What is the SEC and How is it Related to the Environment?
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How does the SEC, otherwise known as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, help the United States regulate environmental policies?
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How to Reduce the Impact of Commuting
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In the U.S., commuting is a normal part of everyday life for the majority of Americans – as the average person drives 40 miles per day for simple tasks such as to go shopping, recreational activities, and even commuting to work and school.
Commuting not only creates a mental and physical toll on commuters across the country, but it is one of the reasons why greenhouse gas emissions in the United States remain so high – as transportation accounts for 28% of all GHG emissions.
In this article, we’ll break down the impact of commuting, ways we could reduce the negative consequences of commuting, and alternatives to commuting.
What is commuting?
Commuting refers to traveling from one place to another, often on a daily basis – such as going from your house to school or work everyday.
Although commuting in the U.S. is mostly done by car, commuting can involve various modes of transportation – such as by taking the bus, bike riding, or most common in other big cities: using the metro or subway.
“ For many people, commuting is the worst part of the day, and policies that can make commuting shorter and more convenient would be a straightforward way to reduce minor but widespread suffering. – (Nassim Nicholas Taleb). ”
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Commuting can look different depending on a person and their lifestyle. For example, many people in the New England area will opt for commuter trains to get to work everyday – whereas people residing in Los Angeles will often spend their commute in a car.
What are the pros and cons of long-term commuting?
As with anything in life, there are pros and cons to commuting – as listed below:
Pros of commuting
- Chance to Socialize – Whether it’s by catching up on your missed messages or to make friends with the person sitting next to you, commuting can be a way to get your socialization in for the day.
- Extra Time to Relax – If you’re not driving and commuting by train, you can spend the time commuting taking an extra nap.
- Prepare for the Day Ahead – The extra time while commuting via public transport can allot you the extra time to finish a homework assignment, study for a text, or prepare for a meeting.
Cons of commuting
- Cost – Commuting isn’t cheap in any sense of the word. Whether it’s the need to fill up your car with gas more often than you would if you weren’t commuting, or the need to pay for a monthly public transportation subscription – commuting is expensive. This cost is prevalent in congested cities such as San Francisco, where annual commuting costs come out to a whopping $12,650.66 every year on commuting alone.
- Time – When driving, there is next to little that you can do to be productive – besides having the radio on or listening to a podcast. On a train, you can read, get homework done, or catch up on text messages – but your comfortability to complete these tasks will still be compromised while on public transportation. As a whole, commuting takes away large chunks of time from your day – as the average American spends at least 30 minutes one way commuting every day. (as 55% of U.K. residents spend at least 30 minutes commuting every day).
- Long-Term Fatigue – Spending hours commuting can take a toll on your mental and physical health, and as a whole – can make it more challenging to show up and be fully present at work or school.
Remember, the word “commuting” is a loaded one – as it often insinuates that there is a long distance and time commitment to get from one place to another. However, it is important to remember that commuting can also refer to short journeys – which although smaller, can still create a negative effect on the individual and society as a whole.
Why is commuting so problematic in the U.S.?
As the average American commute is almost 30 minutes one way, with around 10% of commutes in the U.S. being longer than an hour each way – the impact of commuting on both people and the planet is substantial.
Unfortunately, the reasoning behind this uptick in commuting in the U.S. is a result of urban sprawl and the increase in cost of living in the country – as many people have been forced to move out of urban areas to more remote locations, which in turn, makes the distance to travel to school or work longer.
Long car commuting specifically impacts Americans and their health as commuting by car can increase the risk of the following diseases and disorders:
- Obesity due to lack of movement while commuting
- Type 2 diabetes from the sedentary nature of commuting
- Cardiovascular diseases as commuting can cause excessive stress
In addition to this, the mass majority of Americans commuting creates a significant impact on the planet – specifically, as it worsens air pollution and contributes to excess GHG emissions.
The table below will depict various average commuting time and how they can contribute to excess greenhouse gas emissions under the following assumptions:
Average Commute Distances:
- U.S. – Approximately 16 miles one-way
- U.K. – Approximately 15 miles one-way
Annual Workdays: 260 days (5 days a week for 52 weeks)
Fuel Efficiencies:
- U.S. – 25 miles per gallon (MPG)
- U.K. – 30 miles per gallon (MPG)
- 8.89 kg CO₂ per gallon of gasoline (EPA estimate)
| Country | Average One-Way Commute Time (minutes) | Average One-Way Commute Distance (miles) | Daily Round-Trip Distance (miles) | Annual Distance (miles) | Fuel Efficiency (MPG) | Annual Fuel Consumption (gallons) | Annual Fuel Consumption (liters) | Annual CO₂ Emissions (kgCO₂e) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 27.6 | 16 | 32 | 8,320 | 25 | 333 | 1,261 | 2,957 |
| United Kingdom | 30 | 15 | 30 | 7,800 | 30 | 260 | 1,182 | 2,311 |
Overall, commuting in the U.S. is on the rise – which means that our individual health and the excess emissions created by commuting will only continue to worsen unless we take serious action to adjust our daily commuting habits.
What are the negative impacts of commuting?
There are several negative effects of commuting, such as how commuting can be draining mentally, contribute to lack of movement and affect your physical health, deteriorating air quality, and excess GHG emissions.
Here’s a full breakdown on the negative impacts of commuting:
Mental Toll
Commuting is a mental marathon, as it contributes to long-term and unpredictable stress – such as with the uncertainty of traffic, potentially being late, and losing out on time to spend with friends, family, enjoying hobbies, or even just relaxing.
