10 Steps to Going Green

Katy Deardorff is a Peninsula Pulse intern entering her sophomore year at Indiana University. This summer she was assigned the task of collecting information for the Green Page, but there was one problem – she didn’t know much about going green. Here, she details her ongoing education.

A good car can get you from Point A to Point B, but can it get you there efficiently?

I live in Jacksonport. And I know why it’s called the quiet side, because everyone is spending their time driving the 30 minutes to Ephraim, Fish Creek, Sister Bay or Sturgeon Bay.

I spend a good chunk of my morning commuting to work, and with that I have to fill up my gas tank almost twice a week. It’s depressing watching my hard-earned money get pumped into my car and in turn out into our air.

However, somewhere between Baileys Harbor and Sister Bay it hit me that going 65 miles per hour is probably not the most efficient use of my gas.

So I researched a couple of ways to get the most out of your gas, so maybe you, and hopefully I, don’t have to frequent that awful pump more than once a week. Getting the most out of my gas tank is Step Four in my quest to learn more about going green.

A new hybrid looks awfully good, but the price tag makes it less than a fiscally responsible solution for many. Here are other ways to make your car, be it a Ford Focus or an Escalade, a little more eco-friendly.

In the shop:  Make sure you get a couple of things checked. Get your oil changed regularly, because it’s estimated that changing your oil and cleaning your air filter regularly can reduce fuel use by 10 percent.

Check air pressure in your tires too. Proper tire inflation could save up to two billion gallons of gas annually in the U.S.

On the Road:  I discovered that speeding, as well as stop and start driving, is a prime fuel waster. Easing into stops and starts are the way to go.

At Home:  Lay off the load. According to http://www.thedailygreen.com, every 100 pounds you take off your load will improve fuel economy by one to two percent.

At the Pump:  Finally, there’s something I was completely unaware would make a difference, the gas cap. “One in 10 cars on the road is either missing its gas cap or driving around without its gas cap,” according to http://www.thedailygreen.com. “One study found a single leaking gas cap can be responsible for 175 pounds of air pollution in a year.”

So there it is, the solution to some pollution. I know these discoveries have been enlightening to me, and I hope this column helps save you money as well.