As a self proclaimed and practicing Green Integrated Architecture firm, we follow a guideline of reducing our carbon footprint by means of finding innovative methods of construction and design. These methods resonate in daily conversation as well as the habits of the design-build team itself. One particular focus of our carbon reduction is the very means by which each individual commutes. The modes are multiple: biking, public transportation, and telecommuting.

There are thirteen people employed full-time at Case. If we all drove to work on a daily basis, this would equate to a large amount of CO2 output.

Here is a break-down:
320 miles of travel to & from work = 0.178 metric tonnes of CO2 per day

That's a large quantity of greenhouse gases when multiplied throughout the year. We work to lighten this load through alternatives to driving. Three of us are consistent bikers, dedicated to riding the whole year through. There are an additional four who bike a minimum of two times a week, and supplement with public transportation whenever possible.

Recalculating the CO2 output with alternate means of commuting:
180 miles by car = 0.100 CO2 /day
55 miles by public transportation = 0.007 CO2 /day
85 miles by bicycle = ~0.000 CO2 /day

A new total of ~0.107 CO2 per day, a net reduction of 0.071 metric tonnes of CO2.

These significant changes to our forms of transportation continue to improve our lives and the communities through which we travel. This is a brief introduction to 'greener' ways of commuting. In the coming weeks, please join me as I explore the exciting varieties of travel available to all of us. Stay tuned.

Here’s a photo of the new Office Truck - a 7-speed electric bike from Electric Bikes NW. It’ll do nearly 20 mph on the flat without pedaling, and, with a rack that holds 100 lbs, it carries a lot of stuff. It’s handy for carrying vegetables from the New Holly CSA garden, or a half-dozen growlers from the Georgetown Brewery.

It just happened this way. Of the three bicycles that are consistently ridden to our office in Columbia City, not one of them is normal.



From foreground to background:
Tony's highly customized E-Bike- an Unmarked Police Vehicle
Tim's vintage folding Marlboro bike- I didn't do the smoking, I got it on Craigslist.
Carl's ultra fast recumbent- His bike computer measures speed in Astronomical Units

Side note: To calculate petrol cost savings and to monitor your reduction in CO2 output from bike commuting check out this neat calculator from the bike geek.