Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

Global Warming – What can I do to reduce emissions from transport?

Part 8 in the series by Janet Fulljames of St. Andrew's Church Taunton

August 2007.  

Transport is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of this country. Aircraft and cars are a very significant part of this pollution.

Although road transport produces more greenhouse gases, flying is the fastest growing source of pollution. One journey across the Atlantic and back can produce as much carbon as the average car in a whole year! It is impractical for most of us to stop air travel completely, for instance, we may travel with our job or have family who live thousands of miles away. However most of us could fly less than we do at present. Here are some ideas!

• Take at least one flight less each year.

• Have one holiday in Britain rather than overseas.

• If a holiday is in Europe consider going by rail.

• If you can travel by train or boat then don’t fly, even if it is more expensive.

• If the flight is for a business meeting consider video conferencing instead.

There are schemes to offset the carbon produced by flying by planting trees or investing in new technologies. There are now many companies in this country encouraging us all to fly without a guilty conscience! Of the 60 organizations now offering carbon offsets only 4 meet government standards. Use the website www.carbonoffsets.org to check which ones they are. It is still better for the environment if we don’t make that journey unless we absolutely have to. If you do fly try to find the aircraft that is most fuel efficient. Airbus and Boeing 787 are 25-30% more efficient than the average, flying in a full aircraft is also better for the environment.

Using the car less will be the easiest way for most of us to reduce the carbon we produce by traveling. Here are some ideas of how to do this!

• Move to live nearer to your place of work.

• Share your journey to work or to the supermarket with someone else.

• If your journey is less than 2 miles, walk or cycle. One in four car journeys at present are for less than 2 miles.

• Where ever possible, use a bus, coach or train.

• Slow down, driving at 50 mph can reduce fuel consumption by 30%.

• Service the car regularly and check the tyre pressures regularly.

• Switch off the engine if you are held up more than 30 seconds.

• Cut down on air conditioning, open a window or use sun blinds instead.

• When you replace your car look at fuel efficiency, smaller cars consume less fuel.

• Consider buying a “green” car that uses a cleaner fuel or a mixture of fuels, or have a hybrid model that includes electricity.

If you have a business, then look at www.travelplans.org.uk for advice on the most economical and environmentally friendly way to travel. The website of the Department of Transport  www.dft.gov.uk has a section on Sustainable Travel including “Act on CO2” which includes “Smarter driving ” and “Tips on buying a new car” which are useful.

Traveling is good. It keeps families and friends together, it can enable us to have life changing experiences, we can enjoy the beauty of the natural world, and marvel at human creativity. At the heart of the Old Testament is a journey, the Exodus, through that experience the Israelites developed a new relationship with God. The New Testament describes many journeys, by Jesus and by his first followers.  Through these journeys the good news of the kingdom spread, so don’t stop traveling! Let’s just think more carefully how we travel, for what purpose we make the journey, and how we can make it in the most environmentally friendly way. 

	Global warming: should Christians care? To read the first piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: is there anything we can do? To read the second piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what is the church doing? To read the third piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what can we as a congregation do? To read the fourth piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what is my carbon footprint? To read the fifth piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what can I do to save energy in the home? To read the sixth piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what can I do about shopping? To read the seventh piece in this series please click here.
	Global warming: what can I do to reduce emissions from transport? To read the eight part in this series please click here.
	Global warming: "reduce, repair, recycle and reuse!" To read the ninth part in this series please click here
	Global warming: what next? To read the tenth part in this series please click here