Drive and Relax!
by Shervin Saedinia
If you’re one of those people that tailgate others for the sole purpose of just getting to your destination faster, you might get there sooner but you’ll burn through something like 33% more gas on the freeway. You know that the difference is less than five minutes and you know you’re putting others at risk, but you couldn’t care less. You’re too busy trying to show off your BMW or Mercedes Benz and get to the stoplight sooner. Reminds me of those people who hit the gas hard at a light and are forced to stop at the next light, while you move from light to light steadily. They are nincompoops who must like to waste their gas.
But we’re not just talking about cars! The shipping company Maersk decided they should reduce their travelling speed for a few good reasons:
In a global culture dominated by speed, from overnight package delivery to bullet trains to fast-cash withdrawals, the company has seized on a sales pitch that may startle some hard-driving corporate customers: Slow is better.
By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
“The previous focus has been on ‘What will it cost?’ and ‘Get it to me as fast as possible,’ ” said Soren Stig Nielsen, Maersk’s director of environmental sustainability, who noted that the practice began in 2008, when oil prices jumped to $145 a barrel.
See? If big companies get it, why don’t you? Whether you’re on the road or on the water, a steady pace is the way to go.
But literally, it is the way to go.
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