26th October 2011

Three Car-Free Days Planned in Response to the Tauranga Oil Spill, Over the Next Three Months

Could you forget fossil fueled transport for one day?

This Sunday marks the first of Three Car Free Days being launched this year in what's being labelled a 'positive, proactive response' to the Tauranga oil spill currently happening off the east coast of New Zealand.

Organiser Charlotte Squire, Editor of the good news website Happyzine says Car Free Days are a great way to quickly reduce oil consumption, and can be an “ode to the people of Tauranga” during a challenging time for their community.

Squire says going car free can mean spending more time with loved ones, getting to know our neighbours and slowing down enough to relax and enjoy the 'good life'. This Sunday, she's planning to enjoy a long lunch with friends who live within a walkable distance.

“If it's a fine day we'll take a picnic to the local community organic gardens, if it's raining, we'll dine on the deck.”

She says that in cutting back on oil usage, people will cut back on carbon emissions. She asks people to email in the amount of kilometres that they don't drive and include information about the kind of fossil fuels they're avoiding using this Sunday.

“Earlier this year the Kapiti Coast City Council (North Island, New Zealand) ran the Greenest Street challenge. Te Roto Street won it and the number one reason was that they introduced Car-Less days – one day per week. They kept records and found that they collectively saved $11,333 in fuel costs over one year, which equated to a reduction in CO2 of 13,022,000 grams. Imagine the difference we could make if hundreds, or even thousands of people took three days out before the end of this year to slow down and go Car Free.”

Charlotte suggests the following activities for car free days: “Gardening, baking, bottling, jam making, neighbourly chats, taking the kids fishing at the closest river or beach, reading, leisurely strolls around the neighbourhood, cycling, morning and afternoon teas with friends, long over due house maintenance, long chats about stuff we’ve been waiting to find the time to chat about, shooting some hoops, teaching the kids the games you used to play, indulging in a spot of ping-pong, yoga, meditation. The options are bountiful, simple, grounding, and potentially highly pleasing.”

Important information:

The Three Car Free Days are scheduled for the end of each month (apart from December) – Sunday 30th October, Sunday 27th November and Sunday 18th December.

Car Free people are encouraged to pre-plan so that they combine several errands into one car trip during the days before Car Free Sunday and enjoy on the day.

You can email the amount of kilometres you didn't drive (including information about the kind of fuel you use e.g. diesel or petrol) to: charlotte@happyzine.co.nz. Sustainability Consultant David Laing is on hand to calculate CO2 emissions saved.

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ENDS

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