With “green” being such a popular buzzword these days, it’s in danger of becoming one of those words that loses its meaning when repeated too many times. Everyone is “going” green or “being” green or somewhere in between. But just what does it mean to be “green” and how do we do it?
In our overall lifestyle greening process, going green could start with changing all incandescent lightbulbs to lower-energy use flourescents, using solar-powered lights to light the path from the driveway to the front door, installing a wood-burning stove to supplement heating, to buying local products so that that there’s not as much need for fuel to get it delivered from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
In regard to transportation, to some being green could mean avoiding anything to do with fossil fuels altogether, getting rid of all vehicles that burn gas or diesel and only riding mass transit, electric vehicles, or utilizing self-propelled transportation like a bicycle, skateboard, or walking. It could mean setting up a car pool with a few coworkers rather than driving four separate cars from the same area to the same job. Many companies are starting to offer incentives to employees who find an alternate way to work.
For those who want or need to keep a car, going green means buying a hybrid car, or downsizing from a gas-guzzling 7-seater SUV to a 4-seater 35-mpg hatchback.
While most of us are grateful that whatever changes we can make help the environment, going green also means saving some green – as the cost of gas and heating fuels skyrocket, so do each of our expenses. Nearly everything we do or buy is affected by fuel costs. There are the direct costs, such as driving to and from work, to the indirect rise in cost in everything from food prices to the cost of postage stamps.
The green-to-green ratio (AKA environment-to-cost) is a factor each of us have to determine individually or with our family, depending on our wants, needs, and budget. It may seem logical for everyone to get rid of our gas guzzlers and run out and purchase a hybrid car, for example, but a $21,500 starting price isn’t always a practical choice. Plus, those who purchased a new vehicle less than three years ago may not save money if the loan isn’t paid off yet, according to a study in Consumer Reports.
Many of us who have been riding scooters for years found that gas savings and high miles-per-gallon were just icing on the cake back in the good old days of lower fuel prices. When I first got a scooter, gas prices were not much over a dollar per gallon, and the scooter I owned got approximately 100 mpg. I rode my scooter everywhere not only for the good mileage, but mainly because I absolutely loved it. I rode it on work assignments, too – and thankfully, I got paid the same for mileage as my coworkers who drove cars, and that was like getting a bonus check every month.
The reasonable price tag on a scooter is often as attractive as its stingy use of gasoline. Now that prices are over $4 a gallon for the premium gas I need to put in my scooter, the gas savings is a key reason I ride – and as you can see from the many articles about folks buying or considering purchasing a scooter, high gas mileage is a key reason for them, too.
Taking a look at the green-to-green ratio, scooters are a smart buy since many popular commute-worthy scooters fall in the $2,000 to $4,500 range. The Yamaha Vino 125, for example, is a very reasonable $2,699. Add its 96 miles per gallon into the pot and you’ve got some good greening going on in more ways than one. The gas savings on a buy like that can quickly make that scooter pay for itself.
Commuting or running errands by scooter won’t work for everyone. And it may not be green enough for the anti-fossil fuel die-hards. I know that someone out there reading this is chomping at the bit to rant about the emissions issues on 2-stroke engines (most modern scooters are 4-stroke). But still, given all their benefits, there’s a growing number of riders that believe that scooters help to make the world a better – and greener – place.
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