Transportation Choices Matter

For most people in car-dependent regions, driving is their largest single source of carbon emissions. Switching from a conventional gasoline sedan to an efficient hybrid cuts fuel use roughly in half. Going fully electric drops tailpipe emissions to zero, though the net benefit depends on how your local grid generates electricity.

Even without buying a new vehicle, behavior shifts help. Keeping tires properly inflated improves fuel efficiency by up to 3 percent. Removing excess weight from the trunk, avoiding aggressive acceleration, and combining errands into fewer trips each shave fuel consumption.