the highway, one friend gets over 40!

            There are ways to optimalize your car’s efficiency. You probably know that it is important to check tire pressure every month, but let that gauge rest for several months at a time. Try increasing the pressure two pounds above the recommended level when you finally do check the tires—but not above the maximum pressure on the tires’ sidewall. Buying gas in the morning when it is colder and more dense will get you a few more drops per fill up, but the savings sure won’t make a significant difference.

            Leave jack rabbit starts for the really rich; they significantly reduce mileage. You know to use your air conditioner when necessary rather than leaving the windows open—especially when going fast. The cruise control is also a big saver of gas since it is smoother than most people’s accelerator foot. A gas engine doesn’t need to be warmed up more than a few seconds; any longer is just a waste of fuel.

            My big trick for increasing mileage is to drive so I don’t have to use the brakes—much. I learned this from my driving teacher when I was 16. Whenever you apply the brakes you turn energy into heat and it is wasted. Judicious driving can harvest more of your momentum.

To lay off the brakes safely I leave a little extra space behind the car ahead of mine. That space allows my car to slow down gradually if the one ahead stops, so my momentum is used effectively. I pay attention to the stop lights of vehicles ahead. If one flashes red, I immediately take my foot off the accelerator. Likewise with traffic lights; if I see amber, I start coasting.

Idling is a big fuel waster. One of the tricks my Prius uses to optimalize mileage is to turn off the engine when it is not being used. If you are going to be sitting for more than a minute or so, switch off the ignition.

All of these tricks help to save money. They are also important for the planet’s future. Although we concentrate on the cost of the fuel going into our vehicles, perhaps what comes out of them is even more important. Greenhouse gas emissions released by humans appear to be causing permanent changes to our climate. Storms, floods, forest fires and drought all seem to be worsened by climate change. These natural disasters already have had grave effects on people, but predictions are that the worst is yet to come. It helps that Americans are driving less since the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. Fewer people driving would also help.

What about that diesel-guzzling truck? We bought it to occasionally pull a horse trailer short distances and to share with our neighbors for agricultural work.

Our progeny will appreciate whatever we can do to slow global climate change, including driving less and more efficiently.

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Carrying Capacity Durango Herald Environment

Ski

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

Ski

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

One of the conditions of my wife’s and my courtship was that she teach me how to ski. I got back at her by teaching her to drive.

This has been a cold, snowy winter. Although we’re all grateful for the moisture, many people have had a difficult time with all the shoveling and power outages. It was a real Colorado winter!

If you read the Herald regularly you know that I recently accepted a wager on global climate change. Dr. Roger Cohen bet $5000 that the climate will be cooler in a decade; I hope he is correct. Unfortunately, there is much evidence that the climate is warming, and that we humans are causing the change.

This cold winter does not undermine the concept of global warming. “Global climate change” is a more descriptive term than “global warming” since not all parts of the world will heat up. Furthermore, there is so much variability in climate from year to year that a cold winter doesn’t prove that global warming isn’t happening.

            It would be absolutely amazing if all the people—with all our consumption—didn’t alter the planet’s climate in major ways. One savant predicted that climate change will lead to decreased agricultural productivity. Lack of food will cause the death by starvation of hundreds of millions of people. Our population has outgrown our planet! I am sad that my grandchildren are likely to suffer from the profligate expansionism of my generation. We can help restrain climate change with our daily decisions, including skiing.

            It was late February when I started writing this, and snow was abundant both in the air and on the ground. I shoveled one morning and skied cross country in the afternoon. Both were good exercise. The day before, we hit Purgatory (now officially “Durango Mountain Resort”) for a beautiful day of powder. When we stopped to catch our breath on Sally’s Run, my wife commented “You’re really smiling!”

            On skinny skis we travel through the woods close to our home. With just a short car ride we’re off on forest roads or going cross country on gentle slopes.

There is a lot to see in the winter woods. Deer, elk and cottontail rabbits are common. Once we were treated to a glimpse of an ermine (the short-tailed weasel in its winter coat) as it porpoised through the snow. We also enjoyed tracking a mountain lion walking along a road up north. The big cat had come out of the woods, gone up over the snow bank at the side of the road, and then walked along the road. We were sure that it was a cat because the prints were lacking claw marks. At one place we saw where it had lain down and left a clear imprint of where its tail had rested. We have also had a peek of (or seen the tracks of) voles, mice, coyotes, turkeys and many other animals.

            Comparing alpine and cross country skiing, there are several differences. Skinny skis take us into quiet terrain where we seldom see other people—and usually our dog can come along. Cross country skiing is always a good workout.

            At Purgatory we usually run into friends, so it is more sociable. It is fun to push our skills to see if we can survive the black diamond trails. There is intermittent exercise with a chance to catch your breath on the lifts.

            Another way to look at the comparison is cost. Cross country is quite inexpensive. In addition to financial expense there is also the cost to the environment. Roundtrip to Purgy takes over two hours and a half tank of gas. Although convenient, the lifts that haul us up hill have an environmental price. They run on fossil fuel that generates green house gases. All in all, cross country has much less impact.

            It is possible to estimate the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide produced in a year—the “carbon footprint”. This should include direct uses (such as burning fossil fuels) and indirect usage (such as the energy used to manufacture a pair of skis). My favorite calculator (although it doesn’t include one’s choice of skiing) is at www.bp.com. You’ll find the calculator link in the lower right corner.

            We are fortunate to live in an area with wonderful outdoor activities, including skiing. In order to keep our environment healthy, however, we should make conscious choices to decrease our impact.