Stewardship Tip Aug 3rd, 2010 – Let up on the Gas Pedal
In constant speed tests, a Ford Escape hybrid averaged over 50 MPG when driven at 30, 40, and 50 MPH. When driven at 60 MPH, the average fuel consumption plummeted to 42.3 MPG. This isn’t just true for the Ford Escape, it is applies to any car or truck. The average MPG drops precipitously when a vehicle is driven above 60 MPH. According to the US EPA, “each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.”
If you take a 300 mile trip, driving a Ford Escape Hybrid at 50 MPH, your car will consume approximately six gallons of gasoline and will emit, according to the EPA, about 52 kilograms of carbon dioxide. In addition, the car will emit approximately 5.5 kg of other gases including nitrous oxide, methane, and, in some cases, sulfur dioxide. If you drive 60 MPH, you will emit approximately 6.5 kg of nitrous oxide, methane, and sulfur dioxide.
Nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide from automobile emissions can be carried hundreds of miles in the atmosphere by the prevailing winds before they are converted to sulfuric acid and nitric acid. These acids return to the earth in a process known as acid deposition. Perhaps better known as acid rain, acid deposition can acidify a body of water and have a detrimental affect on fish and the food on which fish feed. For example, When the pH of a lake drops below a 6.5, walleye fail to reproduce.
Why letting up on the gas pedal is important to the fish: The Adirondack Mountains are, perhaps, one of the more notable examples of the adverse affects of acid deposition. Hundreds of lakes and ponds that once teemed with trout, tadpoles, frogs, and salamanders are now devoid of life. The water is too acidic. As the prey disappeared on these lakes, so did the creatures higher on the food chain such as otters, ospreys, and loons.
The problem is not limited to the Adirondacks. Many areas are sensitive to acid deposition including the Catskill Mountains, mid-Appalachian Highlands, the upper Midwest, and many of the mountainous areas of the American West.
Letting up on the gas pedal reduces the amount of nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide that our cars emit into the atmosphere. This helps to reduce acid deposition. While great strides have been made in controlling acid deposition, it is still a problem. And we can help by letting up on the gas pedal. Ultimately, we can help fish hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away when we do.
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