My car ownership to end in December

I talked to my son this week and the current, tentative plan is for he and his Dad to drive to Cincy right before Christmas to visit and to pick up the car. So, I will be really carless in January as my car will be gone and my parents will drive themselves to Florida for the month! I expect that will be the next big transition time for me.
At the moment, I've gotten used to having my car just sit in front of my house. I did use it once this month. Last Friday, I drove old tires to the county transportation center so that they could be recycled. I acquired them when I moved into my house in April and discovered them stashed behind some bushes. I've been waiting for some recycling event to get rid of them and didn't want to put them into my parent's trunk which has stuff stored in it and the tires smelled rank. I ended up stopping 2 other places on route- mostly just because I was going by- once to get a chocolate milkshake and once to buy beer (too heavy to carry home on the bus from the grocery store). This week I will go to the grocery store with Dad in their car later in the week. Also, the folks from our local farmer's market have found a place to have an indoor market through the winter so I will go to that on Wednesday. I had great bread from a vendor there last week! I will walk there, about a mile there and then a mile back. Later Wednesday, I will walk to a meeting a mile in the other direction from me though I'm sure I can get a ride home. It's the fact that I do so much walking to get places that I've slacked off on going out and walking just to exercise!

Second month evaluation

I have been doing well on being carless for the last 2 weeks. My car has been sitting, motionless, in front of my house for that long now. I haven't missed it though there was one day last week when it poured rain and it turned out that was the day that TANK/NKU temporarily moved the bus stop...! I was soaked through my underwear by the time I got home.
I think about driving places occasionally though I've worked out all my normal, regularly scheduled trips so I don't need one. I think about driving for odd things; e.g.,my county has a take junk day next weekend and they'll take tires, of which I have 2 old ones left by the prior owners. As my main reason for not owning/driving a car is environmental, but, recycling things responsibly is also sound environmentally I may use my car to take tires to be recycled. I hate to put them in my parent's car as the tires are so filthy and Dad has things in his trunk.
The other reason I thought about using a car was to socialize with someone from across the river in Cincinnati and once to go to a lecture in Cincy. I'm not crazy about the idea of taking multiple buses, especially for routes I don't know, at night. I'm still considering how to deal with these kinds of situations- rent, borrow, taxi?
I have become much more local in my orientation and am developing communities of people in town (Fort Thomas) and at work. I'm also having a bit of trouble keeping weight on as I walk so much more. I have to adjust up the amount I'm eating (without eating so much I start to gain weight)!
I am working on a syllabus for a new course, Auto Economics, short for "The Economics of the American Love Affair with the Automobile". I will post it when it's done and approved. There's a lot of applied microeconomics and environmental economics in what I'm doing. It's amazing how many institutions and industries are related to auto use. As I've discussed the idea with people everyone has new ideas for me to add- very interesting and I hope I get to teach the course!

Shopping by Bus

Today, for the first time, I went to my local shopping center by bus. It involved a different bus than I take to work, but, it was just as easy. I have to say that TANK (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky) seems to run buses on time, they're clean, and the drivers are friendly. And, for me, with my trusty NKU ID, it's free. Even if it weren't, I'd get a bus pass for a month on-line because that is easier than having $1.50 in change each time you get on a bus. I went clothes shopping at Village Discount Thrift, a great second-hand store, purchasing a coat, jacket and 4 sweaters for $28. I checked out several other stores, ate a cheap lunch (not vegan- oh well), and bought a few things at the grocery store. And I had fun. So, shopping by bus- no problem!

I haven't driven my car in over a week now; it's still parked where I left it last Sunday after Ann flew home. I am debating going to a talk tonight in Cincinnati and would have to drive to that. As I could easily borrow my parent's, this is not something I would be constrained from doing with no car. On the other hand, after all the excitement(!) this morning, I may just stay home and get ready for classes tomorrow. I don't anticipate needing a car again this week. I will walk or bus to everything else I have planned.

I must be walking even more than I thought I was because even with eating way too much Halloween candy before the event, I haven't gained any weight.

Parking the car again

I used my car this past weekend because I had a friend come visit from out of town. I picked her up at the airport, toured her around and dropped her off again. I figured I would have rented a car for this if I didn't have one sitting in front of my house. Now, I'm through with my car use for the foreseeable future and have parked it in front of my house. I haven't used it since Sunday and won't this week at all.

