What is being Green?
Global Warming, Green-house effect, Ozone layer depletion, CO2 emission, changing extreme weather conditions, increasing temperatures, devastating rains and droughts, more frequent cyclones and unprecedented forest fires – these have been the major concern for the entire world, regardless of advanced nations or growing countries, as the effect is global and everyone is affected.
Where we are now?
CO2 Emission has been on an unprecedented rise in the past few decades for reasons attributable to faster growth rates of many countries around the nation. We must point out that the world’s CO2 emissions from the transportation sector exceeded 5 G annual tons in 2002, of which more than 4.2 G came from road transportation (which is an incredible 84%), CO2 emissions from transportation for 2030 are projected to exceed 8.5 G tons.
With respect to the European Union, forecasts show that between 2000 and 2030 emissions will increase by 1 G to 1.3 G tons annually in Europe alone. In short, CO2 emissions from the transportation sector are at a very high level and therefore have tremendous environmental consequences.
What are we doing now?
The entire world is now focusing on CO2 saving. Which really means reducing CO2 emissions as far as possible. Every vehicle that runs on the road emits CO2 at different levels, depending upon its fuel consumption and engine efficiency. We are trying to develop projects that could save or absorb the CO2 being emitted now and that would be emitted in future.
How a vehicle contributes to CO2 emission?
Every vehicle that runs on petroleum fuel exhausts consists of 70% nitrogen, 15% carbon dioxide (CO2), 15% water vapour. While Nitrogen and Water vapor do not contribute to global warming, scientists have proved that increase in CO2 in the atmosphere will increase the atmospheric temperature. For example, doubling the CO2 content in the air would cause a rise of 5 to 6 degrees in air temperature. This rise globally would mean disasters in unimaginable proportions.
What is the Acceleration Menace?
It may be surprising to know that a vehicle uses more than 6 times the average fuel during acceleration than during cruising at a normal speed.
That implies every time a vehicle brakes and accelerates in lower gears, the vehicle consumes 6 times more fuel, resulting 6 times more CO2 than it could have emitted.
See below the average fuel efficiency of a 2 Liter car
1st Gear – 1.51 kmpl (Kilometer per Liter)
2nd Gear – 2.27 kmpl.
3rd Gear – 4.55 kmpl.
4th Gear – 9.09 kmpl.
5th gear – 11.11 kmpl.
In our Indian Metros, we are driving most of the times 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, thereby we are consuming an average of 6-7 times more fuel than our counterparts else where in the world.
That implies every time a vehicle brakes and accelerates, it is consuming 5 times more fuel, than it would have consumed if it didn’t brake unnecessarily.
What I Can do to reduce CO2 emissions?
You can contribute to the reduction of CO2 Emission by following few simple driving rules and road habits. As the entire world is talking about being ‘green’ in whatever they do, you can also become a ‘green driver’. Unlike other ‘green’ projects which are under development and expensive at least as of now, this project does not cost you money, instead it saves you money and benefits your city community as a whole.
How can I be a GREEN DRIVER?
Well, a Green driver contributes to reduction of CO2 emission, primarily by other vehicles on the road and as a indirect benefit, directly reduces his own CO2 emission as well.
Remember, every time a vehicle brakes and accelerates it uses 6 times more fuel – 6 times more CO2 emission into the atmosphere.
Now by adopting to ‘green driving’, you follow these principles:
1. When I enter a main road, I stop, watch the traffic from right, allow them to pass and then enter. Imagine you are entering a main road from a side road without watching to the right, and a truck is coming at 40 kmph speed. He has to brake until you enter and pick up speed and then he accelerates. That was 1 x 5 times more CO2 into the atmosphere because of you. If there were 5 vehicles coming behind that truck, then multiply that by 5.
2. When I have to turn, I plan my turn, take the correct lane to turn and turn when the signal is Green. Unplanned turns cause the vehicles on the other lane to slow down and accelerate after you pass. At least 5 vehicles accelerate because of you.
3. I don’t make my own lanes at traffic signals. Each traffic signal has at least one (or more) lane(s) to go straight, one to turn right and one to turn left (if any). If you make another lane between these 3 lanes just because there is space, you slow down the entire traffic, as there would be only 1 lane to go in the front. All the extra-lane vehicles try to squeeze through and you end up slowing down the traffic and then accelerate, more CO2 into the atmosphere.
4. I stop always on the stop line: This would help the pedestrians cross on the zebra crossing and the other side traffic to pass faster. If you overshoot the zebra crossing, people walk on the road, the other side traffic slows down, more CO2 into the air…
5. I never drive on the other side of the road especially, at traffic signals: At the traffic signal, if you cross over the median line to the other side, the on-coming vehicles will have little place to pass, slowing down the vehicles, more fuel consumption and more CO2 into the air.
6. I don’t stop or park on roads with only 2 lanes: By ad-hoc stopping and parking, even for few minutes causes more vehicles to brake and accelerate emitting more CO2.
7. I never go through One way roads: Most of the One way roads are unmonitored and if one vehicle comes in the opposite direction, it could cause as many as 50 vehicles to slow down and accelerate Emitting more CO2.
8. I always insist the driver of the vehicle I travel in follow these principles/ rules, be it a cab, a bike, an Auto, or a bus. You sure can insist on the drivers of these vehicles you ride in, and I am sure at least half of them would oblige and that is a big achievement.
This is not an exhaustive list of principles. Anything that does least hindrance to the main traffic contributes in multi-folds…
Assume you are violating each of the above in one day at least once, and as an average 5 vehicles slowed down and accelerated because of you, the resulting CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is an average of 8 acts x 5 vehicles x 6 times more fuel consumption. That is an whopping, 240 TIMES CO2 emitted into the atmosphere on a single day because of you.
That also means that if you follow these rules, in One day, you contributed to the CO2 saving by at least 240 times of the fuel consumption of 1 vehicle.
Now, if you follow these simple principles, you can feel yourself proud of contributing to the environment, by reducing the CO2 that could otherwise have been emitted by others because of you.
…and You can call yourself a GREEN DRIVER.
Who will listen?
Well the greatest and oldest arguments we always have is ‘it is impossible to correct the people, they will never learn, why only I have to change when nobody else is ready to change?, etc., etc…
Now, myself, I am following these principles. I always stop at the stop line on Yellow and at least 3 out of 5 stops along with me. Of course, that 2 out of 5 overshoots. But, at least 3 stopped. If I had overshot, all the 5 would also have overshot the line for sure. The same will work for you too.
It works and all it takes is your commitment to the environment, your trust that you can set an example, your belief that we are all educated civilized people and sure we all together can make this earth a better place to live for our children tomorrow.
Slowly but surely we can bring about this green revolution, one more time…
What you could do?
· Please share this article with as many friends as possible.
· Please put in your comment with these words “I am a Green Driver. I contribute to saving the Earth.”
· Please feel free to print this article and try to distribute to your colleagues.
· Please help me start this Green Driver Campaign and take it to next levels - the print and visual media.
I am confident that we all together can bring about the changes and save the Mother Earth.
