transport: bio/dual fuel
In rural areas - transport is a big issue and often takes up a disproportionate amount of time and family income - did you know that households in Cumbria spend twice the national average on travel and transport.
If you are moving around for work, shopping, sport, recreation, pleasure, health or family reasons you need to make the right choices about the best way to travel. Sustainable Transport is not just a matter of "Don't use your car!" if the car hadn't been invented we would face other pollution and sustainability issues surrounding the vast number of horses and carts that would be using our road network.
Sustainabile travel means using the most appropriate transport for the job in hand. It is about understanding how to travel safely, efficiently and with maximum benefit to yourself, your neighbours and the environment.
Motoring remains a very convenient means of travel, great for longer hauls with a full car and fun journeys! Getting used to using the car only when it is carrying a full compliment of passengers and their belongings, means you can consider not having your own car, thus avoiding the very real and high costs of owning a car - insurance, tax, maintenance, depreciation etc - (as opposed to the costs of merely using a car) and join a Car Club. These groups charge a modest annual membership fee and a daily hire charge, usually providing a modern and fuel efficient car tailored to your needs. The many advantages to being a Car Club member are that someone else worries about insurance, tax, new tyres, repairs, maintenance and eventual replacement. Virtually everyone who has switched to a car club report really significant cash savings to their family budgets. If there are no Car Clubs local to you then consider either commercial car and van hire companies as a second best alternative when you need to use a car or look into the practicalities of sharing journeys you need to make using the services of a carsharing website National Carsharing database - a multi-award winning scheme for both business and private motorists - You can also phone 08700 780225 for information.
Sustainability means knowing when the adverse impacts of car use are outweighed by the advantages. Don't let old habits dictate your choices. Cars end up being used for about a fifth of all journeys of under a mile - when the car is at its most in-efficient, polluting and wasteful, with half of all journeys of between 1 and 2 miles being made by the car in preference to all other modes of transport. These are the journeys for which you really need to be sure the car is the only viable option, before you sit in the drivers seat!
Of course cars work best when thay are kept well serviced and properly maintained. Tyre pressures are really important - not only are under or over inflated tyres dangerous and wear out dramatically quickly, they can waste a lot of fuel too - all things that will consume more cash from your wallet or purse!
The motorcar has been widely spoken of a blessing and a curse - which makes it like most things people have created - there are moves by many car manufacturers to really develop the sustainability of the motorcar for the future. Bio-fuels are being developed - though growing fuel for transport is attractive as a renewable source of "petrol" or "diesel" there are a number of adverse impacts from turning over the large areas of land that would be needed to supply, from such a source, sufficient amounts to satisfy our current appetite for fossil fuel oil. Heavy goods vehicles and buses running on hydrogen are being trialled. Dual fuel cars run on gas with petrol as a reserve fuel - and the gas can be sourced from renewable resources, although most is currently Liquified Petroleum Gas(LPG) - still a lower emissions fuel than petrol.
When you have looked at all the alternatives and you have decided you do really need to have a car for your travelling then take a critical look at the fuel economy of virtually any modern car you might own or intend to buy.
Fuel costs are high and will remain that way - it makes sense to have a vehicle that does not overburden you with high running costs and make your "carbon footprint" needlessly bigger than it could be. Also take into account the energy cost of the cars production - some vehicles have had their biggest environmentally damaging impact before they even leave the factory! Some cars promoted as having low emissions and running costs have had such a big initial energy cost that they are worse overall than some that others that have been labelled "gas guzzlers".
