Personal Net Zero

an MBA project to help people decarbonize from the ground up in Northern Colorado

Transportation

Everyone’s needs for transportation are different. See where you can cut back even a little.

After combining with oxygen as it burns, each gallon of gas becomes almost 9 kilograms of CO2. And according to the EPA, “A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year”.

Quick Wins

  • Bike or take public transit occasionally. Even reducing your driving by 10% helps. Try biking to work on the weekend to get a feel for how long it takes and what the best route is.
  • If you have two cars, always take the more efficient one.
  • Ask to work from home an extra day each week. And when you do commute, see if you can avoid the most congested times of rush hour.
  • Combine trips. Take one less trip per week, whenever you can.
  • Can you, or your kids, carpool?
  • Opt for zero-carbon shipping, where offered.
  • Shop locally. In fact, see if you can get some of your fresh food from a local CSA.

Big Impacts

Fly less. Jet fuel is extremely hard to decarbonize. Use less of it whenever you can. This is true at work too; could you attend that conference virtually?

Buy an electric car as soon as yours is out of its serviceable life. Don’t forget to charge it at night (you have renewable energy now, right?), when the rates are low, demand is low, and wind power is highest.