This is also due to the fact that sitting in traffic often elicits a lack of control, which can be mentally overwhelming – especially if you’re exposed to such conditions while commuting everyday.
Furthermore, commuting can disrupt work-life balance and solo commuting can exacerbate loneliness – as social interactions are limited when spending so much time alone in a car.
Physical Toll
Commuting can have an impact on our physical health, too – such as how commuting contributes to the following:
- Sedentary Lifestyle – Commuting, especially in countries like the U.S., can involve sitting for an extended period of time – contributing to obesity and cardiovascular disease.
- Poor Posture – In the same way humans aren’t made to sit upright on long-haul flights for hours on end, long-term commuting with cramped seating could spur chronic back, neck, or shoulder pain.
- Difficulties Sleeping – Oftentimes, knowing we have to wake up early the next day could psych us out and disrupt our usual sleeping patterns – leading a lack of sleep, compromised immune systems, and overall fatigue: all of which make it harder to get through the day.
Air Pollution
Commuting, specifically by car, contributes to fine particle matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 – both of which can aggravate asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory health issues.
Furthermore, traffic congestion can contribute to high levels of NOx, which harm both human health and our surrounding ecosystems.
As a result, the combination of vehicle emissions and pollutants from industrial processes, urban smog can prevail in regions with excessive commuting – ultimately reducing surrounding air quality in metropolitan areas.
GHG Emissions
One of the main impacts of commuting includes the excess GHG, carbon dioxide, and methane emissions which are created from excessive car travel.
As millions of people commute everyday worldwide, with over half of global commutes being by car, the amount of methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide released daily on a global scale results in an unprecedented carbon footprint – which will only grow more difficult to reduce as commuting habits continue to increase.
Overall, commuting takes a toll on our health as well as the planet’s – making it challenging to find effective solutions to reduce the current global impact of commuting, as it has become a worldwide, normalized practice where the long-term effects have gone unnoticed until climate change.
How can we reduce the impact of commuting?
Reducing the negative impacts of commuting will require a wide variety of solutions working in conjunction with one another – such as via sustainable urban planning, greater investment in public transportation, and encouraging remote or hybrid work models.
Remember, working to address the harmful repercussions of commuting will not only help reduce the current environmental impact of commuting – but will help to improve society, as it will help to address various underlying physical and mental health issues.
“ It must be awfully frustrating to get a small raise at work and then have it all eaten by a higher cost of commuting. – (Ben Bernanke, Former Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States). ”
Here are some of the ways we could work to reduce the impact of commuting:
- Sustainable Urban Planning – One way to reduce the impact of commuting is to create more walkable and bike-friendly urban areas – such as how Paris has made an effort to make the city more bikeable and encourage people to avoid using cars to get around the city. As a whole, sustainable urban planning can help people to walk and bike more, improve air quality, and ultimately reduce the greenhouse gas emissions created by commuting via gasoline powered vehicles.
- Invest in Public Transportation – Major metropolitan cities in the world, such as Los Angeles, have made it continuously difficult for people to get around in a timely and affordable manner without owning a personal vehicle. While California will ban the purchase of new gasoline powered vehicles from 2035 onward, it still won’t provide residents of areas like L.A. with mass public transit that would help mitigate excessive driving and GHG emissions.
- Encourage Remote Working – Although this remains a heavily debated topic on whether or not people should return to the office, the truth is that remote working could help to reduce your employees carbon footprint – especially as they won’t need to commute to the office every day.
What are some alternatives to commuting via gasoline powered vehicles?
Remember, there are several alternative solutions to get to work or school without taking a car, such as via:
- Train
- Electric Vehicles (EVs)
- Bus
- Walk
- Bike
Ultimately, the impact of commuting is conspicuous, but as we inch towards a sustainably aware society – there will continue to be numerous alternatives to commuting that we can all use to help reduce the current repercussions of commuting.
What about Greenly?
If reading this article on how to reduce the impact of commuting has inspired you to consider your company’s own carbon footprint, Greenly can help.
At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance on how to reduce emissions, optimize energy efficiency, and more to help you get started on your climate journey.
Learn more about Greenly’s carbon management platform here.
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Sources
Bureau of Transportation Statistics https://www.bts.gov/statistical-products/surveys/national-household-travel-survey-daily-travel-quick-facts
EPA https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Smart-PA https://smart-pa.com/blog/the-real-impact-of-commuting
AZ Quotes https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/commuting.html
Bank Rate https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/commuting-facts-statistics/
SF Gate https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-most-expensive-commute-18335172.php
JMF https://www.jmfassociates.co.uk/news/news/how-long-is-the-average-commute
Travel to work, England and Wales: Census 2021 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/traveltoworkenglandandwales/census2021
NIH https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9074865
Issues https://issues.org/realnumbers-22/
USA Streets Blog https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/08/15/how-car-commutes-are-making-americans-sick
Centre For Cities https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/is-the-commute-the-reason-why-london-workers-are-reluctant-to-return-to-the-office
The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/28/seven-uk-workers-talk-about-travelling-work-commute-covid-pandemic
EEA https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/emissions-of-air-pollutants-from
Eurek Alert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1038050
Paris.Fr https://www.paris.fr/en/pages/a-new-cycling-plan-for-a-100-bikeable-city-28350
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