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Stewardship Tip – Accelerate Less
By Arshia | December 20, 2011
One of the prime tenants of hypermiling is “do not accelerate quickly or brake heavily.”
According to the folks at cleanmpg.com, accelerating quickly or braking heavily can reduce fuel economy as much as 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town.
Here are three scenarios that you might encounter during your everyday drive and three suggestions on how you can reduce accelerating and braking.
Uphill leading to a stop light/sign: Travel as far up the hill as possible before stopping. Maintain a steady pace and attempt to crest the hill when the light is green. If there is a stop sign at the top of the hill, you have no choice. You have to stop. Unfortunately, accelerating from a dead stop facing uphill is one of the worst fuel efficiency situations that you will face. Often, there is a relatively level piece of ground at the top of a hill. Try to stop there if possible. If the hill is part of your regular commute, try a different route so that you can avoid the hill.
Downhill leading to a stop light/sign: Slow down well before the light. Coast on the downhill and try to time your descent so that you hit the intersection when the light is green. This will allow you to coast through the light without having to accelerate. Even if you do have to brake on the downhill, you have gravity on your side. You can continue to coast after applying the brakes.
Level ground leading to a stop light/sign: Continue to slow your vehicle before actually coming to a stop. Think of yourself as moving half the distance to the goal line and then half again. You can accomplish this both through braking and by coasting into your buffer.
Why it is important to the fish: All vehicles produce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) when they burn gasoline.
Since the start of the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) to current levels of about 388 ppm. The oceans help to mitigate this by absorbing CO2 naturally. However, dissolving CO2 in seawater increases the concentration of hydrogen ions. This decreases pH. The oceans’ preindustrial average surface pH was about 8.179; the current average is in the neighborhood of 8.069. This process is known as ocean acidification.
As the pH of the ocean falls, so does the concentration of carbonate. When carbonate becomes undersaturated, structures made of calcium carbonate are vulnerable to dissolution. This, according to the NOAA, leads to
A drop in the rate at which reef-building corals produce skeletons,
A reduction in the ability of marine algae and free-swimming zooplankton to maintain protective shells, and
A reduction in the survival of larval marine species, including commercial fish and shellfish.
According to scientist Thomas Lovejoy, ocean acidification pulls “the rug out from under the marine food chain.”
Increasing your gas mileage will save you gas and reduce the emissions from your vehicle. You will reduce your CO2 footprint and help to reduce ocean acidification as a result.
This week’s Stewardship Tip sponsor 
ick’s Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods has deep roots in fishing. DICK’S started as a small bait-and-tackle shop over 60 years ago. Today, DICK’S is proud to partner with Recycled Fish to assist in the ongoing stewardship of our fisheries. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a great appreciation for the sport of fishing and are pleased to be a destination for anglers across the country.
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