The Heat Is On: Warming Affects Summer Plans

Summer is fast approaching and the time is right to hit the road and travel. Unfortunately, motor vehicle travel is the largest single contributor to air pollution. In a United States Environmental Protection Agency 2005 series it was found that one gallon of gasoline is assumed to produce 19.4 pounds of CO2. At almost 20 pounds, the amount of CO2 produced is equivalent to 64 feet of rope, the average weight gain of a pregnant women or a package of laser printer paper. With an increase in the number of vehicles purchased and the number of miles traveled, the U.S. has the green light toward global warming.

According to the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), transportation alone uses 67 percent of the country's oil and produces one-third of the air pollution and greenhouse gases, which develop into key chemicals that cause smog and over time, lead to health-related problems including birth defects and cancer.

Traveling via airplane is also responsible for two to three percent of carbon dioxide emissions.

A Feb. 12, 2007 Time magazine article, "Greenhouse Airlines," read that on an individual level, a single long-haul flight can emit more carbon dioxide per passenger than months of SUV driving.

There are different approaches to take to summer travel that may limit your environmental impact. If public transportation and bicycling don't fit into your itinerary, check out some alternative ways University of Massachusetts students are arriving at their destinations.

Drive in style - hybrid style. Petroleum Electric Hybrid Vehicles (PEHV) use a combination of fuels and electric batteries to power electric motors, providing better fuel economy and efficiency. In March 2007, the Green Car Congress reported February's hybrid sales rose to 54 percent. This economically and environmentally friendly mode of transportation is popular on the West Coast. In 2004, the state of California registered 25,021 hybrid vehicles and in the same year the city of Los Angeles accounted for 10,399 of those vehicles.

UMass sophomore Becky Moschini traveled to Los Angeles during spring break and drove her brother's Toyota Prius hybrid while sight seeing throughout the city.

"There are so many hybrids out there," said Moschini. "When you buy a Prius, you receive a tax break and free parking anywhere in L.A., if you apply for a 'Clean Air' vehicle sticker. My brother and I would play a game to see how far we could drive without using any gas. He won," she added.

A UMass sophomore duo, which would like to remain unidentified, opted out of concrete travel plans altogether for their spring break trip to Miami this year. Instead, they chose to hitchhike.

"Hitching wasn't that hard and, if more people did it, we would save the environment," said one unidentified sophomore. "We cut costs in transportation and met some cool people along the way."

Hitchhiking, a travel trend that is gradually making its way back to being socially accepted in our society has online Web sites such as digiHitch.com and StiffarmingSociety.com supporting it. The local movement Communi-GO in the Pioneer Valley, led by well-known activist Frances Crowe, also has people trusting each other for short- and long-term transportation once again.

UMass domestic exchange student Alicia Stockman is one of approximately 100 students each year participating in the exchange program. Stockman traveled by car - a 1990 Honda Civic - from Utah and landed in Amherst last September. With a month of classes left, Stockman has already begun planning her return trip home with global warming in mind.

"My car gets really good gas mileage - 40 miles to the gallon - if I avoid the mountains," said Stockman. "Through Kansas and the Midwestern states, they had gas stations that used alternative fuels [renewable energy]. It was much cheaper at $1.85 per gallon. On my drive home I plan to stay with friends in states along the way," said Stockman. "Even though I'm taking my car, I'm looking for ways to be even more environmentally focused this time around."

Photo: Becky Moschini