Tuesday, June 12, 2007

June 21st is National 'Dump the Pump' Day


We have another grassroots effort to protest the use and cost of fossil fuel coming up. It is sponsored by the American Public Transportation Society (APTA). Their figures show people in this Country took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation in 2006.
How about NE Ohio? RTA stats show that for the fourth straight year, ridership was up. This past year, .03%. Might not sound like much but that meant an additional 150k plus trips for a grand total in 2006 of 57.2 million rides. They also said that the blue and green lines servicing Shaker/Cleveland increased ridership by 5.1%.
A good time to try it out yourself? Next Thursday for Dump the Pump Day. Good time to start planning the trip now. It's really a good way to show your support for the reduction in reliance on foreign oil. It's really a good way to show the value in energy conservation no matter where the oil comes from, when you get right down to it. Some other facts from the press release on Dump The Pump Day:

  • Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets

  • Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days

  • Each year public transportation households save over $1,399 worth of gas

  • Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget

It's a good idea! I realize everyone doesn't live near transit access (which is a shame, it's a great reason to move). If you have the opportunity and the accessibility, why not participate in this. Who knows, you might find out it's a great way to get to work and wind up doing it more often. Peace Out - 3C