Right now, I don't have any particular need. However, today I want to use it to go somewhere, anywhere because I'm feeling slightly bored and lonely. If I went to a store or somewhere where there were people! In my car! Could I get rid of this feeling? Probably yes. Sigh! But, I'm not going to do that. i'm going to take a walk and work on my garden instead. Oh well.

Cars and shopping

I realized that virtually every time I get into the car to go someplace, it involves spending money. I don't know whether this is true for everyone and it wouldn't be for me if I drove to work. I bus to work, walk to church, walk to library, etc., and these don't involve spending money. If I drive it's almost always to a store of some kind and I spend money. Would American households spend significantly less if there were fewer cars? And I'm not asking about any costs directly associated with owning a car.

Yesterday, I wanted to go to Chipotle's to get dinner. I can get a great vegan dish for less money than any other restaurant. I decided not to because it would mean driving, however, it made me think- I get in a car and drive to spend money- even if I do enjoy it. I had dinner at home and didn't even spend $6.31 for it!

Falling off the wagon

Okay, it's confessions time. I gave up on not using my car for this week. I feel pretty guilty about this. I've been working/struggling to get the first phase of renovation work on the house done and I just reached a point where worrying about how to get from point A to B ceased to matter. If I didn't have a car in front of my house, I expect I would have called Enterprise and rented a car for the week. Trips to IKEA, Lowes, grocery store, etc; if I were an alcoholic, this would have been a binge. Mostly, I had too much to do and think about and just couldn't add no car to the mix. Now, the good news is that my projects- Phase 1 construction projects- are completed and my house looks great! The next few days, I'll hang things on the wall and then, rest and go back to normal life.

The good news is that I still feel it is/will be easy to live without a car. I probably would rent a car under these circumstances in the future. I still took the bus to work and combined trips in efficient ways.

On a related front, I'm considering teaching a class next year called Auto Economics, short for, The Economics of the American Love Affair with the Automobile. Have to talk with my Chair and see what he thinks.

How'd I do the first month?

I did well for the first month of my experiment in becoming carless. I used my car a total of 6 times during the month; 3 of these were trips in the last week of the month. Most of them involved trips to Lowe's to get construction materials. During the last week I went shopping twice with my father and we used my car as my mother was using their car. Clearly, we could have waited until she got back, however, this allowed us to shop for food and glass to fix a window when it was most convenient. My goal for October is to use my car even less than this. I could have used my parent's car for any of these trips and using it 6 times a month doesn't seem too much of an imposition on them. I'm reluctant to impose so that's why I still tend to use mine. I suppose this is part of the independence thing. It's also true that my car needs will decrease soon as I am within 2 weeks of completing construction (at least phase one!). All but one of my trips involved this one way or another.

The most positive aspect of the month for me is how easy it has been for me to quit the car using habit. I go 3-4 days now, not only without using a car, but, also even without thinking about using a car. I've lost the habit. I still use my car occasionally; when I do it's very deliberate. I make do more, I plan better, and I walk a lot more. I used to take walks for exercise. Now, I take walks to get places! I guess I thought it would be psychologically harder for me than it has been.

My parents have been out of town for several days so I haven't gone food shopping for over a week. On the bus home today I thought about needing food for dinner. I know 6 weeks ago I would have simply driven straight to a grocery store. Instead, I took the bus the rest of the way home, checked out what I had and realized that I have 3-4 meals I could make from the ingredients I have. It's just that I ran out of apples and I normally eat at least one a day. I had a carrot for lunch with my sandwich rather than an apple and I will cook myself something for dinner. I can wait another day or two to go food shopping. Or I could walk to the convenience store and buy an apple.

Right now, I'm off to walk to the bank and then back home for more painting!

Assessment Week 3

Well, it's been a busy week that has flown by. Car-wise- not as good as last week. I used my car once to go to Lowes for my ongoing, but close to the end of this phase, construction project. I could have used my parent's; they have made it clear that they don't mind. My Dad says, "it sits in front of the house most of the time anyway." They are two people with one car and are okay with the idea of being three people with one car. I don't know why I used my car instead of theirs- habit I guess.

My car was used by my brother; they're already a two person-one car household plus they have a 16 year old with a learner permit. Anyway, Sunday night, they had two events so Dave borrowed my car. This seemed to me to be well within my general low carbon footprint and frugality principles!

I used my car today, though I'm now into week 4, to take Dad and I to grocery and hardware stores while Mom went for another errand. We could have waited and taken their car later which is what we'll do when we I get rid of my car. On the other hand we carpooled, as well as combined trips efficiently.

