Do you remember your “family car” growing up? Chances are it was just an ordinary, small to mid-size car. Then, minivans didn’t exit, not to mention SUV’s. If you were lucky, your family had a station wagon to travel in on long summer vacations. People drove much smaller cars and managed to do anything and go anywhere in them. These days, it’s all about large cars, many of which are SUVs. Have our lifestyles changed so drastically that we can’t live without our big, gas-guzzling cars? Maybe.

Think of when you were a kid…. do you remember having a car seat? Probably not. Years ago, many kids didn't have car seats and some didn't even wear seat belts. Many parents carpooled kids around, piling as many kids into the back seat that could possibly fit. Today, every child up to the age of 8 is required to be in a car or booster seat, sometimes making it difficult to fit more than 2 kids in the back seat at one time. And all that baby gear! Back then, parents never had half the gear that we travel with today! Are we willing to give all that up and go back to driving smaller cars?

The SUV Debate
SUVs are very popular. Many people feel safer driving them, they find that they are reliable in bad weather, they’re favored on long trips and many parents prefer them over other vehicles simply because they’re easier to get kids in-and-out of. But, SUVs lead the pack over all other vehicles when it comes to contributing to global warming. Why are they so bad? Most SUVs have poor fuel efficiency, hence they’re nickname, “gas-guzzlers”. They burn more fuel which emits more CO2 into the atmosphere—a major factor of global warming.

If you can trade in your SUV for a more fuel-efficient car, than kudos to you! If you can’t give up your gas-guzzler, than at least offset it. You can still make a difference without drastically changing your lifestyle. Calculate your car’s emissions with our carbon calculator and offset your car’s emissions. It’s a small step in making a big change in the environment.

1  2  3  4  5  next page >