Hybrid Car | GoLoCo

(Adapted from the December 2002 MIP&L Newsletter)

You've probably heard about this "What Would Jesus Drive" campaign lately. It's in magazines, on the Internet and Jay Leno has even joked about it in his Tonight Show monologue.

The campaign is a joint effort of the National Council of Churches (NCC) and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). They are running television advertisements that urge consumers to stop driving sport-utility vehicles (or SUVs) and to start driving more fuel-efficient vehicles. The basic idea is that Jesus would drive a cleaner vehicle if he were on earth today. Perhaps Jesus would even choose a hybrid car; that is, a car with a conventional engine and an electric motor. These cars are very fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly. In addition to wonderful mileage (50-75 mph), they produce less Carbon Dioxide and produce far lower Hydro Carbon and Nitrous Oxide emissions than a conventional car.

Many interfaith environmentalists in Massachusetts have made this choice to drive a hybrid vehicle. To give just one example - near and dear to MIP&L - Steve MacAusland (Co-Founder of MIP&L) drives a Honda Insight. Says MacAusland, "Frankly, I don't think Jesus would drive a car at all. He would probably prefer public transportation or a good pair of Birkenstocks, but for those of us who need to travel considerable distances, a hybrid is an acceptable second choice."

Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light is working to secure a special deal, allowing members to purchase hybrid vehicles at up to a thousand dollars off the sticker price! If you are interested, please contact the office at 1-800-406-5374 or e-mail MIP&L.

Some informative links:

How Hybrid Cars Work
Do Hybrid Cars Make Sense For You?
Hybrid Cars on the Rise
Hybrid Cars and Green Diesels
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars
Christian Science Monitor editorial on hybrids
"What Would Jesus Drive" site
Tax Incentives - extended!
EPA's Fuel Economy Site

GoLoco is a service that helps people and communities create their own personal public transportation network. Your cars, your friends, your trips, your expenses - GoLoco puts them all together for a seamless way to share travel and expenses.

How does it work?

1. Post some trips - want to go to the game? shopping? daily commute? out of town?
2. Invite your your friends, colleagues, and classmates to join GoLoco.
3. View profiles of people whose trips match your own. Decide if you'd like to travel with them.
4. Accept a trip as is, or negotiate changes online.
5. Meet up at a specific location and time.

Facts to Prompt Action:

1. Our cars cost us $0.53 per mile. (US DOT, 2003)
2. We spend over 18% of total household expenditures annually for transportation, reported as nearly $8,000/hours in 2002. (US DOT)
3. 20% of our CO2 emissions is from driving our cars. (DOE)
4. 88% of us commute in a car, and 75.7% of us do it by ourselves.