On owning multiple cars

27 Sep 2006

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

Your recent column suggested that the questioners sell one of their two cars, but I can't help wondering how much good that does for the environment, especially weighed against the annoyance cost of not having a second car when two people have to be going in opposite directions at the same time. I have a personal interest in this, as we have three cars: mine (a Prius, used for all errands and most weekend driving), his (for commuting), and ours (a four-wheel-drive minivan, which we use when we have too many people or too much stuff for the Prius, when our road is bad in winter, or when our teenage daughter has my car and I have to get somewhere).

I wish we lived somewhere with public transportation or where the roads were safe for bicycling, but while I work on that, my three-car approach seems smarter than going back to just the minivan and his car. So what's the environmental cost of merely owning a car, if there's no extra mileage involved?

Ivy Main
McLean,Va.

Ask Umbra continues below

ADVERTISING POLICY

Dearest Ivy,

I generally encourage readers to get rid of extraneous vehicles, and I stand by that. But let me answer your direct question as best I can.

And behind door No. 3?

Photo: iStockphoto

As you can imagine, a car's environmental impacts are many and varied, and they occur all along the road of life: from manufacturing the vehicle to extracting and using fuel to keeping the ol' jalopy clean. As a starting point, let's assume this assessment of the environmental impacts of a car's lifecycle is correct. (It's a few years old, but things haven't changed all that much.) It tells us that approximately 10 percent of a vehicle's total energy impact comes from its manufacture. The other 90 percent or so comes through use. This is good news, in a sense, because use is something we have control over.

If, in the car-ownership equation you present, you were literally treating two cars -- the minivan and Prius -- as if they were one, that wouldn't be so bad. Using a rough calculation (mathematicians, avert your eyes), let's say the two cars combine to make a mythical mega-car -- call it the Privan. The manufacture of the Privan would have totaled 20 percent of its energy impacts, while its use would still total 90 percent (split between the two cars, and assuming you never drive them at the same time). So the energy impact of your Privan would be roughly 110 percent that of an average car. Not all that dramatic, right?

Not so fast. We know that sometimes all three of you are driving: your daughter in the Prius -- and good for you for being an eco-role model -- you in the minivan, and your husband in his car. So all my (admittedly fuzzy) math just went out the window. And like it or not, you are a three-car family. That, dear Ivy, is too many cars.

The best reason to get rid of a car is simple: owning vehicles encourages their use. Whether you have one car or three, you are contributing emissions that cause planetary problems. If you had one less vehicle, you and your family might be inclined to arrange a ride-share, or combine trips, or go to a store that's closer to home. You might lobby your local politicians to make the roads safer for bicycles. You might use some of the money you'd normally put into car insurance, gas, and upkeep to buy a folding bike or electric bike and brave the roads. You might join a car-sharing program. Could your husband carpool? Could you and your daughter work out a car-sharing schedule?

It's lamentable that your area doesn't have good public transportation, but I see that they're working on it. With that prospect looming and this challenge from me on the table, consider dumping one or two of your cars (not the Prius). Yes, someone else might end up driving your cast-off, but it could actually improve that household's efficiency.

Check out these handy EPA rankings for more details. And remember: transportation innovation is fun.

Stubbornly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (7 comments)

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no public transportation in McLean?

I hate to break it to the writer, but as a suburb of Washington, DC, there is most definitely public transportation in McLean, VA. Maybe not on her block, but she's probably not that far from a bus or subway line. What she means is that it's not that convenient for her to wait for the bus or to bike to the subway.... in which case she should, in addition to getting rid of her third car, be lobbying her local reps for better public transportation and bike lanes. Or at the very least, drive to the Metro and take it from there.

by jl greenie at 3:57 PM on 27 Sep 2006

Try A Partial Commute By Bike

If you can't imagine giving up a car, don't. Instead, cut down on the use of your autos with a more balanced multi modal approach to transportation.

Earlier today, I commented in my blog about 10 tips published last weekend by the Denver Post to help commuters ease into bicycle commuting. One tip focused on partial commutes by bike which is a familiar topic to me.

Currently, your personal transportation regimen relies heavily on motor vehicles because you feel there's no practical alternative. Not true. If you drove part of the distance and biked or took mass transit for the balance, you'd reduce your personal dependence on fossil fuels and cut the pollution caused by your auto usage. Over time, you could increase the miles you travel by bike, improving your health, saving more money and further reducing your pollution emissions.

