A key part of me reducing my carbon footprint and living an EcoLife is to reduce my fossil fuel consumption to the lowest possible level and strive for zero fossil fuel use.
I started to plan my reduction of fossil fuel by analyzing what parts of my daily activities use fossil fuel. When I started planning, I used fossil fuel:
Lets take these activities one at a time.
I used to have two cars. I realized this was unnecessary for me and I sold one car. My current vehicle is a 2004 Toyota Prius which is a parallel hybird vehicle. In addition to the vehicle achieving very low fuel consumption for the average driver, I am using hypermiling techniques that I learned from CleanMPG.com.
Since 1995, I have been keeping track of my vehicle mileage. Take a look at my mileage database.
In addition to hypermiling, I am an avid EcoDriver. Please read my EcoDriving paper for more information.
Since I live in Ontario, Canada, heating a home is usually a major use of fossil fuel and a major expense.
Originally I was burning wood and using propane for home heat. Now, instead of using propane, natural gas, home heating oil or electricity for home heating, I am burning corn which is considered carbon neutral. I still burn a small amount of wood when it gets so cold that the corn stove needs some help or when the corn stove needs to be shutdown for cleaning.
I have over an acre of lawn where my house is located. I used to think that it was necessary to have a gas burning lawn tractor to cut this much grass. I had a John Deere lawn tractor.
In the summer of 2008, I noticed a number of cordless battery-powered lawn mowers with interchangeable batteries on the market. This summer (2009), I plan to sell my fossil fuel burning lawn tractor and mow my lawn using only battery power.
June 27, 2009 update. I have sold my John Deere riding lawn tractor and purchased a Neuton CE6 battery electric lawn mower. I am very happy with this lawn mower and it has exceeded my expectations.