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Carbon Emissions Saved by Biking

I just looked up my mom's car, a 1998 Dodge Durango, to find its gas mileage. It's 12 miles per gallon, so for each mile driven, it uses 1/12 a gallon of gas.

When multiplied by the number of miles I've ridden since April 20 (7 days x roughly 3 miles), the total amount of gasoline I've saved my mom is 1.64 gallons. (Some days my dad or step-mom drives me, but mostly it's my mom, so I'll calculate based on her car.)

According to the EPA's website, the carbon emissions from one gallon of gasoline is 19.4 pounds/gallon.

1.64 gallons of gasoline x 19.4 pounds/gallon = 31.85 pounds of carbon dioxide I've kept from entering the atmosphere :)

To calculate your own, check out the formula in the upper right hand column below the quote by Howard Thurman!

(Photo credit: UNEP, www.guardian.co.uk)

Comments

  1. This is a great way to calculate the impact of saving our environment. We always think in terms of how much gasoline I'm not using when we cycle to work, but the greater impact is the missions we're not spewing into the air.

    Thanks for including this on your blog.

    ReplyDelete

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