Buses, Planes, Boats, Cars and Trains
Choosing the most environmentally-friendly ways to travel

First Principle We're Number One! Rules of the Road Bus travel vs. cars, trains, planes, boats and bikes Odds and Ends Sources Julie's Story

Transportation is a driving force behind global energy consumption. The way we choose to get around-and US citizens travel more miles per capita that anyone on earth-impacts the ecosystem, our own health, and the politics of our nation. Therefore it is important to think carefully about how we choose to travel.

For instance, because most current forms of travel require fossil fuels, there is a significant contribution to global warming and air and water pollution. In addition, roads, bridges, parking lots, train tracks and airports severely impact plant and animal habitat. And then there's the political and military impact of our addiction to fossil fuels-why else are we so embroiled in the Middle East?

The following information is offered to help us think about our transportation choices. As we can see, there is no "pure" mode of transport-although a bicycle comes close. But for those with distances to travel, every form has its drawbacks. One thing is clear: Reliance on personal cars and trucks is always the most harmful way to get from one place to another.

First Principle

Personal vehicle use is the single most environmentally destructive practice of US'ers. It starts even before you crank 'er up--manufacturing a car creates 4 tons of CO2 and 700# of pollutants, and requires twice its finished weight in materials to produce. Four main consumer-related environmental threats facing the earth (as ranked by the Union of Concerned Scientists)--air pollution, global warming, habitat alteration, water pollution--car driving is a leading contributor to all of them. The average American drives 9000 miles per year. In the US; there are 1.1 cars per licensed driver in the US.

We're Number One!

The US consumes 25% of world's petroleum (20 million barrels/day) and 43% of the world's gasoline. All told, we use one-third of the world's transportation energy and emit 25% of the global warming gases. Per capita, we use two to three times as much fuel as people in other industrialized countries.  

Rules of the Road

• See driving as a last resort (25% of trips away from home taken in the US are under one mile; 75% of these short trips are taken by car)
• Minimize car use by living near work/shopping/school; telecommute
• Think before purchasing an additional car-it will drastically increase the miles your family drives and its manufacture will require large amounts of materials and create lots of pollution and waste)
• Drive a fuel-efficient car (a 20 mpg car driven 9000 miles per year for 50 years will emit 450,000 pounds of CO2; a 40 mpg car will emit half that much--a savings of 112,500 tons of CO2!)
• Set concrete driving goals (How many miles or trips/week; one day/week or /month to be car-free; etc. The average US family takes 60 car trips per week-if we could get by on 58, we would save the amount of oil sought in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; cut out another two trips, and we wouldn't need oil from Iraq.)
• Utilize public transit, bicycles and walking whenever possible

Bus vs. cars, trains, airplanes, and boats--

A comparison of bus travel to travel by car, plane, train, and boats (per passenger mile)

Compared to bus travel, travel by car produces 3x more global warming gases; 1.6x more common air pollution; 4.2x more toxic air pollution; 1.2x more water habitat alteration; 4.4x more land habitat alteration; 1.8x more common water pollution; 2.7x more toxic water pollution

Air travel produces 1.7x global warming gases; .7x and .6x common and toxic air pollution; 1x and 3.5x water and land habitat alteration; 1x and .8x common and toxic water pollution.

Rail travel produces 1.2x global warming gases; 2.2x and 2x common and toxic air pollution; .7x and 7.8x water and land habitat alteration; .6x and 1.5x common and toxic water pollution.

Boats-forget about it. One hour of water skiing creates pollution equivalent to driving a car from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida.

Odds and Ends

All told, air travel consumes 13% of US transportation energy; trains just 2%. Planes emit 10% of US global warming gases, fully half that emitted by cars even though they are responsible for far fewer total passenger miles. In general, public transportation uses two to three times less fuel than private vehicle use.

Air pollution is responsible for 70,000 deaths in the US each year-twice as many deaths as are caused by car accidents.

Car accidents cost the US economy $167 billion annually in health costs, lost work hours, and vehicle repair.

Bicycles get the equivalent of 1000 miles per gallon of gasoline. 40% of US auto trips are easily bikable (under 2 miles).

And, last but not least, every mile not driven spares .0001 squirrels or other small furry creatures.

Sources : Consumer Guide to Effective Environmental Choices (Union of Concerned Scientists); Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair (Earth Island Institute; State of the World 2004 (World Watch Institute)

Julie's Story

"Maybe I was pushed along by the coincidence of chicken pox in our household (forcing us to stay home more), but I am going to try not driving during Lent. My husband drives to work, so he can buy groceries. I have withdrawn my son from his clearly frivolous karate lessons. I am going to pay their cello teacher without attending classes at least until Easter. I am going to try walking to church.

Staying home has been an immediate blessing. My children are calmer; I am less stressed. We have taken more beautiful hikes than we have in the past two years. Our garden is looking good. Food is getting cooked. Maybe being home has done something even more important: it has put me in the position to seek a direct connection to Jesus as the most important thing in my life. I can see more clearly that not only are the people of Iraq and other poor countries victims; we are victims, too, because we are estranged from our only true source of peace."

-Julie Gregonis, Blacksburg, VA, Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren