“Fwd: CHEVRON TEXON IN ECUADOR! READ OR DIE!! :)” — This was the subject of an email message I received from a neighbor late this spring. The forwarded message detailed the environmental toxic hazards then-Texaco left behind from their oil exploration and production operations in the northern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. As the interventionist, I fired off an email asking why, if he was so concerned enough to forward this message to me, I’ve seen his truck parked on Union Street almost every Mon-Fri that I bike or ride the bus to campus.

Eric responded:

currently, i am working on a village scale micro-hydroelectric project that will power 24 households, a school, and a community water system with renewable energy. the project will be handed over to the Schatz and reviewed/analyzed, then handed off to the Yurok tribe to be funded. i'm also continuing research on microbial fuel cell technology.

i don't feel like driving a little bit here and there makes that much of a difference. i do my best to carpool anytime a drive farther then 10 miles (like surfing).

…Also, the buses don't run 24 hours. Walking home at 12pm or 1am is not fun, so I get lazy. I'm not justifying my laziness, and I don't mind you harping on me about this. I don't want to drive that much either. It just comes down to me "getting lazy" over this last semester.

Looks like some work for the Interventionist!

Dear Eric,

I guess as an Environmental Resources Engineering student you have as full appreciation as anyone for the fact that transportation accounts for a greater share of personal energy consumption and emissions production than any other activity, which is probably why you spend the effort to make so many excuses for your needless driving.

As an outspoken sustainable transportation zealot, I hear plenty of reasons and excuses for why people drive. Yours rank as some of the worst I’ve ever heard. First, you’re an able-bodied young man who shouldn’t be afraid of a 1.3 mile trip by walking, biking, or skateboarding, no matter what time of the day or night.

I happen to know that you own a skateboard, a few good pairs of shoes, as well as a bike which you’ve never bothered to get from a friend. Even if you didn’t own a bike, I’d tell you that a quick look on craigslist (humboldt.craigslist.org/bik/) turns up plenty of bikes in the $100 range, with some starting at $40. We’re talking not much more than the cost of a parking ticket.

Since I live up the street, I happen to know that 3 buses leave Sunny Brae every hour to make the 10 minute trip to campus. One leaves from less than a half-block away from your house; the other two leave from (oh my god!) one-and-a-half blocks away.

As far as your assertion that “driving a little bit here and there” for regular short in-town trips don’t make a difference: I strongly disagree. Consider that driving to school and back once everyday is 2.6 miles/day. Then consider miscellaneous trips to school and errands in town, and total in-town miles driven can quickly increase to 5-7 miles/day, or 25-35 miles/week. It’s impossible to know what these figures are until you do some sort of motorized transportation log (see article by Michael Winkler, Logging Global Warming). As a cyclist, I would estimate I ride at least this much to do in-town errands and to commute to work.

There’s another caveat to consider for these in-town miles. Engines run most efficiently when they are warm. That’s why Consumer Reports Magazine recommends drivers minimize separate short trips to maximize fuel economy. Engines also produce more pollution (because the exhaust catalyst operates most effectively when warm) and wear faster when they're cold. (www.mindfully.org/Energy/2005/Hybrids-Fuel-Economy1oct05.htm).

So, I estimate that with regular in-town driving you put in about 30 miles on weekdays. Considering your cold engine’s reduced fuel economy you probably burn 2.5 gallons of fuel per week. Multiply that by current gas prices and you’re spending almost $10/week just in gas, not including variable costs of parking and maintenance, and the of course the fixed costs of insurance and vehicle purchase. Over the course of a semester, your gas costs add up to about $150, which could easily buy a decent bike.

Your in-town driving has a larger effect than just gas consumption and emissions, however. Taking up parking spaces and traffic lanes sends some very clear messages: To planners, it demonstrates a need to build more infrastructure for automobiles and less for pedestrians, cyclists, bus riders, and others, leading to an inequitable landscape for the transportation disadvantaged (see my article “What is Transportation Equity?”). And, for every cyclist, pedestrian, or skateboarder, it makes the streets noisier, crowded, and increases potential traffic hazards. When you drive, you are not only making a decision for yourself, but encouraging others to make the same decision.

If, as you say, you don’t believe that driving for small trips make a difference, the trips where it’s easy to travel by more sustainable means, and if it’s much less feasible to avoid driving with longer distances (especially for surfing), then what driving can be avoided? Medium 5-7 mile trips? To some random location on the highway between Arcata and Eureka or McKinleyville?

Presumably you bring up your work to design a micro-hydroelectric project to point out the good work you are doing that should offset the harm caused by your driving. I understand your argument, as I’ve made it myself as I use plenty of computer technology and communication products for my work in environmental & social activism, and I’ve even driven (carpooled) to public meetings to discuss sustainable transportation issues. It’s unreasonable to believe that one good deed absolves one of a different sin, however. But it’s too closely follows a comparison drawn in a recent New York Times article, "Carbon Neutral is Hip, but is it Green?" about carbon offset services, some of which fund renewable energy projects much like yours. “The worst of the carbon-offset programs resemble the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences back before the Reformation,” writes Andrew Revkin.

The thing about short in-town driving is that it’s easy (and actually quite pleasant) to eliminate. I hope you’re up to doing the right thing.

— Aaron Antrim,
The Interventionist

Because he cares about sustainable transportation, Eric kindly allowed us to make this admonision public in a printed column. He only hopes that it will inspire others to make choices to end our oil addiction. Eric says he will cut down on his in-town driving.