The author’s family has planned four road or rail trips to New England, where he’s from, and one air trip to see his wife’s parents in California from November to February. A single long-haul air trip creates “three tons of carbon dioxide” (74), so the author convinces his wife to cancel their trip to California. She does so, and her mother quickly understands. She then tells him to call his mother, but he puts it off.

Phase two of his project involves not using carbon-producing transportation. He and his family not only don’t use cars, trains, or planes, but they also don’t use taxis, buses, subways, or elevators. He believes that getting away from mechanized transportation might enhance his quality of life, and he gets his old mountain bike refurbished and tuned up. His wife gets her silver Prada sneakers out of the closet and buys Converse sneakers for the 40-block trip to work (and the same trip home). She refuses to let him ride his bike in Midtown, the site of an earlier accident he had.

Beavan explains that greenhouse gases allow us to live on Earth because they keep our planet at a livable temperature. However, while some naturally occurring gases such as oxygen and nitrogen do not warm up the planet, other gases such as carbon dioxide do, as they trap the heat from the sun, creating the greenhouse effect.