Driving less Doing more
I Have Stopped Using My Car Twice a Week
It led me to a surprise revelation
It’s been 4 months now. I have not driven my car to and from work daily for the past few weeks.
Why?
Simply due to higher fuel prices. I am carpooling with a colleague to get to work. Also, occasionally, use public transportation for daily errands.
However, recently a writing prompt from Janis Gross made me look at this step from a different perspective.
“How are you making this world a better place?”
It is roughly 7.5 km from my home to the office.
So, I am saving petrol (gasoline), which could have been utilized to cover 15 kilometers every day.
My vehicle’s mileage is 16 km/liter. So, I am easily saving 2 liters of gasoline per week.
Why is saving this gasoline important?
There are two major reasons.
- Petrol is made from petroleum, a fossil fuel with limited resources.
- Secondly, petrol causes greenhouse gas (Carbon dioxide and Methane) emissions.
Given its direct connection to climate change, the second point has emerged as a significant concern.
In simple words, climate change refers to a long-term shift in temperature and weather patterns. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the earth, trapping the sun’s heat and resulting in an increase in temperature. My car does this just as yours does, through the exhaust pipe.
I don’t want to sound like a primary school teacher, but there are certain things which just need to be addressed
How is it impacting your lives?
1.Health Crisis:
WHO estimates there will be a quarter of millions of additional deaths each year between 2030 and 2050 due to malnutrition, malaria, and heat stress. These are related to climate change, either directly or indirectly.
For instance, rising temperatures worsen air quality, which can increase your risk of asthma attacks and other breathing-related problems.
2. Economic Costs:
Extreme weather disrupts global supply chains. This results in an increase in the cost of goods as well as their nonavailability.
Rising energy prices due to climate change might already be denting your household budget.
3. Extreme weather events:
Warming oceans cause more water vapor in the atmosphere, which results in extreme rainfall, flooding, and tropical storms. These are direct threats to your life and also damage the economy severely.
According to the WMO, weather, climate, and water extremes have resulted in an average of US$202 million in economic losses PER DAY over the last 50 years.
A 48-hour rainfall can cause this in my city:
And it is the case with most Indian cities. Now you can easily predict the consequences of extreme rainfall in my city.
Wrapping Up
Saving 2 liters of gasoline may seem like a single dop of water to an ocean, but it is enough to induce a sense of pride in me. It makes me feel like doing something for the world, even if it is smaller than a baby step.
In case you want to read more:
References
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/climate-change-weather-extreme-health/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1098662
Thank you for Reading.
This story is participating in the Write for a Better World contest by Wake. Write. Win.
