be the E: Travel Green

Did you know?

Transportation makes up more than 1/4 of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and is the fastest growing sector of emissions in the country. (US EPA, Transportation and Climate)
The average vehicle in the US emits one pound of CO₂ per mile driven. The average household emits 21,000 pounds of CO₂ annually.
Traveling by plane emits the equivalent of 1.26 pounds of CO₂ per passenger mile – about 2.5 TONS for a roundtrip, coast-to-coast flight. (Stockholm Environment Institute)

Reduce the Commute

The average American drives twenty-nine miles a day, spends fifty-five minutes each day behind the wheel, and spends nearly one-fifth of household income on transportation. Living in NYC makes it easy to utilize the city bus and subway systems as an alternative to driving. According to the US Census Bureau, of the approximately 6.4 million people nationwide who usually travel to work by public transportation, nearly one third live in NYC.

Take Action!

Quick and Easy

· Take public transit.More than 7 million workers make use of the bus and/or subway system during the work week. http://www.mta.info/

· If possible, work from home.Try teleconferencing or video calls.

· Run errands less often. Just by combining trips or buying larger quantities, miles driven can be reduced by 50%.

· Plan weekend and social activities closer to home. Avoid travel costs, travel time, and emissions.

· When driving, use your most fuel efficient vehicle and drive smarter. Idling for more than ten seconds uses more gas than starting your car. Maintaining a steady speed cuts emissions and saves money. 55mph is the most efficient highway speed. Accelerate and break steadily.

Extra Effort

· Walk. Experts recommend at least half an hour of moderate exercise five days a week, and there are about 64,000 miles of sidewalk in New York City. 20 up/downtown blocks and 10 crosstown blocks equals about one mile. For non-driving directions visit www.hopstop.com

· Bike. More than 100,000 cyclists use the roads in NYC every day. There are about 80 miles of bike lanes and 120 miles of greenways (off-street bike paths) in New York City. For safety tips, maps, organized bike trips and more, visit

· Fly less, and travel by train instead. Cutting one round-trip 5000 mile flight saves nearly 2 tons of emissions. Choosing to travel 1000 miles by train instead saves nearly a quarter ton of emissions.

Big Changes

· Live in a place or location that reduces your need to drive.Choose a place close to work, close to public transportation, or in a city with more public transportation options.

· If you are going to purchase a new vehicle, switch to a fuel efficient, low-polluting vehicle. Inefficient vehicle design leaves the United States, a nation with just 3% of the world’s known oil resources, dependent on imported oil. For vehicle comparison info visit: