One of the major causes of carbon emissions in the world is vehicle traffic. When every employee at your place of work drives to and from the office each day, that’s a lot of carbon that is eroding the ozone layer and will cause serious environmental decline. There’s hope, however. If you change the way you commute, you can reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health. Here’s how:
Bike
Do you have a rusty Schwinn in the garage? Give it a quick tune-up, put air in the tires and hit the road. Biking to work will allow you to take one car off the road and get in shape at the same time. You can improve your respiratory and cardiovascular health by becoming a cyclist. Plus, you may find you lose weight and overall feel better just by switching from driving to biking to work.
Run
Some people aren’t huge fans of bicycles and would rather spend their commute pounding the pavement. Some people are concerned that they’d need a shower after getting to work. If so, stop at a local gym to do so, or give yourself a quick face wash, towel-off and fresh application of deodorant in the bathroom before putting on your work clothes. Keep an outfit at the office so you don’t have to worry about carrying one while you run. Make sure your running shoes fit properly so you don’t get blisters. You may even find you are more energetic and productive after running to work than if you’d sat in your car and driven there.
Take Public Transit
For many employees, running or biking to work isn’t possible because they live too far away. If that rings true for you, see if you can take public transit instead of driving. Find a bus, train or combination of the two that will allow you to get to work in a timely manner. This will reduce your carbon footprint and you can even enjoy reading a book on your way to the office.
Carpool
Not every area has a public transit system and you may not want to run or bike to work. Instead, find a colleague that lives near you and switch off driving. Have him or her drive one day and you the next. This way you are still eliminating one car from the roadway, and you can make a new friend or strategize for the workday on your commute.