The carbon footprint of our daily commute
Lately I’ve been commuting a LONG distance. 70 miles round trip. Per day.
I’ve written previously about the desire to shift to a remote work economy, borne out of frustrations I have with my current job, one of which is the insane amount of time I spend in the car each day (~2.5 hours.) Besides being a time suck that leaves me physically and emotionally exhausted, I’ve recently given a lot of thought to the carbon footprint of my daily commute. Just how much is my commute hurting the environment?
A lot. My 70 mile round trip, in a small SUV, per Map My Emissions, adds up to 72.38 pounds of carbon emissions per day. That is horrifying.
And then consider that there are 115 million cars hitting the road each day in America. Doing math using a few stats I dug up reveals eye-opening results:
- The typical American car averages 24.9 miles per gallon
- The average American commute is 16 miles one-way, or 32 miles per day
- Relying on this data, we can calculate that the average American uses 1.28 gallons of gasoline per day for their commute (32/24.9=1.28)
- Per the US government, a gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO2
- So, at 1.28 gallons per day and 20 pounds of CO2 per gallon, the average American produces 25.6 pounds of CO2 every work day. Yikes.
Commuting isn’t just horrible for our mental and physical health, it’s also terrible for the environment. Yet another reason the U.S. government should implement policies that encourage and reward companies for adopting remote work forces.
This is by no means a scientific study, just some quick math using data available from reliable sources, but it certainly illustrates the negative impact our long, car-based commutes have on the environment. It also ties in nicely with my firm belief that we need to have a remote work revolution in America. Think about the reduction in emissions that would take place if American workforces shifted from offices to home-based employment.
Not only would this policy help the environment, but it would positively impact employee health & happiness, job satisfaction, and productivity.
It would also greatly aid states that are suffering workforce losses such as my home state of Vermont. If remote work becomes commonplace, people don’t have to move to where the jobs are, the job can be wherever they want to live. I know plenty of my friends who grew up in New England and would love to return but the jobs just aren’t there, especially in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. I’ve wrestled with this desire as well, and the fact is, a remote work economy would greatly benefit these beautiful but rural areas.
I encourage everyone to push for remote work flexibility in their job interviews and to reach out to their representatives to inquire about encouraging companies to adopt remote work policies through tax breaks and incentives. If we push for this change we can make a positive impact for ourselves and the environment.
