Americans live in a world where phrases like “Waste Not, Want Not” and “Go Green” get tossed about , but (unfortunately ) putting them into practice isn’t usually as simple as we’d like. My family has tried to minimize its carbon footprint as often as we can (turning lights and appliances off when we’re not using them, recycling, etc) – just about every tip Edit this text that allows us to “go green,” we try. Some of it requires a little more work than we might like . one example? The compost heap in our backyard and the neighborhood creatures who enjoy digging through it and spreading the contents across our yard.
But once in a while , a product comes along that makes it simple to do a little more for the Earth . And, in the most recent example , that something is our Garmin GPS. Who would have thought ?
I know you’re likely to have a slightly amused , slightlydisbelieving smirk on your face right now, but stick with me.
Gas prices are higher than ever , and it doesn’t seem as if that’s going to be changing anytime in the near future . With four kids and an incredibly rigid routine of taking them back and forth to school, every sport practice you can think of , piano lessons, friends’ houses and a slew of other commitments , frankly, I’m shocked we haven’t spent as much on our driving bill as we do on the house payment or our car payments . But, because of the Garmin GPS unit we received for Christmas from my husband’s parents (well, two – one for each vehicle ), we haven’t been shelling out as much money .
I discovered that many Garmin GPS units in the Garmin nuvi series already come equipped with this nifty little feature called ecoRoute. (You can also download it for use with compatible models for free from the Garmin website). Remember how your GPS used to determine the shortest routes or the fastest routes? Now, it can figure out the most fuel efficient way to go . ecoRoute shows fuel and mileage data that shows your fuel usage and conservation data, fuel efficiency and your carbon footprint. It also displays routes without as many hills and curves, fewer traffic lights and lighter traffic patterns – which translates into you using less gas . And let’s face it , saving gas money every time we drive is definitely worth it these days .
They can’t pinpoint exactly how much you’ll save using ecoRoute since they don’t know your local area or driving habits , but i since we started using our Garmin GPS, our family has cut our gas usage by almost 15%. Not too shabby for an automotive GPS device – and equally, and maybe more importantly, not to shabby for the Earth either.