Overall, I'd give myself a B for the week. On the plus side, I've reached a point psychologically where I know I can live without a car; I realized that sometime this week. I'm sure enough about it so that I called my son and told him to think about when he wants to make the trip from Rochester to pick it up. I will occasionally use my car until then, particularly, in situations where I would rent a car. I'm not going to actually rent a car until I'm no longer paying for this one. In Kentucky, maybe everywhere, you cannot own a car, even if you are not driving it, without insurance. And, my 6 month insurance bill, for $390, is due by mid October. If I have to pay for it anyway! It's a wrench, especially since I have had $0 in car expenses in the last month. When you don't drive, there's not even gas, just fixed expenses like insurance.

Assessment Week 2

I give myself a higher grade for week 2, an A-. For starters, I didn't use my car once. I took buses to and from work, did food shopping once with my father in his car, walked to farmer's market, walked to church, drug store & convenience store when I needed things, and walked to library. In fact I didn't even think about driving a car much. Now, that was partly because I spent the weekend in bed with the flu, still, it counts! Not much of a carbon footprint from autos from me for the week!

I find that when I think about using a car it's almost always for one of two main reasons: (1)shopping or (2)social activities or volunteer work. And, it's almost always for instant gratification. Even though I've been working on cutting down on consumption/shopping/spending for 3 years now, it's tough. I think I've worked through most of food shopping issues: going with my father when he goes is working well; in summer a farmer's market is within walking distance (about a mile); there's a convenience store 3-4 blocks away; I could get to my regular food stores by bus and I'm getting more used to taking buses all the time; and next summer I plan to have more of a garden and I get about one meal a week now from my garden. I realized that I had a drug store within walking distance when I had the flu and am happy to support a local business, even if it's a bit more expensive. My clothes shopping is minimal, I can bus to my favorite- a discount thrift store- and my mother would be happy to go together when she goes. The thing I'm having the most difficulty with is stuff for the house as I'm finishing the first round of construction work. I moved in April, 2010. One of my brothers is doing work for me (Brothers are wonderful!!) and needs more drywall mud and tape. I'm going to drive my car to Lowes this afternoon to get more. I can't carry a bucket of mud on the bus as it's heavy for me even for shorter distances. Now, I could use my parent's car for this and will when I get rid of mine, however, it will take even more planning.

Yesterday, when I was taking the bus home from work, I saw that the garden store I like is having a sale on perennials. I suspect, if I'd been driving a car past, I would have stopped!

I think about when, how & why to use a car. A friend is coming to visit in October. I will use my car to pick her up at the airport and drive us around. I decided that this was a situation I would rent a car for and since I'm still paying insurance, etc. for my car will use it now rather than rent. However, even with no car, I can handle an out-of-town visit by renting.

Reply to Deborah

I don't like the idea of proselytizing nor do I have a fervor to convert people to being carless. I just want to explore if and how it can be done if that's what someone chooses. And, I recognize that my experience is relevant mostly to middle class, mid-country Americans like myself.

What's wrong with a Buick? That's more wrong than any other car? OK, so I get in an ideal world, for an environmentalist, we'd all be walking and biking a lot more, and our vehicles would be shared, quiet, go 150 mpg, probably be electric, and that electricity would come from solar power. However, we're sooo far away from the ideal that it seems to me that any and all sincere efforts to improve the situation are welcome. Besides, saving the Earth is more likely to happen if lots of people are experimenting and innovating.

Besides, there are so many fronts to saving the Earth and you are far ahead of me in many areas, such as water usage and eating local. NO GUILT! NO BLAME! That's my motto, mostly, because I don't think either is useful to us at all, unless, perhaps it operates as a spur to action. In complex situations like this which are going to require many changes by many people and where we don't even know exactly what changes will be required, guilt and blame are not helpful. We (everyone in the world!) are all to blame; in this case, blame is meaningless.

My parents have a Buick as well, a car they like and have driven for a number of years now. More aspects than environmental ones have to be considered, e.g., comfort, cost and safety. It's probably more helpful to the Earth that they one only one car for 2 people than the type of car they own.

