Go Green

As the owner of a hybrid car (and a nice cloud of smug), I am always happy to talk up the benefits of such vehicles:

- I can drive back and forth from Oklahoma City to Norman (where I go to school-Boomer Sooner!) without having to fill up every day.
- My car is much, much quieter (good for sneaky getaways).
- It’s fun to watch the meter go from blue to green on my dashboard and see the gas gauge rise while I’m driving.

So while gas prices continue to rise and all my non-hybrid driving friends do nothing but complain, why don’t we get proactive about it and do something!

That something can include switching from gas-guzzling SUVs to more fuel-efficient vehicles like hybrids and compressed natural gas vehicles. CNG car drivers are followed around by an even larger cloud of smug for several reasons:

- The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has rated CNG cars “the most environmentally friendly ‘green’ car. I will admit, I’m jealous.
- Unlike gasoline, natural gas is clean, abundant, and relatively cheap. Less than $2 cheap.
- 40 miles per gallon. Need I say more?

So instead of whining all the time about how expensive gas is becoming, get a hybrid, a CNG car or just get your lazy rear end up off the couch and walk to the store!

- Lisa

There’s an excellent online magazine about environmental issues I highly urge you to check out: http://www.emagazine.com/

Here’s a particularly interesting read: Green U

And to give a local angle on that, check out this article from the Hub (OU’s Web site for the student paper, The Oklahoma Daily) about how OU’s transit services went green.

Have you seen any evidence of colleges going green in Oklahoma? Have you seen any evidence that they’re not environmentally conscious?

- Linds

European Union ministers are backing proposals to cut Carbon Dioxide levels by 20 percent by 2020, but Poland isn’t thrilled about the idea.

Read all about it here.

- Linds

Apparently, this includes pollution.

According to this Associated Press article, Texas is the No. 1 producer of carbon emissions. As the article points out, maybe this is because of Texans’ fondness for enormous vehicles. What do you think?

If Texas was its own country (not so hard to imagine!), it “would rank seventh in the world” for carbon emissions. That’s a lot of carbon.

And this report raises even more concerns.

This is something Oklahomans should keep an eye on since Texas is our big brother to the South.

If you want to learn about how you can reduce your carbon emissions, try this Web site and start making changes today!

I want to know how you reduce your emissions - do you do anything special we can learn from, or maybe you think reducing emissions individually won’t make a difference. If so, why? Leave a comment and let others know your tips or beliefs.

- Linds