Tips on driving 'Eco Friendly'

Greetings to all band-members and non band members, my name is Shred_bear and I will be contributing posts to the Garden River Green Plan Blog. I am a Fanshawe College student in the Motive Power Technician - Diesel Truck/Coach program, this weeks post will include how you can be an 'Eco Friendly' Driver. Fossil fuels are the primary cause of Global Warming and millions of humans contribute to the deteriorating health of our planet daily by burning gasoline. Here are a few simple tips for vehicle owners by which they can reduce their 'Ecological Footprint.'

- Obey the speed limit and avoid sudden starts and stops. The faster you accelerate the more gasoline is required to provide the necessary torque to move your car.

- As a general rule of thumb, keep your engine speeds between 1,200--3,000 RPMs, and up-shift between 2,000--2500 RPMs if you have standard transmission.

- Make sure to check your tire air pressure as often as possible. For every 4 PSI of under-inflation, your fuel consumption increases by about two percent.

- Make sure to replace your air filter when need be. Restriction of air to the cylinder (possibly caused by a dirty air filter) can cause the cars computer to increase the air/fuel mixture causing increased fuel consumption.

- Repair air conditioner leaks immediately some AC units contain chlorofluorocarbons which are very bad for the environment.

- Maintain a steady speed If you do a lot of highway driving, consider using your car’s cruise control function. A steady speed decreases gas pedal activity, which saves on fuel.

- Avoid Idling for prolonged periods of time. It is common belief that it takes more fuel to start up the vehicle rather than letting it idle for a few minutes. It actually takes more fuel to start up if you're going to be waiting for more than thirty seconds than if you just shut your car off.

- Get rid of any unnecessarily heavy items in your car such as: tools and hockey equipment

- Driving with fuel economy in mind, or eco-driving, can increase the distance you travel with every tank; track your fuel economy.

- Invest in G-Oil, a new eco friendly engine oil developed in San Francisco. After extensive testing and research, it is finally being marketed for public retail. The Green Earth Technology had this to say about their new product: 

"Change your oil, change the world with Environment Safe, ULTIMATE BIODEGRADABLE* G-OIL® GREEN Motor Oil, the world's first and only American Petroleum Institute's (API) "SM" Certified bio-based motor oil. We blend nature's American grown base oils (domestically sourced beef tallow) with nanotechnology to provide superior performance protection during the maximum oil change intervals recommended by vehicle manufactures while meeting or exceeding requirements.

Our bio base-synthetic G-OIL is the GREEN SOLUTION for gasoline engines, providing better protection for automotive engines under the toughest driving conditions NATURALLY BETTER THAN SYNTHETICS.

Whether "topping off" or returning your used motor oil to a collection center, G-OIL is compatible with all other motor oils."
 Additional information tabs on the website go on to show how using this natural product breaks down in the earth if not properly disposed of.

"According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over 40% of our nation’s oil pollution comes from the improper disposal of used motor oil by Do-It-Yourselfers.
One five quart oil change improperly disposed can:

• create an oil slick on the surface of ten acres (about ½ million square feet),
• render five acres (about ¼ million square feet) unusable for planting for decades,
• and, contaminate one million gallons (a year supply for 50 people) of water.

Green Earth Technologies’ products, including G-OIL,  are made from American grown base oils, achieving an Ultimate Biodegradability ranking form the ASTM standard D5864 which defines 'Ultimate Biodegradable' as a product that is rapidly absorbed (eaten) by microorganisms by 60% in 28 days.  G-Oil proudly exceeds those standards."

Here are a few different examples of the new environmentally friendly motor oil


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SB