Gas Prices and the Well of Human Ingenuity

You can count me among the people who are happy that gas prices have gone up. Change is a difficult thing for many of us, and often we need a good push. And here's the thing: A lot of people may not be as screwed as they think they are.

Some people want to drill more oil wells, but we are neglecting the most promising well there is: Human Ingenuity.

A friend of mine has decided to carpool with a co-worker in light of skyrocketing gas prices. As a result, she is now saving about 40% on gas (assuming she still runs errands on her own and has to go slightly out of her way to pick up her co-worker, so she won't reduce her gas bill quite by half). Over the past year, gas prices have risen about 30%. So putting it all together, she's saving 40% while the price has gone up 30%--she's actually better off now than she was a year ago! Add a 2nd or 3rd person to that carpool, and you have a tremendous cost savings, not to mention less emissions into the environment.

I know that some people will slip through the cracks no matter what, but the environment is taking a beating, and that is not acceptable, either. A change is needed. People have options. I really don't want to hear any bitching until people have tried the following:

• Use public transportation
• Drive more fuel efficient cars
• Carpool
• Drive less overall (consolidate your trips, walk, bicycle)
• Drive more efficiently. From the link: "Speeding, rapid acceleration and braking" can impact your fuel efficiency by as much as 33% (you can potentially offset the rising cost of fuel just by this one change alone!) Also: "You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas. "
• Don't run the a/c or carry unnecessary cargo.
• Keep your vehicle well-tuned and in good condition (see the above link, as well)

In a longer term view, people can consider these things when they choose a place to live: Can you walk to the grocery store? Is the commute to work short? Is there public transportation available? Is there a movement to bring public transportation to your neighborhood in the near future (and can you support that movement)?

You may improve your health, improve relationships with people, save the environment and reduce fuel expenditures. You may even end up--as my friend above--better off than you are now. She would never have considered carpooling if prices had remained low, but now that she has, she is better off financially and actually has more time to spend with someone rather than driving alone.

Many of the great things we can do for the environment do not even involve significant changes to our lives. We are so inefficient that it is actually quite easy to dramatically reduce our energy consumption with a few small but substantial changes.