A typical driver that can learn to live car-free will save be-


tween $6,967 and $11,599 each year in car ownership costs. ~ AAA.com


much of the time can save us money, reduce stress and improve our health.


3. Choosing a Car We know two primary facts about cars:


They are expensive and those with inter- nal combustion engines pollute during operation. Still, many of us need one. Reducing the total impact and burden of owning a car can be as simple as prioritizing fuel efficiency. It helps that


fuel-sippers now come in more sizes than just small, yet small subcompacts remain a good place to start our research because of their budget-friendly prices and high fuel economy. A subcompact that averages 32 miles per gallon (mpg) and has a sticker price below $15,000 can save us so much money compared with a top-selling com- pact SUV—upwards of $16,000 over five years, according to Edmunds.com—that if we need a larger vehicle on occasion, we can more easily afford to rent one. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), both small and midsized, can be an even better choice, averaging 41 mpg. Cost comparisons show that an HEV can save a heavily travelling city driver nearly $1,000 in fuel costs annually versus a comparably sized conventional gasoline-powered car. Although a 2014 midsized HEV has an average suggested retail price of $28,431, the category has been around long enough to create a market in previously owned vehicles. A used hybrid that is just two years old can cost up to 25 percent less than a new one.


By the Numbers


1 The average dollar cost to fully recharge a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle battery.


3 The factor by which occupied liv- ing space per household member has increased in the last 60 years.


8 The percentage of goods sold in the U.S. in 1960 that were foreign made.


377 The number of hours the av- erage American needs to work each year in order to own and operate a car, equivalent to 9.4 standard work weeks.


13,000 The dollars a person re- quires annually to treat Type 2 diabe- tes, a preventable, diet-related disease.


Sources: Go Green, Spend Less, Live Better, by Crissy Trask; In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan


we recycle tons (literally)


appliances come with tons of packaging, which usually ends up in a landfill. But at Warners’ Stellian, we’re working to change that.


we recycle nearly all the packaging of appliances we ship, including Styrofoam.


Maple Grove • Coon Rapids • Edina • St. Paul Apple Valley • Woodbury • Mpls. Outlet • Rochester


natural awakenings April 2014 17


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