GLEE
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Green Transportation

Mission:

To promote alternative modes of transportation, encourage good driving habits to improve vehicle energy efficiency, publicize financial incentives for green vehicles, and support smart, clean, and economically efficient use of biodiesel, ethanol, fuel-cell, and hybrid vehicles.

Why Green Transportation:

Green transportation reduces vehicle emissions, increases overall transportation system efficiency, improves health through exercise, saves money, and reduces our national dependence on foreign oil. According to federal statistics, a car that gets 30 mpg saves $550 per year over a car that gets only 20 mpg, based on driving the annual average of 15,000 miles a year, at a fuel cost of $2.20 per gallon. Consider the savings you´d get with a hybrid model, which gets up to 50 mpg to 70 mpg.

Green Transportation Successes:

Green Living & Energy Education Expo (GLEE)

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  1. Jim Kliesch, Research Associate at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy in Washington, DC, spoke at a workshop on transportation efficiency and green vehicle technologies at the first GLEE Expo.
  2. Owners and dealers of energy-efficient, low-pollution cars brought their vehicles and demonstrated them at the GLEE Expo.

Green Transportation Goals: To promote public awareness of greener choices in transportation, from selecting the greenest vehicles to using alternative transportation such as public transit, bicycles, walking, carpooling, and ridesharing. To provide simple, everyday tips on how you can get the most energy efficiency out of your cars, trucks and motor homes.

What You Can Do: Whether you´re in the market to purchase a greener vehicle or just want to save money, there are many ways to reduce gas costs:

  1. Drive more consistently. Rapid acceleration and braking can lower gas mileage by up to 33 percent. Use your cruise control on the highway.
  2. Drive the speed limit. Optimum efficiency in most cars is between 45 mph and 60 mph. Generally, each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is equivalent to paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.
  3. Clean out your car. An extra 100 pounds in your car can reduce your miles per gallon by up to 2%, especially in smaller cars.
  4. Check and maintain proper tire pressure and increase mileage by about 3%.
  5. Turn off the car when waiting. Excessive idling wastes gas.
  6. Take the bus. Dade-Monroe Express runs between Florida City and Mile Marker 50, starting at 5:15 a.m. and ending at 11:15 p.m. The cost is $1.85.
  7. Purchase a greener car or a hybrid car. On January 1, 2006, many hybrid-electric vehicles became eligible for a federal hybrid tax credit. Credit amounts vary by car.
  8. Ride your bicycle or walk. It will save energy and let you exercise.
  9. Get a tune-up. Save 4% on a proper tune-up, up to 40% on replacing a faulty oxygen sensor. Changing the car’s dirty filter can improve efficiency by 10%. Using the oil specified for your car saves up to 2%.
  10. Share rides and combine errands. Going to work? Carpool. Meeting friends for dinner? Drive together. Going grocery shopping? Take your neighbor.

For More Info: To learn more about saving on transportation:

*Sources of information, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, U.S. Department of Energy