• Everybody’s talking

about transport: can

you guess why?

• Have a quick look at

some of the reasons
why we think people are
doing a lot of talking
about transport:
• Transport in Australia accounts for 16% of our national
greenhouse gas emissions. Along with energy and
agriculture, it is one of the highest causes of greenhouse
gas emissions.

• Nearly half of the transport emissions in Australia are

attributed to cars.
• We know that Australia
is a big country and that
it can be hard to get
around. But how many
cars per person do we
really need?

• That’s right; Australia

has lots and lots of
cars, too many cars.
For every 1000 people
in Australia, there are
619 cars!
• Of course we can’t drive all these cars at the same
time, so what is the problem you ask?

• Well, the problem is that all these cars require

petrol to get them moving. And the emissions
caused by burning petrol for moving cars is one of
the big contributors to climate change.

• Cars burn half the world’s oil and account for 6% of

all global warming pollution.
• But we need cars, right?
Hmmm, maybe not so
much. Think about this:

• Of the 12 million trips made

each day in Melbourne,
including walking and
cycling, 83% are made by
car.

• 40% of car trips in

metropolitan Melbourne are
less than 2km, and almost
two-thirds less than 5km.
• Sometimes using the
car is necessary. If you
have lots of shopping to
do and people to pick
up on the way, then you
need your car.

• But can you plan your

trip so that you take the
most energy efficient
route and use the least
emissions?
• Car use is the major contributor to Melbourne’s
worsening traffic congestion. In the past,
governments have built more roads to ‘solve’
congestion or traffic jams. This hasn’t really solved
anything and in many cases, has actually made traffic
congestion worse.

• Imagine what a difference it would make if we all took

the bus or train instead.
Cars and roads
• What about walking? Consider these statistics from a
number-crunching scientist: if everyone walked for
half an hour instead of driving:

– Melburnians would reduce polluting emissions each year by

860,000 tonnes.
– Melburnians would save 330 million litres of fuel and pocket a
$495 million saving.
– Melburnians would collectively lose 20 million kilograms. Can
you imagine how many MCG's worth of blubber that is?

• It doesn’t need to just be walking: there are other

types of transport that need human power instead of
polluting power.
• What about flying? Everyone is
flying all over the world, busily
going places that only 50 years
ago would have been virtually
impossible.

• Heard of the term “food miles”

where you measure the distance
your food has to travel to get to
you? Well, now there are also
“love miles”, the distance you
have to travel to visit loved ones
in other parts of the country or
world. What impact do our “love
miles” have on our planet?
• Flying is currently
responsible for only a
small proportion of
greenhouse gas
emissions; around 2
per cent in Australia.

• It doesn’t sound like

much, but with more
and more people flying
for business, holidays
and loved ones, this
level will only keep
rising.
• There are lots of people
working hard and
thinking about the
problems of transport.

• But the reality is that the

easiest and best thing
all of us can do is to
start changing the way
we travel.
• So what can you
do?

• Start by thinking
about what you
would most like to
see happen: what
would that be? How
do you think you go
about making that
happen? What little
things could you do
in a little way
everyday to help you
reach that goal?
• Using the Cool
Green Hero
Checklist that we
have provided, or
using one that you
have created
yourself, think up at
least two actions
around transport that
will help our
environment and that
you think you can
achieve within the
next six months.
• Write down a few
sentences for each cool
green action that describes
what you hope to do.

• If you’re stuck for ideas,

have a look at some of the
tips on the next slide that
we have tried and had
success with.
 Tips for Transport
• Walk or ride your bike for the short trips.
• Use public transport for the longer ones.
• Carpool where you can.
• Try to fly less, and when you do always try to offset your flights’
emissions.
• Plan your trips in the car – know where you’re going and you’ll save
energy.
• Encourage your driver to drive efficiently – efficient driving saves
loads of energy.
• If you can, make your next car a small car or an efficient one, like a
hybrid.
• For more tips and more information on energy visit the Our Cool
School site.
• Did we forget any? Send us your tips and we’ll post them on the
Our Cool School website!