Great Waters Group is a Sierra Club member group of the John Muir Chapter (WI). We serve club members in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, & Waukesha counties.  Sierra Club groups are run by their members who volunteer to promote environmental sustainability by taking action on local issues and educating others to understand the issues and opportunities available to make informed decisions that will better protect our shared environment.  Our group coordinates many different activities and outings throughout the year so our members can enjoy and appreciate the wonders of the outdoors and the experiences of others.

Reducing Environmental Impacts When Traveling

Almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. Here are some simple, practical things you can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce while on the move. Here are some additional action tips:

Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Click here to find transit options in your area.

Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!

When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency here.

Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar -- offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.

Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.

Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly.

Offsetting Emissions You Can't Reduce

Once you’ve reduced your emissions as much as possible, consider offsetting the remainder of your emissions. By offsetting, you can help fund valuable restoration projects and help the growing renewable energy market.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Support other carbon-reduction projects around the world
The Climate Trust is one of many examples of organizations supporting technologies and projects that either reduce carbon emissions for help to sequester amounts already in the air.

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