Assessment: Week 1

I started on Sept 1 so want to do an assessment of my first week.
I used my car once, though I combined 4 errands into an exceedingly efficient route. I expect I will have to borrow my parent's car once or twice a month to do some errands I cannot do by bus or foot. Need to work more on this.
I drove my parent's car once to go to an event at a location difficult to get to by bus though it can be done. It was Sunday so buses don't run as often and I was afraid to risk getting stuck somewhere. I need to work on that too!
It was a meeting for some of us doing the Sierra Club's "No Impact Experiment" last week. The good news is that I learned more about rental cars from someone who uses them regularly; the couple has already dropped to one car from 2. Also, I read about zip cars in "The Economist."
Overall, I give myself a B- for my first week, not too bad for a relatively busy, stressful week for me.
However, I want to do much better. I will write more later; for now, I need to go catch a bus!

Bus chat

There were 3 of us waiting for the bus today, all professors at NKU, so we chatted while waiting. I had discussed with students taking the bus and 1 reminded me that buses in Cincinnati region all go to and from downtown Cincinnati so that students from the next county in Kentucky (Boone) can get to NKU in Campbell County only by taking one bus downtown and then another out through Campbell County. There are no buses that go across town. It's a problem with public transportation here as well as in many other cities.

We Americans are quick to say that buses (or trains or subways) cost too much, however, we conveniently overlook a large amount of costs of cars. Roads cost almost as much as subways to build, but, somehow that's not part of our calculation of auto costs! Nor are the environmental costs of driving cars considered. In addition to building roads they have to be maintained. In upstate New York, where I lived for 22 years, the biggest expense in many small towns' budgets is gravel, salt, trucks and labor for keeping the roads clear in the winter. And, that doesn't include the maintenance cost of fixing the potholes. I wonder what the cost of building, maintaining, and keeping roads clear is for the country as a whole or on a percapita basis. Then, there's the amount of money we spend on cops and ambulances, etc.

I am enjoying taking the bus, partly because it allows for conversations with neighbors and colleagues!

September 1- D-Day?

Well, this is the day that I chose to start officially not using my car. I'm giving myself a few weeks of slack, just in case. I've used my car twice in the last week- once last week for combined errands and Monday this week to take my Dad back and forth to garage to get his car repaired. It seemed the least I could do given him taking me to event on Saturday. I went grocery shopping with him on Monday as well. Since he's going anyway, it doesn't inconvenience him and it means I don't need a car for that purpose. Unfortunately, grocery stores are about 2 1/2 miles away, a bit far to walk carrying bags, especially since coming home requires going up a steep and significant hill. Long term, I'm thinking perhaps a scooter would be a good idea.

I received a useful comment from my friend, Mary E. about my last blog. "Your post about independence and interdependence was very interesting. The beginning of your post reminded me of the gerontology classes I've taken and the research in that field about how losing one's license as one gets older is one of the hardest parts of aging because of the loss of independence and the subsequent reliance on others. If I remember right, this is more problematic for older adults in America than other countries where public transportation is used more often. Also, losing one's license is easier for people living in urban areas versus those living in rural areas because it is easier get to places without a car. Just something you might find interesting and/or relevant to your experiences, not that you are losing your license because of age!"

Spurious Independence?

Yesterday, my father dropped me off in the morning at a local food event in Covington (another city in Cincinnati region) where I was volunteering and he and my mother picked me up at 8 pm when I was done. What I found interesting was how much it bothered me. I felt as though I was in junior high again! I got my driver's license as soon as I could at age 16 and while I didn't own a car until I was about 24-25; nonetheless, I've been pretty independent transportation-wise, certainly since college. Having parents drop me off and pick me up made me feel not grown up, and as though I was inconveniencing people, even though my parents indicated they were perfectly willing to do this for me. It's one of the advantages of the auto; owning and using a car makes us "independent." It's part of our training, at least in the US. One of our major rites of passage to adulthood is getting your driver's license. And, it's a big part of American culture- our independence.

But, as I thought about it, I decided that the independence I feel because I own a car and can drive anywhere I wish is a spurious or false independence, or at least, a superficial independence. As an economist I am well aware of how economically interdependent we humans are. Adam Smith, in the first book on economics, The Wealth of Nations, discussed how many people were involved in the production of the shirt worn by the common laborer. Today, virtually every "thing" we purchase has a supply chain and web of production that's huge. Autos, for example, are made with parts from countries all around the world. The gas I buy to put into the car comes from other countries, is shipped in ocean liners owned by people from many countries, ocean liners that were produced in yet other places by yet other people who ate food produced in many places by many people. The simplest of economic transactions, say buying a Barbie doll (made with parts from 18 countries) or having a cup of coffee in the morning is dependent on a huge, huge interdependent web of production. (I consider it quite amazing!)

