Something that changed all our lives about 100 years ago was the car.

First it was great and if we were only talking about how convenient and easy it is, then we could still say that it was great but...cars are not good for the environment so its important to look at TRANSPORT when we are trying to be sustainable.

Ok - so what is wrong with our transport system?

It causes huge amounts of pollution in the form of...

 

 chemicals and particles released into the air
 scrap vehicles that have to be got rid of

massive stretches of tarmac spread across the land.

       and cars run on oil, which is a finite fuel and very destructive to extract.

 

On top of that there is the problem of traffic jams - filling up the roads and producing even more pollution due to the longer journey times.

 

Abominable aeroplanes,

Transport

Brilliant buses,

Horrible HGVs, Terrific trains,
Awful automobiles, Crazy cycles,
Dreadful juggernauts, Excellent electric bikes
Lugging lorries, Brainy barges,
Carcinogenic cars. Tremendous trams!

 

Whats better?

TransportMost vehicles burn oil-based fuels, like petrol. Some are more economical than others, planes use up HUGE amounts of fuel, cars use much less - BUT buses are more economical than cars because they pack lots of people in.

OR

Trams usually run on electricity and also pack in lots of people, so, if their electricity supplier makes its electricity from renewable energy sources, they are pretty high on the sustainability scale.

OR, we could walk- get fit, get some fresh air and its free!

OR

 

Transport

And then we would all get our daily exercise without really trying and without taking up much time in the day. (and no extra gym membership costs!)

And we now have super cool electric bikes - available at the ATC, to help with the troublesome hills around here.

 

 

 

Transport

Run your diesel car on vegetable oil! Its perfectly legal, as long as you pay the 25.82p per litre to HM Customs and Excise, to make it a road fuel - it can even be used vegetable oil, the car won't mind.

 

There is also a vegetable oil based fuel called bio diesel available - both fuels need a tiny adjustment to your car for them to work properly. A project for science, particularly if you are a secondary school - making bio diesel.

 

Check with a qualified mechanic first - your engine may need a slight adjustment. Other alternative and generally pretty funky fuels are...

 

LPG
  (liquefied petroleum gas) this is still a fossil fuel, but is less polluting than the others.
Electricity
  as long as your supplier is using renewable energy. Electric cars are still quite scarce but are becoming more available.
Hydrogen
  used in fuel cells to make energy. This technology has been hailed as the future "dominant source of power for personal transportation" It is as yet unavailable to the likes of you and me - but it's on it's way!!

 

There are loads of things that you could do in your school to work out who is coming from where and who could share cars and your school could set up walking busses, or cycling trains....theres a brilliant one in Brighton that takes students to the university and back with safety in numbers - with chance to meet new people and they even have a radio playing along the way, so why couldn't you do it with your school?

 

But Transport isn't just about getting us from A to B, its carrying all our goods around the country and the globe too:

There is another staggeringly significant thing that can be done to help reduce the amount of transport pollution. Wherever possible, buy produce (food, clothes, toys - anything really!) that has been produced locally. The closer the better!

If you buy clothes made in this country, then no one has flown those clothes to you in an aeroplane.

 

Transport

If you are buying apples, then look at where they all came from. If you have a choice of apples from the Cape, South America, France or England - then choose the apples that grew the closest to you.

Wool from New Zealand - Wool from Yorkshire?
Spinach from Israel - Spinach from Lancashire?
Oranges from California - Oranges from Spain?
Wine from Australia - Wine from Italy?

 

It's not that the products from these countries are not good quality products. It's just that buying the same product from a closer place will cut out massive amounts of pollution. Which is better for the environment. And for you! Oh - its good for our farmers too, it must be very dismaying for them when they cannot sell their apples because there are so many apples from other countries for sale.

If you want more information about:

Transport
Bio diesel and how it works
Things that you and your school can do together to help
Information about travel audits, walking buses and cycle trains
Possible funding sources for financing bike sheds etc
Websites about alternative fuels

 

Then come on further into our web site...

 

 

e-mail: info@suschool.org.uk - Tel: 0845 330 4930 - Fax: 01422 843141
SUSchool, The Alternative Technology Centre, Hebble End Mill, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 6HJ