For the past year Morgan and I have been discussing whether or not we really need more than one vehicle. One U.S. stat shows that cars and trucks account for nearly one-fifth of all their emissions. StatsCan says that in 2005 private vehicle emissions accounted for 63% of our total household emissions (Saskatchewanians were the worst car polluters in the country, emitting 2,184 kg per capita). Naturally, an easy solution would be to decrease our driving and/or get rid of one of our vehicles. Turns out, that its not been that easy for us...
Currently we have two 2010 vehicles: one a Hyundai Elantra (aka Howie), the other a Ford Escape (aka Jimmie)—does anyone else name their cars?
There was a period of time earlier this year where we only had Howie because Jimmie was not yet in the picture and Fernando, our 2007 Honda Fit, had sacrificed himself to save me in a severe car accident this past December (another story for another time). During that time we decided to try living our lives with just one car. I would take Morgan to work, then drop of Clare at day care, and then drive to my work. At the end of the day, I would get Clare, and Morgan would find a ride home with a colleague since her job finished later than mine. This was doable, but resulted in a lot of driving for me, to the point where I wondered if we were even saving more money or more emitted C02. One day, I tried taking the city bus to work so that Morgan could have the car. It was somewhat inconvenient. The route included one transfer and a wait. Its poor that I complain about this when I saw so many of my students on the bus that day. They must take that route everyday! The other thing was that if I took the bus then no one could pick up Clare at the end of her day from daycare. All of this inconvenience led us to look into getting another car.
And that's just it: being without a car in a city like Regina is very inconvenient. I know that the city is trying to make the bus more accessible, along with bike lanes, but I feel there is so much more that can be done in this area.
Nevertheless, with me going back to school this September and Morgan on mat leave, our vision of living with one car may be more realistic. There are both good bike and bus routes to the University of Regina and that will leave Morgan with a car. And with this in mind the topic of dropping one of our cars came up again. Call it providence or serendipity, but after suggesting that we lend Howie out to someone who needs it within our community, someone in our neighbourhood recently approached us with a need for an interim vehicle. We are now considering this and trying to decide how it would work. It seems that God is smiling on our new attempt to cut down on our driving carbon footprint.... We'll keep you posted.
P.S. Recently I read this comment in a New Internationalist magazine that a reader had to a story on climate change. They said that the big things that need to happen start as simply, and as difficultly, as the places where we live and work. For example, what is the walking score of our homes in relationship to grocery stores, schools, and the big one, our places of work? And if that score is low, are we really willing to consider making changes that will increase that score. For me, I have taught for the past four years at LeBoldus High School which is a 10 min drive, 15 min bike ride and a 30 min walk from home. I have been considering asking for a transfer to Miller High School which is a 3 min walk from our front door. Think of how much this change would decrease my carbon footprint. I would not have to drive to work hardly ever! Now, I realize that there is a little more flexibility with a teaching job since there are schools scattered throughout the city. But lately I have been thinking about all of the advantages that one would have if they work, rest and play within the same general area. Not only would this decrease your carbon footprint but I am pretty sure it would increase your connection with your neighbourhood and general well-being. Again, another topic for another time...
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