The old version of Robinson Crusoe is a favorite of economists because it features a man shipwrecked on an island and totally dependent upon himself for everything. Robinson Crusoe is amazingly talented and skilled at many things, yet, still must make do with very little. The moral economists draw from this story is how much better off economically people are when they specialize and trade. The new, and frankly much more realistic, version of this story is the Tom Hanks character in movie Castaway. He barely manages to feed and shelter himself for a relatively short period of time. Human beings aren't made for independence! We are interdependent, inherently so.

It seems to me our choice is between being interdependent more upon our local community or upon strangers. In modern political economies, we've replaced the interdependence of people in communities (tribes, families, villages, neighborhoods- the local) with the interdependence of people in markets (today, many global in nature). Although there have been many benefits to this- I am an economist after all!- perhaps we have gone too far. We need to find a better balance.

One of the people I talked to yesterday about this offered to pick me up for another event. Again, I have to find a balance for myself- what's OK to ask for or accept and what's not. I may be able to bus to this next event. I also began checking out taxi services online though it's clear most are oriented to taking people to/from airports. The problem with the bus system in Cincinnati is that all bus rides radiate out from downtown so getting anywhere off the spokes is difficult.

We're also interdependent around autos and auto use because we drive on roads- together. (I'll have to discuss the amount of subsidies for roads that we don't consider when we're comparing cars to- say buses or trains- in another post.) The more people on the roads, the less "independence" we really have. During rush hours and often other times, the major roads in Cincinnati become giant, slow-moving parking lots, and anyone on them is immensely frustrated.
It's interesting. I've read the literature on what makes people happy (crosses over psychology, sociology and economics). What researchers have found is that people adapt pretty quickly to new circumstances. This is particularly true for new products we purchase. There's an initial surge in our happiness and then we get used to having the new whatever and we adjust back to our normal level of happiness. This is true for lottery winners and on the negative side- it turns out that humans also adapt to becoming paralyzed. After an initial burst of unhappiness, the person adapts and adjusts back to their baseline/normal level of happiness. Now, what I find interesting is that there are some things, mostly experiences, that human beings don't seem to adapt to. On the positive side, people are more likely to remain happier with a great travel experience than a great new car, and are more likely to be happy if they have close friends and this happiness from friends remains. On the negative side, one of the experiences that people seem unable to adapt to is traffic congestion and long commutes; they make people unhappy initially and that unhappiness continues!

Anyway, this carless thing is stirring up a lot of reflection on my part! Thanks for listening.

Car Costs

Today, I spent time going through old budgets to see what I spend on owning a car. Over the last 20 years I have spent a total of $76,000 on cars & car transportation. Pretty hefty when I started adding it all up! These numbers include insurance, what I paid for the cars (mostly used), maintenance and gas.

In the last 5 years alone, I've spent $25,929. That's $5,000 per year or $417 per month. Since I drive about 11,000 miles per year, that's $.45 a mile. If I had driven my car for 10 years as I originally planned when I purchased it in 2006, then amortizing the $16,000 cost over 10 years instead of 5, would give me a yearly expense of $3,600 or approx. $300/month or $.33/mile. This is still well below the $1/mile figure AAA uses or the $.55/mile allowed by the IRS when calculating car costs.

Looking at my car costs another way, I've spent about $1800 to $2000 a year the last few years for car expenses, not counting car purchase costs, or approximately $150-167/month. Roughly, I spend $50 for gas, $66 for insurance, and $42 for maintenance each month ($158 total).

Basically, no matter how I calculate it, owning a car is an expensive proposition! And, I do frugal things like buy inexpensive and/or used cars, combine trips, shop for best insurance, etc.

I'm getting into the swing of thinking about every car trip or possible trip. I haven't driven my car for the last 3 days at all. Saturday, I have to go somewhere that is not an easy bus ride, though only 10 minutes by car. I may get a ride from my parents or take a taxi- haven't decide yet.

Riding the Bus

On Thursday I rode the bus to work for the first time (though I'd ridden the bus before to go downtown- Cincinnati). It was easy, uneventful, and also, turned out to be free. Anyone who has an NKU security card- student, faculty, staff can ride TANK (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky) for free. I just swipe my card. Yet another reason to go without my car! I will now switch to bus for all work-related trips. I'm still figuring out stops on campus; according to bus driver, TANK and NKU are changing the stops this weekend so next week will be different.
I drove my car this week to IKEA and to Lowes as I'm trying to finish up construction projects and to the grocery store. Next week, I'm going to do grocery trips with Dad. I'm at point of keeping track of every trip.

