Practicing Car Free Days

"Everyone wants to have their own private car; but with the damage to the atmosphere caused by fuel emissions, our lakes and forests are drying up and the deserts are growing.  Every one of us can do something to protect and care for our planet. 

We have to live in such a way that a future will be possible for our children and our grandchildren and our own life has to be our message."
--Thich Nhat Hanh

Car Free Day is the practice to be aware of our consumption of energy and to take mindful actions to reduce our energy use.  As we do, we reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.  These are the gases that contribute to global climate change and are endangering the earth. While practicing a Car Free Day we are aware of the impact of our lives and actions on the global climate conditions and we learn new ways to minimize or eliminate these impacts.  We are aware that such actions must be taken by ourselves and many others in order for the Earth to be healed and for a future to be possible.

Driving in your car can be a "mindfulness bell", a way to remind ourselves to look deeply at our impact on the planet.  Deciding not to drive or ride in a car during a day when you normally would travel in the car can bring many benefits.  It will reduce emissions of by an average of one pound per mile not driven.  It will allow the pace of your life to slow down and will allow you to spend more time on other activities at home with your family and friends.  It will encourage you to walk or bike, both of which are excellent exercise.  It will encourage you to ride mass transit making mass transit more successful and more able to be developed for people who need transportation but can't afford a car.

Car Free Day is not just about driving less, it is, at its root, about reducing our personal and family greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet.  There are many ways to do this, but the most important thing is not to just defer or delay your energy use from one day to the next; you must take actions that reduce emissions from what they normally would have been.   For example, work at home one day instead of commuting or combine trips to the grocery into one or two trips a week if you regularly go more frequently.  

There are many things we can do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions that are not related to our cars.  Many of our activities have a huge impact on energy use.   Energy efficient windows can reduce energy use by up to 39%.  Changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs can save 75% over other lights. What we eat and how much water we use all cause harmful emissions and contribute to global climate change.  Look deeply at how far your food is transported before it gets to you.  Most food travels an average of 1500 miles before it is consumed. 100 calories of meat takes 320% more energy to produce than 100 calories of vegetables.  In 2002, methane releases and other damage from livestock operations caused as much environmental damage as 33 million automobiles.  What you eat is very important to protecting the planet.  We'd like to hear from you. Let us know how your Car Free Practice is going. Share your ideas, thoughts and successes. You can email us at info@car-free-days.org or participate in our Car Free Days community blog: community.