Do this |
Because |
|
| Construct roads where cars wait with a slight down slope |
If
you wait inside a car on a down slope you can turn off the engine and
roll forward. Constructing roads this way allows drivers to keep the
engine turned off and still move forward. This could be useful at all
drive-through service points, intersections, as well as border crossing. |
noticeable |
| Offer on-company grounds or on-campus bicycles |
If
your employees use a bicycle every time they have to travel a distance
within the company or campus that is long enough to be tempted to use a
vehicle that burns fossil fuels, they do not pollute. |
noticeable |
| Have a short driveway |
A
short drive way pollutes less in several ways: Plowing with a machine
is done faster or does not have to happen at all because you can do it
by hand. A short paved driveway uses less asphalt which is a
petrochemical product. Fewer trees may have to be cut to make the drive
way. |
not enough |
| Discourage the construction of drive-through service stations |
Every
drive-through pollutes more than just a parking lot. Most of the time
people need fossil fuels to move the car forward. Few turn off the
vehicle when in line. All this pollutes. Going inside pollutes less. |
significant |
| Put up "No Idling Please" signs |
It reminds people to not keep the engine running. Some will do it. |
noticeable |
| Cell phones rather than land lines |
If
there is no phone system it requires less energy and resources to
install a cell phone system. You do not have to put up poles or run
thousands of miles of cable to get it going. |
significant |
| Build roads so that one can walk better |
Designing
roads and walkways in a fashion that benefits pedestricans and
bicyclists rather than fossil fuel burning vehicle traffic results in
less pollution because the people can consider changing their behavior
to pollute less without finding it very difficult. It may actually
happen then. |
significant |
| Build bike paths separate from roads |
Few
of us feel safe on a bicycle on a road that we share with vehicle
traffic. In many places in North America, drivers are also still not
used to bicyclists being respectable humans. Building bike paths
completely separate from vehicle traffic will increase bicycle usage
and traffic and reduce pollution. Sometimes all it takes is a line and
some markers. |
noticeable |
| Allow small communities |
Small communities allow the people to consume less, transport goods for
shorter distances, travel less, walk or bike more, and to share more
tools or machines. |
noticeable |
| Create public transportation systems |
Public
transportation pollutes less than individual (fossil fuel powered)
vehicle traffic. Making sure it is fast, reliable, and well used is a
different story. |
significant |
| Stop fighting wars |
War
(the way North Americans do it) is EXTREMELY polluting. Tremendous
amounts of energy and resources are used in warfare. If it works it is
used and the environment (or the soldier who has to operate in those
environments) is completely disregarded. In addition, the destruction
that is the result of warfare requires re-construction which also
pollutes. All this may be understandable from the point of view of one
who wants to win a war, but it pollutes a lot. |
significant |
| Charge money for plastic shopping bags |
This
will be viewed as a very inconvenient change but if every store is
required to do this, people will begin very quickly to bring their own
bags. It is done in other countries and every one there is used to it.
Much fewer plastic or paper bags are made and trashed. Things you have
to pay for are either avoided or valued higher and kept longer. |
noticeable |
| Flagmen signal to shut down engine |
Flag
men could instruct the folks waiting in line to shut down the car's
engine and turn it back on when time is right. A line of waiting
vehicles with the engine off does not pollute. |
noticeable |
| Install clean stop-and-go-traffic propulsion system |
A
vehicle sitting in stop-and-go traffic pollutes much more because it is
often not practical to turn off the engine and as a result it runs
without moving forward much. A system that allows the car to move
slowly while the engine is off (especially human powered) would result
in less pollution. |
noticeable |
| Install "engine-off" sign |
Installing
an "engine-off" sign (yet to be produced) in your rear window that
lights up when the engine is turned off while waiting in line will
remind the drivers behind you to do the same. Some (more in the future)
may do it. Less pollution results. |
noticeable |