Car Costs

Yahoo had an article this week, "6 Extreme Ways to Go Frugal and Save"; one of the 6 is to go without a car. You save by eliminating gas, registration, insurance, maintenance and repair costs. I would add taxes as the state of Kentucky charges a yearly property tax on your car when you register. According to article, AAA estimates it costs $1 a mile to own a car.

From Mindy Pennybacker's book, Do One Green Thing, "Not driving just one day a week can reduce your CO2 emissions by about 8 pounds per week or 400 pounds per year." Her first suggestion under category transportation- "Spend 30 minutes a day walking or cycling instead of driving. Why? If every American did this, we'd cut CO2 emissions by 64 million tons and lose 3 billion tons of excess body weight a year." She says it's better for our collective health if there are fewer cars as "Vehicle combustion engines burn fossil fuels and emit smog, soot, and particulate matter containing toxic PAHs and carbon dioxide, all of which lead to respiratory disease. Transportation produces 28% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Each gallon of gas burned is responsible for the release of 28 pounds of CO2, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (this includes the CO2 released during the drilling and shipping of oil." (p 218)

Not quite on costs, but related- read Heather Rogers' book, Green Gone Wrong, this week as well. Fort Thomas library had a bunch of new books on environment! Her main argument, buying "green" won't work, markets left to themselves cannot solve these problems, and then she documents. As an economist I agree with her- we've hit the limits of the free market! She cites Frank Ackerman "What do we owe to nature and human health? You can't deduce it from the market. You have to come to the table with moral statements. These are not economic truths, they're pre-economic assumptions." (p 193)

Also, Rita Mae Brown, in one of her detective series, has Harry describe her philosophy as "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Definitely a motto lost to Americans these days!

My Goals

My first and most important goal is to lessen my carbon footprint. How can we expect anyone else to save the Earth is we're not willing to work at it? I feel I have a special responsibility because I'm an American with lots of opportunities, resources, and education.

My second goal is to live more frugally and simply. I retired early at 54 from my full-time teaching job, trading off money for time. It's been well-worth it! However, since I'm too young for social security and too young to take pension funds- the IRS says 59 1/2- I'm making do on part-time teaching. I've gone from teaching 8 college courses a year for $70,000 to teaching 4 courses a year for $10,000. Plus I have some savings though not enough to live at all extravagantly. So, any way I can cut expenses, I'll do it. I've kept budgets for the last 20 years & am going to look up the precise numbers for my spending on cars over the years. I'll have to write about that later.

My final goal is to help my 22 year old son who has decided to try college again. He's been financially independent for the last 2 years (& I'm so proud of him!) but this will be hard. His dad will help with tuition and I can help him by giving him my car. It's a 2006 Toyota Corolla with about 45,000 miles so it's got many years of driving left & it gets good gas mileage. However, he doesn't get it til I've tried this experiment for at least 2 months. One friend says I should try it for 2 seasons before I give my car away. We'll see.

Saving the Earth one step at a time

For my next experiment, I'm going to live without a car. I know some people already are doing this, e.g. No Impact Man, however, doing this in Manhattan is easy. I live in Cincinnati, a sprawling Midwestern city with limited bus service & no subway.

I've been trying to do my bits to save the Earth for human beings for some time now. I reduce and reuse; buy secondhand clothing; try to eat local, organic, and lower on the food chain; minimize trash; keep thermostats low in winter; use energy-efficient lights; etc. I've simplified and simplified further.

One of the biggest components to my carbon footprint now is car use. During my lifetime (I'm 56) Americans have moved from 1 car per family to 2 to more. I want to investigate reversing this trend. My goal is to stop using my personal car September 1, 2010. I'm going to go cold-turkey. This doesn't mean I'll never use a car. I can borrow my parents or rent, though my idea is to minimize this as well. I'll blog about my experiences.

Note: Cincinnatians look puzzled when I tell them the name of this blog. This is why. The Cincinnati SMSA (Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area) includes 3 counties in Ohio, 3 counties in Kentucky, and 2 counties in Indiana. The Ohio River runs through and it's a series of fairly steep hills on all sides of the River. If I'm talking to someone who's not from this area I say I'm from Cincinnati because people know vaguely where it is and because for many purposes it's all one city. However, it is a city of multiple states and multiple political entities so almost everyone who lives in Cincinnati identifies themselves by their local neighborhood or local political entity. For Cincinnatians, I live in Fort Thomas, Campbell County, Kentucky.