Green Modes of Transportation in Today’s World

In this day and age, finding green modes of transportation is not always a simple task. Due to the extreme dependency we seem to have on oil and other non-renewable sources of energy and fuel, green can at times seem hard to come by. That is…unless you know where to look. To make it easy, here are six green modes of transportation. Some are a little more biofriendly than others, but take your pick. Anyone of them will do and in fact, you can even opt for more than one, should you so choose.

Foot-powered: Foot-powered transportation is one of the most simple and greenest ways to get around. It’s also been around the longest. People can walk, jog, or run almost anywhere they want to go. Add a few wheels and they can skate, skateboard or use a scooter to get even further. All of this through the simple use of one’s own feet and legs.

Pedal-powered: The next step up from foot-power is pedal-power. Bicycles offer another green mode of transportation. Like foot-power, pedal-power is also a way for people to get a little exercise and make their way around town without having to use any gasoline or add more harmful emissions into the environment.

Solar-powered: Solar-powered transportation comes in many different types and forms. There are electric vehicles that do not require gasoline or diesel to run, but can use solar power in the battery recharging process . There are also hybrid vehicles using a combination of fuel and energy. To make these vehicles a little bit greener, all owners need to do is recharge using a renewable energy source like solar. Even better is the solar-powered vehicle which gets its power directly from the sun’s rays.

Then there’s the Nigerian student who took a VW Beetle, some scrap parts donated by family and friends, and converted it into a solar- AND wind-powered off-road vehicle. Now that’s pretty cool!

It is not just personal vehicle either, trains and buses can be powered by solar and other types of renewable energy as well.

Biofuel-powered: Some personal vehicles, buses, planes and other types of public transportation have opted to switch to using biofuels as a primary source of power. Biofuels can be made from a variety of sources including cellulose, vegetable oil, algae, corn, sugar cane, soy, switchgrass, tobacco, methane and miscellaneous forms of waste.

In some vehicles, owners already have the option of switching from regular gasoline over to an ethanol blend, E85. At least it’s a start. Companies like Boeing and others have been looking to biofuels to play an intrinsic role in the future of the industry. The U.S. military has also been looking to biofuels over the past few years to help power its vehicles, ships and aircraft.

So, what is your favorite green mode of transportation in today’s modern world?

Green transportation image by Paul Krueger, walk in the woods and jogging images by Stephane Mignon, running on the beach image by Frank Juarez, skating image by markheybo, skateboarding image by Richard Heaven, scooter image by Alexis Nyal, bike ride image by Bob Mical, cycle image by Curtis Palmer, bike down the mountain image by Francois Schnell and biogas tour bus by Biogastour 2013 – all via Flickr Creative Commons license. Solar and wind powered vehicle image from FastCoEXIST.