Don't forget to track your green commute this week at commuterchallenge.ca.

If you work for CPL, or other participating workplaces, your workplace is already registered and you can register as an individual. The tracking is really straightforward this year.

If you provide your Airmiles number, you are eligible to win 500 Airmiles!

Hint: An easy way to calculate your kilometerage is to use Google maps "get directions" tool and enter your start and end points. Your one-way kms are displayed. Double it when entering your Commuter Challenge information.

Oil up your chains and fill up your tires, it's Bike to Work Day Friday, May 4th! Curious to know more? Go to http://bikecalgary.ca/

If you’ve ever driven a vehicle in Calgary, you’ve come across fast, aggressive drivers. You may be one of those drivers (I confess to sometimes being that driver). Many drivers may not be aware of how driving style and habits can affect fuel consumption as much as vehicle or fuel choice. Choosing an energy-efficient vehicle and regular maintenance help in reducing fuel consumption, but simply slowing down and driving carefully (e.g., coasting to a red light rather than speeding and breaking) are equally valuable ways to drive greener.

According to National Resources Canada’s Auto$mart Fuel-Efficient Driving Tips site:

• Decreasing your speed from 120 km/h to 100 km/h uses 20 percent less fuel. Follow the speed limit and use cruise control on flat highway terrain to prevent inadvertent speeding and, in many cases, help save fuel by keeping your speed constant.
• When combined, speeding, quick acceleration and hard stops—all considered aggressive driving—can increase fuel consumption by 25 percent. Driving smoothly is safer and more fuel-efficient.

The ecoENERGY for Personal Vehicles site is entirely devoted to personal transportation and the environment.

The Alberta Motor Association Guide to Green Driving also has information on how vehicle maintenance, fuel choices and driving habits can save on fuel.

Here are AMA’s suggestions for “10 easy ways to get more out of a tank of gas” (more detailed information is on their site):

1. Carpool
2. Park in the shade
3. Track your fuel consumption
4. Leave early
5. Reduce your speed
6. Don't drive aggressively
7. Cool it on the air conditioning
8. Lighten your load
9. Plan and combine trips
10. Reduce unnecessary idling

If you'd like to read more on driving and the environment, you may want to check out the following:

Green Transportation Basics: a green energy guide by Daniel D Chiras

75 ways to save gas: clean, green tips to cut your fuel bill by Jim Davidson
(also available to borrow in E-book format)

According to a recent Angus Reid survey commissioned by the Calgary Herald's Project Calgary, more than half of Calgarians drive to work or school and only five percent carpool. While thirty-seven percent of people polled said that they would prefer to walk, Calgary's size (and Calgarians' love affair with driving) often make walking to work or school unrealistic.

October 17 is the beginning of Calgary's 9th Annual Carpool Week. The City of Calgary, along with Carpool.ca, launched the first Carpool Week Campaign in 2003.

If you register to participate in Carpool Week, you are eligible to win an iPad, a Kindle, a GPS navigation system and $100 fuel gift cards. In addition to being better for the environment, carpooling also saves you money. According to the City of Calgary, carpooling one day a week can reduce commuting costs by 10 percent.

Save money, be eligible for prizes, get the warm fuzzies for helping the environment, and perhaps even enjoy some good company on your commute—what are you waiting for? Try carpooling if you haven't already. So you can drive my car (or at least sit in the passenger seat. Let's fill some empty seats!).

And maybe I'll love you. (Beep beep'm beep beep yeah.)

Read more about the Angus Reid survey and about Project Calgary in this Calgary Herald article: "The long drive to work eats away at happiness."

Learn more about the Calgary's successful Regional Carpool Program.

The City of Winnipeg recently began massive upgrades to their bike and pedestrian infrastructure. While some 'Peggers are wild with joy, others are just wild. Some commuters are upset and complaining of gridlock due to construction while some businesses are filing lawsuits seeking damages and demanding the road changes be reversed.

I have to admit I was surprised to hear about the extent of the opposition to Winnipeg's infrastructure changes. But I shouldn’t have been, considering that snow removal on our streets was a recurrent election theme in our own municipal elections last month. Nothing enrages people faster than being stuck in traffic.

Modifying our urban infrastructure to support more active transportation is no easy feat. Just ask Michael Hayes, Director of TransActive Solutions and a leading expert on active transportation in Canada. He’ll be giving a presentation on active transportation on Thursday November 25^th here at Central. Come and find out how we can avoid roadblocks to active transportation in Calgary.

What is active transportation?

“Active transportation is any form of human-powered transportation. It is any trip made for the purposes of getting yourself, or others, to a particular destination – to work, to school, to the store or to visit friends. As long as it is “active”, you can choose the mode – walking, cycling, wheeling, etc. Walking and cycling are the most popular forms of active transportation. It can also involve combining modes such as walking/cycling with public transit” – Public Health Agency of Canada

Active Transportation with Michael Hayes

Central Library
Thursday November 25^th
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
4^th Floor Meeting Room
Admission is free and there is no registration required