I think that one way we can reduce our carbon footprints is to replace many of the automobiles we have on today's roads with cleaner, self-driving electric cars. Although it is a large investment, especially for the lower-class, an electric car can pay for itself after approximately 14-16 years. Electric vehicles have been shown to have higher efficiency than traditional, gas-powered vehicles. The EPA has calculated that some electric vehicles can have up to 100MPGe---nearly four times the MPG of the average non-electric car. In addition to being having electric cars on the streets, I believe that self-driving cars should also be put on the streets once given a higher safety approval rating because an article from Time reports that self-driving automobiles can reduce energy consumption in transportation by up to 90%. However, it also says that having easily-accessible self-driving cars could make people want to travel more and increase the energy consumption by 200%! Therefore, I think that we need to be smarter in the ways that reduce our energy consumption. I feel like  carpooling with others in self-driving electric cars can really help reduce our carbon footprints. Often, the problem with Uber, Lyft, and other taxi-like companies is that the drivers spend time and energy driving around waiting to give a ride. Self-driving cars should be able to park near charging stations until needed.
https://www.energysage.com/electric-veh … al-impact/
http://time.com/4476614/self-driving-cars-environment/