Mission Zero Tips

For a smaller checklist of "Mission Zero" Tips, please click HERE.

Clean your air filter every 5,000 miles; replace at 15,000 miles.

Category: 
Vehicle Travel
Short Tip: 
Keep your cars air filter clean!
Full Tip: 
Vehicle manufacturers advise replacing your air filter every 15,000 miles. Even after 5,000 miles, the air filter gets clogged enough to reduce your vehicle's fuel efficiency by 7%.
Impact: 
10% fuel efficiency improvement can be expected with a commensurate reduction in CO2e greenhouse gas emissions.
How: 
Every time you wash your car, lift the hood and vacuum the filter and/or change the air filter per manufacter's instructions or per above rules of thumb.

 

 

 

Start or join a carpool or vanpool.

Category: 
Vehicle Travel
Short Tip: 
Using Carpools and Vanpools.
Full Tip: 
Whether for work, attending an event, getting kids to school and back, start or join a carpool or vanpool.
Impact: 
There are several impacts that can be significant, e.g., reduced fuel consumption and commensurate reduction in greenhouse gas emission, reduced vehicle wear, reduced road wear, not to mention the positive social aspects of making a difference and creating an opportunity for more social contact. Clearly the savings vary by distance, number of participants, etc.
How: 
Do a minimal amount of research with friends, company bulletin boards, PTA meetings, etc. If there isn't a carpool or vanpool that meets your needs, post to see what interest you can garner and start the carpool or vanpool. Use the Internet to give you best practices for starting and managing a carpool or vanpool. If going to an event, find out who else is going and see if you can go together. Make it a family game to see how many single trips you can avoid by combining needs to get to specific places.
References: 
http://www.icarpool.com

Rechargeable Batteries

Category: 
Reduce Waste
Short Tip: 
Use rechargeable batteries
Impact: 
<p>Rechargeable batteries can be recharged over 1500 times and hold their charge for six months. Of the 15 billion batteries sold worldwide, most are the single-use varieties that leach toxic metals once they&rsquo;re thrown away. Every year, more than 3 billion batteries are used and then thrown away by American households, i.e., 125,000 tons of batteries discarded every year. On average, each person in the United States discards eight dry-cell batteries per year.</p>
How: 
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 1. Buy products that eliminate or minimize batteries. 2. If you must buy a battery-powered device, avoid unnecessary 'bells and whistles.' 3. Choose rechargeables over single-use batteries for all appropriate applications. 4. When buying battery-operated products, specify brands that use rechargeables. 5. When buying battery-operated products, specify ones in which the batteries are labeled and easily removable. 6. Consider buying two sets of rechargeable standard-sized batteries and a recharging unit when you need uninterrupted power. 7. When buying batteries and battery-powered products, choose brands with the longest life that meets your performance needs. 8. Purchase battery chargers that can recharge several types of rechargeables. 9. Educate other government agencies about the financial and environmental advantages of using rechargeables. 10. Take care to maintain your batteries. 11. Consider reusing batteries in low-drain applications. 12. Make a commitment to recycle all rechargeable batteries (and consider recycling single-use batteries if options are available). Specify in your contract that battery (or electronic equipment) vendors will take back spent rechargeable batteries and recycle them.  
References: 
http://www.informinc.org/fact_CWPbattery.php#whyreduce

Turn Off Lights and Other Electrical Item When You Don't Need Them.

Category: 
Reduce Energy
Short Tip: 
Don't Waste Electricity.
Full Tip: 
While not in use, try to limit the amount of electrical usage.
Impact: 
Saves Energy and Puts Money Back in Your Pocket.
How: 
2 minutes. Thats right, 2 minutes. Thats the average amount of time within the average sized home to walk through and make sure all your unused electronic items are turned off.
References: 
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/18/how-much-money-does-turning-off-the-lights-really-save/