Found out my 6 mile drive to the gym pumps out more CO2 than I thought, and it's all because of one cold start

Phoenix Hall · 2026-10-10T00:45:05.155784+00:00

I read a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists last month that said a car's first few minutes of driving burn way more fuel because the engine runs rich until it warms up. That means my short trips around town are actually worse per mile than a long highway haul, and I never thought about it that way. So now I'm trying to bike the 2 miles to the store instead of driving, mostly because cold starts are just wasteful. Has anyone actually tracked how much they cut back by swapping short car trips?

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Found out my 6 mile drive to the gym pumps out more CO2 than I thought, and it's all because of one cold start | Climate Action - Babble Community