Three actions that move us towards a brighter future
Slow
Keep Max speed to 80km/hr
Reduce your transport CO2 by one Tonne
The average car in Ireland produces 3 tonnes CO2 every year
1400 Drivers have pledged to keep to 80km/hr as their top speed and cut their CO2 emissions by a third.
Switch to 100% Renewable
Reduce your CO2 home consumption by one Tonne
Save hundreds by switching to 100% renewable electricity provider
The average house creates 1 tonne CO2/yr from electricity.
Grow
Plant 100 seeds this autumn
100 trees100 years
100 tonnes
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Collect and grow 100 seeds and we will plant them on in our nursery after the first year and distribute them for planting. The average native tree sequesters one tonne of CO2 in its one hundred year life.
All over Ireland people have pledged to keep to
80km/hr
as their top speed to combat climate change.
A National survey commissioned by 80 MAX found that 43% of people in Ireland support cutting the top speed limit to 80km/hr to cut greenhouse gas emissions, provide cleaner air and safer roads.
What happens when you slow down to 80 km/hr as your top speed?
Immediately you will dramatically cut your emissions and fuel consumption:
Wind resistance intensifies the faster you go, so you need more and more fuel for higher. So you get a third less distance driving at 120km/hr than at 80km/hr. This is the same for electric cars also.
Air quality will improve:
Transport has important effects on air quality. Road traffic is connected to the emissions of PM10 (particle matter) and NOx (nitrogen oxides). As with CO2, the emission of these particulates will decrease when a lower speed is established. However, there will be an even greater decrease than for CO2. The reason for this is that at higher speeds and larger driving dynamics the emission of PM10 and NOx increase faster than fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The Constant Travel Time Budget:
No time is lost in the longterm as it is a fact that we have a natural built in budget for the amount of time we are prepared to spend travelling. We may be travelling far faster but we are still spending the same time travelling daily. This has not changed since they first started measuring back in the 1950s, even though we are travelling far faster.
In the longterm you will not only save money and cut emissions but you will also cut the distances you travel. This is due to the phenomenon known as The Constant Travel Time Budget. This simply means that we are prepared to only spend a certain amount of time in our day travelling. Averaged over the whole population it works out at around 65 minutes per day. With all the extra speed we have achieved, we still spend the same amount of time travelling as we did in the 1950s.
So we may assume that if we cut our speed to a max of 80km/hr we will also cut our distances travelled. This will all be done unconsciously and with no effort.
The rise of better and faster means of transport has only resulted in covering longer distances and making more journeys rather than a decrease in time spent on travelling. We can never save the time we hoped to by travelling faster.
Smoother driving
With everyone's top speed at 80km/hr we will have smoother driving, less loss of power through acceleration and braking and a more relaxed driver at the end of the journey. The emotional triggers for feelings of inadequacy or competitiveness when someone passes you out are gone.
back window car sticker
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