Using a folding bike, you could easily work bicycling into your current transportation scheme, keeping the bike in the trunk of your Prius until you are comfortable with riding.

For more about the value of folding bikes, visit my website.

Larry
RideTHISbike.com

by ridethisbike at 4:47 PM on 27 Sep 2006

foldable bikes

I am not sure of what perfect little world you have in Denver, biking and bussing are not that easy in most cities.
If you have a family and both parents work
you need three cars just to make sure you can get to work and still transport the kids. When one car needs work, you don't have time or money to get it fixed right away.

by dbeerslayer at 8:19 PM on 27 Sep 2006
[ Parent ]

Must love their jobs....

I've read statistics that say that it costs $5000 a year to have a car (including depreciation). One of those folks is working full-time just to support those three cars! (Remember you pay for a car with after-tax dollars, so don't think in terms of gross income).

My husband and I don't have any cars and I don't work (at a job)....but if some people want to be slaves to their vehicles, well that's their choice....

by c2004 at 12:17 PM on 28 Sep 2006

Imperfect World

I live in the imperfect world of post Katrina New Orleans where public transportation in most areas of the metro is ineffecient and unreliable.

What works for me is a partial commute by car. I ride to a "safe" location where I park, pull the bike from the trunk and ride. New Orleans is hot and humid most of the year so I don't bike far; however, bicycling just a mile lets me work some exercise into my schedule, saves me parking fees and the aggravation of dealing with the parking lot. It also puts me in a good frame of mind for work.

by ridethisbike at 2:53 PM on 29 Sep 2006

Dude, Cover Your Ears

Whenever I read these high and might articles telling someone in a country-suburb to "ride the bus" or "get and electric bicycle", I have to laugh.

What world are they living in?

It makes perfect sense for some people to save energy by having multiple cars for multiple uses. If you are an average American, you simply can't take the bus to the supermarket and efficiently bring your groceries home. It would take 2 hours just to get a loaf of bread! And how is riding an empty bus at 8 pm at night, after waiting on a lonely stop that you had to walk 0.5 miles to get to , and having to carry 4 bags of groceries a reasonable transportation alternative?!

The last thing that Libs want to admit is the freedom and mobility of the personal automobile is on of the best things for human indepedence in the history of our race. No, they want to pack us into overpriced "monorails" that 99% of the people will not live anywhere near...or use "electric bikes" -- on 45 miles per hour roads with no street lights and with no place to recharge or repair easily.

by jabailo at 3:23 PM on 04 Oct 2006

Wow, the excuse factor

It always amazes me what excuses people come up with to rationalize their wasteful behavior. I live in the Denver area, and trust me, this is not an alternative-transport friendly area. There are almost no bike lanes. The buses take forever and don't go everywhere. Sidewalks in many neighborhoods (including mine) are teeny tiny and can only accomodate one person... no walking side by side with a friend here, unless the other person is in the street (or the gutter). That being said, I have never owned a single car in my life (and I'm 28). I walk, I bike, I take the bus... and yes, it takes me two hours to get a loaf of bread. That is why I don't make a trip just for a loaf of bread. I do lots of trips at once, or stop in on my way home from work to run errands. And yes, I hike my (canvas) bags of groceries on the bus, or balance them on my bike handle bars. You learn to deal with it. Yes, sometimes it would be nice to have a car... when it's really late and I don't feel safe walking somewhere, for instance, or if I have a really heavy load of groceries (and yes, I admit I've bummed a ride a few times for occasions like this). But otherwise I cope. I'm sorry, but if you're whining that you just can't live without three cars... I can't sympathize. The main reason why I've never owned a car is I can't afford one (though now even if I could afford one I don't think I'd buy one... unless maybe it was electric and I had solar panels ^_^). So for me to read about people complaining that two cars isn't enough and they "need" three... I can't help but think... rich, spoiled people! Plenty of people the world over do without any cars at all, let alone three, with much shoddier or nonexistant public transport than I'm sure most of us have to deal with. You just have to get your priorities in order. Now I don't expect everyone to give up their cars just like that, but truly... people that have THREE CARS and claim to be environmentalist to me would be like if Bush claimed to be a liberal. I don't mean to be mean, but seriously, people... if two cars is your idea of hardship, it's no wonder we're the consumerist capital of the world.

save the world, one click at a time: http://www.thehungersite.com (and link to their other sites while there!) : )

by Wren at 12:09 AM on 12 Oct 2006

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