Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Divorce your car?!

As noted in a December blog, this year I plan to commit to being more contentious about saving fuel; be it by car pooling, riding my bike/walking or simply clustering travel for shopping needs and other errands when possible.

Yesterday I stifled the urge to drive to the grocery store to pick up ingredients needed for beef stroganoff. It was a cold Minnesota morning for the mile long hike to a Cub Foods store. It was just below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m pleased to report it turned out to be a nice walk in the sun and fresh air. I took my backpack to carry the groceries. It was my only real exercise of the day.

I've been reading the book "Divorce your car: Ending our love affair with the automobile", by Katie Alvord. I found at a used bookstore in Bayfield over the holiday. It is providing inspiration for me to be much more resistant about getting into the car for a drive. In addition to the numerous environmental problems caused by cars, the increasing gas prices are also making driving a much more costly means of transportation. A big upside to walking or biking is the physical and mental health that comes with exercising outdoors.  It might also be a whole lot safer.

While I'm not ready to fully divorce my car just yet, I'm working diligently on a separation.

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