I’m not gonna lie: I LOVED my Subaru.
I bought her in ‘09 (when PZEV vehicles first came out, loved the idea of zero emissions). I loved her reliability, her cute, aerodynamic shape, and how sexy she made me feel when she sat at the foot of a mountain all doused in mud after navigating high alpine passes together.
But as much as I loved her, I was burdened by an increasing awareness of the cruel irony that I was burning millions-of-years-old, finite, fossilized plant-and-animal remains in service of my personal desire to enjoy nature. Or my need to drive to purchase ingredients to prepare my vegetarian, organic, see-how-much-I-love-the-planet dinner.
Siphoning precious, hard-earned dollars to big oil for a tank full of crushed hydrocarbons was salt in the deepening wound of my own hypocrisy.
With every turn of the ignition, my relationship with driving was starting to feel like the opposite of win-win.
But seriously — I wondered — what’s a person living in most parts of a country that has been mostly designed around vehicular traffic to do but invest in a car and drive?
As I wondered what this person was to do, I watched the brown cloud of summer-air filled with toxic particulates descend upon Denver.
The impact on our atmospheric carbon levels — not just from driving but also from oil and gas extraction — was enough to make me crazy.
And then there was this:
“Vehicles are America’s biggest air quality compromisers, producing about one-third of all U.S. air pollution… toxins emitted by vehicles are especially troubling because they leave tailpipes at street level, where humans breathe the polluted air... That can make auto emissions an even more immediate health concern...” (National Geographic)
Maybe I’m just overly sensitive… but sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Highway 36 in August under “OZONE ACTION DAY” signs, knowing I was contributing to the deteriorating air at the foot of the once-pristine Rocky Mountains… let’s just say this was toxic to more than just my physical health.
Some climate activists would have us believe it’s not up to individuals to fix climate change. Only big corporations and countries can fix this, they say. As though continuing to live and act as we have been is somehow going to produce a new, better outcome.
I call bullshit.
You know what fuels the production and profits of big oil?
DEMAND.
Consumer demand — yours and mine — our demand for oil and gas.
Driving. Cars. Shipping and delivery trucks. Airplanes!
Here’s a fact: the transportation sector accounts for roughly a THIRD of U.S. carbon emissions.
If we vote, march and call for drilling to stop with our voices but we drive to the polls and marches, we effectively obliterate our work by DEMANDING petroleum products with our dollars.
What’s a profit-driven corporation to do but keep drilling and producing the supply we keep demanding? Where’s the incentive in that model — in the goodness of their hearts and an interest in preserving quality of life for the CEO’s kids? (Ha!)
WE incentivize drilling every single time we turn the ignition.
What if we were to stop expecting for-profit corporations to respond to something other than profit?
Every gallon of gas *not* purchased — weakens the stranglehold of power that oil companies hold over the economy.
It’s basic economics. When people stop demanding a product, supply dwindles and eventually, if it remains un-purchased, it’s discontinued.
So, no, I don’t buy this notion that individuals don’t have power.
Individuals are THE power.
This is not either/or, it’s BOTH/AND.
And it starts with conscientious consumerism.
What can I do?
Most of us don’t have the option to buy a new electric car, and many may not have a place to plug-in and charge a car (it’s also worth noting the tons of emissions and non-renewable resources that to go into the manufacture of said new car).
And unless you’re lucky enough to live in NYC, your public transportation infrastructure is likely lacking — likely woefully so — making going car-less not an option.
So what are your options?
First, remember: every choice makes a difference in aggregate.
As an example, Gen-Z teens are delaying driving and some are foregoing licenses altogether (that generation inspires me in so many ways). These individual choices in aggregate are expected to have a significant impact over the course of their lives as they also demand better infrastructure and public transportation, thus decreasing demand for gas and emissions.
But tipping points are happening soon. So how can we help in the near term?
Here are some thoughts:
Can you eliminate a few car-trips a month by planning ahead and combining errands?
For short-distance trips, opt to walk or ride a bike instead of immediately jumping in the car (bonus: it’s also good for your health!)
Find creative ways to car-pool (bonus: get to know your neighbors!)
If you live near a light-rail, find out if your town allows you to park and ride downtown, thus saving on gas, stress-of-commuting and parking (fyi — Denver has free parking at all light-rail stations)
Get to know the bus options in your area (confession time: I never once took a bus in Denver when I had a car and have since come to love the buses to Boulder (Flatiron Flyer) and the mountains (Bustang) — comfy seating and bus-lanes mean you often get there faster than you would driving)
If public transportation options are lacking near you, call/write and press local representatives for critical transportation improvements.
Interested in trading in your gas-guzzler for an electric car? DID YOU KNOW the infrastructure bill contains financial incentives and tax credits, including up to $7,500 towards the purchase of an electric vehicle?
If you fly a lot, find out if trains go to your destination. Even opting to travel by train in one direction makes a huge difference (I’ll discuss train travel more in future posts but it’s worth mentioning here, as air travel is another behemoth producer of carbon emissions. Train travel is not only better for the environment, it’s awesome!)
Now imagine if you took a few less trips a week, how that would add up over a year… and what if you inspired a few friends to do the same? And they inspired a few friends…? This isn’t just reducing emissions: that’s decreasing demand for oil… which will effect bottom lines and supply production.
Now we’re talking about a win-win.
Together we are the “demand” in supply-and-demand.
Clean-energy & politics writer David Roberts used this same concept to inspire hope while speaking with Chris Matthews earlier this week. He explained that there is reason to believe we could demand transition to renewable energy soon enough that by the time it’s finished, the Willow Project (proposed drilling project in Alaska whose recent approval went off like a bomb in environmental circles) could be effectively useless — possibly never extracting the oil it was built to pull from the ground.
But, only a measurable shift in how we all get around will make it so. That seems like a pretty solid motivator to me.
As for my own story, in the fall of 2019, I did finally break up with my car. In the three+ years since, I’ve accepted a handful of rides (maybe five? — mostly from friends or Ubers while traveling). But other than those few, I’ve successfully restructured my lifestyle to rely exclusively on my feet and public transportation — which is way easier, cheaper, and more enjoyable than I’d anticipated.
Stay tuned for more on the unexpected freedom of a car-less life — and how it has related to my attention and curiosity — in future posts.
Have you reduced your own driving impact or do you have other ideas for how to get around without as much reliance on oil and gas? Please let us all know in the comments.
I still wish I could afford an electric car. Alas. But I try to not drive at all on Saturdays (95% successful), and have a very brief drive on WFH Fridays for errands that I do during lunch hour (were it not for the time constraint, I would walk). My roundtrip to work is under 8 miles M-Th. And, I'm an L.A. Westside "snob", which means we try desperately never to leave our neighborhood and will only cross town when utterly forced to. My job will WFH in August and (aside from street cleaning car moving), I'm going to see if I'm able to only drive on Fridays (those errands) and Sundays (groceries). I love your commitment and tenacity, Jennifer. xo