Day 81: EPA’s greenhouse gas report, and imperiled pinons, are cold showers for car-buying dreams

My dream car: After the hybrids, the Toyota Yaris is the most fuel efficient car on the market. But still ...

For nearly four years, I haven’t owned a car. And now I want a car. But that wish is in direct conflict with my environmental values, especially today.

This morning I ran the numbers again, and confirmed that I have enough money for a down payment. I’ve been dreaming of getting behind the wheel of a sporty little something, in stickshift, cranking the tunes, hitting the road and driving, west probably, for days. Maybe I’d even put my stuff in storage and sign out of my apartment; I’ve had quite enough of walls. I’ve been thinking: I would just like to drive now.

Also this morning, the EPA put out its annual report on our country’s greenhouse gas emissions, showing that they increased in 2007 by 1.4 percent over the year before. The main ingredient of our greenhouse gas emissions is carbon dioxide. The main way we put carbon dioxide into the air is by burning coal for electricity. Driving cars is a pretty close second. 

Greenhouse gas emissions by people have, of course, been implicated in global rises in temperature. 

Furthermore, the wires are abuzz today with a new study out of the University of Arizona and Biosphere 2, showing that drought-affected pinon pines in the desert southwest are especially vulnerable to death by rising temperatures, even if the droughts don’t get worse.

From the website of the Southern Tier Bicycle Club (in New York), at www.southerntierbicycleclub.org

Most of the time I haven’t owned a car, I’ve been happy with the choice. Because I work from home, reliable daily transportation isn’t an issue. I pick places to live where drivers aren’t aggressive, or at least where there are wide shoulders on the roads that go to my favorite haunts: downtown coffee shops, the lap pool and the store with local and organic foods.  I like to take road trips, so I rent cars about once a month. A weekend rental ranges between $50 and $90, usually. So I get exercise, I spend a lot less on transportation per month than if I were to owe monthly car payments, and I save completely on insurance and repairs. Plus, there’s the unexpected social benefit. Some people see me riding my bike around, and they’re friendly because they feel like they know me. The cashiers at the grocery store really do know me, because, with my trunk space reduced to a backpack, I go about every other day.

It’s a drag to go out in bad weather, so I generally don’t. Winter can get maddening, but most times I’ve felt like a hardy pilgrim: it’s reasonable and good to stay indoors when it’s crummy outside. I keep the larder well-stocked.

But lately, I’ve been a bit stir-crazy. Winter was surprisingly cold in Tennessee, and spring has been testy.  I’m testy; I haven’t been out much. And my less than rosy outlook (like less than rosy outlooks often do) has colored my experience. I’ve been tempted to throw idealism (and mandated exercise in uncomfortable weather) to the wind, join the land of the driving, and feel free.

And then something like the EPA report comes through, and it gives me pause. Not having a car has felt like a different kind of freedom, after all. I’ve ridden my bike past the yo-yo of gas prices on the service station signs, knowing my money was safe. I’ve breathed sighs of relief that my day-to-day carbon footprint is modest. And so now, platitudes are ringing in my ears: Should I do what’s easy, or what feels right?

Side note: A new University of Arizona study warns that pinon pines, dominant throughout the southwest, are especially vulnerable to continued temperature rise. Click on the image to see the press release.

I’ll leave you with a few highlights, directly from the EPA’s report. 

The 2007 increase in greenhouse gas emissions was probably due to cooler winter and warmer summer conditions in 2007, which  increased the demand for heating fuels (and thus for electricity), along with a significant decrease (14.2 percent) in hydropower generation used to meet this demand. [My addition: It's possible that the reduction in hydropower is due to an ongoing drought in the southwest, which is possibly linked with global warming.]

The primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activities in the United States was CO2, representing approximately 85.4 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The largest source of CO2, and of overall greenhouse gas emissions, was fossil fuel combustion. [Mostly, that means coal.] 

Globally, the United States contributes about 20 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions.

Emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion increased at an average annual rate of 1.3 percent from 1990 to 2007. The fundamental factors influencing this trend include (1) a generally growing domestic economy over the last 17 years, and (2) significant overall growth in emissions from electricity generation and transportation.

Transportation activities … accounted for 33 percent of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 2007. Nearly 60 percent of the emissions resulted from gasoline consumption for personal vehicle use.

The full report is available here.