5 Ways You Can Reduce Your Car’s Carbon Footprint

In today’s world, you need a car to get around. But there’s a problem. Cars are bad for the environment!

  • Car emissions create about 75% of the carbon monoxide pollution in the U.S.
  • Cars tires contribute to rubber and plastic pollution.
  • Dirty motor oil can contaminate the soil and local water supply.

Before you decide to get rid of your car and invest in a bicycle, we’d like to share some good news. You can indeed make your car more eco friendly! Here are 5 effective ways to reduce your car’s carbon footprint:

1. Switch To A Lifetime Oil Filter

liftime filter

Disposable oil filters may look harmless. Yet, they’re actually terrible for the environment.

  • Our landfills get nearly 800 million disposable oil filters a year.
    • That’s a lot of waste that will take hundreds of years to decompose!
  • The leftover motor oil in disposable filters will seep into the soil and water supply.
    • Only one gallon of motor oil can contaminate up to one million gallons of clean water.

Lifetime oil filters are so, so much better for the environment. They make more sense than disposable oil filters, too. A lifetime oil filter works like a disposable oil filter, except it’s made of metal and it can be used over and over again.

Treat your car (and the environment) to a high quality lifetime oil filter!

2. Keep Your Tires Inflated To The Proper Pressure

Inflate tires

This may be the simplest way to reduce your car’s fuel consumption. The less fuel your car consumes, the less emissions it creates. Keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure will improve your gas mileage by 3%-5%. It’s a small difference, but it’s still a difference nonetheless.

3. Use Tires Made Out Of Responsibly Sourced Rubber

Rubber trees

Did you know that the rubber industry contributes to deforestation?

  • A single rubber tree produces enough rubber for only 2 or 3 sets of tires during its entire lifetime. That’s a whole lot of trees! That’s also a whole lot of rainforests being cleared out only for rubber production.
  • Almost 210 million tires end up in the landfills each year.

The more brand new tires we use, the more trees and rubber go to waste. The best way for you to combat this problem is to use tires made out of responsibly sourced rubber. Michelin is a brand we can get behind! They’ve pledged to make their tires out of responsibly sourced rubber.

4. Use A Hitch Mounted Cargo Rack

Cargo rack
Image Credit: AutoGuide

Did you know that having cargo loaded on top of your car hurts the planet? It increases aerodynamic drag, which decreases your car’s fuel economy. Again, the more fuel your car consumes, the more emissions it creates.

If you must haul some cargo that can’t fit into your car, use a hitch mounted cargo rack. Even though your car would be hauling the same amount of weight, cargo mounted on the rack won’t affect your car’s aerodynamics at all.

5. Always Choose The Quicker Route

route

Here’s a not-so-fun fact: even sitting in traffic contributes to air pollution! Your car is still releasing emissions into the air. That’s why you should always choose the quicker route. Even if the alternative route is longer, your car won’t create as much pollution if it takes less time to reach your destination.

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