Last week, after the well-intentioned but ill-conceived one day gasoline purchase boycott, I challenged the RK community to take a shot at consuming less gasoline for a week. A few people said they were up for the challenge, one flat out said no, and most were quiet.For those of you who are giving it a shot - this is a reminder. And for everyone else, an open invite to get involved.
I've come to see this as an experiment as much as a challenge. What does it take for a person to consume less gasoline? Is it easy to find alternatives? Perhaps costly or timeconsuming? Or maybe uncomfortable or even impossible.
If you live in a area with public transportation - try taking it, even if just for one day out of the week. Let us know what you thought of the experience.
If you're not near public transportation, check into carpool opportunities. Can you share a ride with co-workers? Or share with a neighbor who works relatively close to your place of work? Even if you don't end up carpooling, what was the attitude of the people you approached or were there simply no carpool possibilities? And if you do try carpooling - how was it?
Finally, for those who have no shot at public transportation, carpooling, or even working from home, try driving in a manner that uses less gasoline. Driving slower will save gasoline but will it drive you (and other drivers) crazy? Give it a try and let us know if you could tolerate driving slower for the long haul. Do a week's worth of errands all at once (as opposed to multiple trips) and/or go later at night (to avoid traffic jams at rush hour). Or just check your car's tire pressures to make sure they are properly inflated.
There are many ways to get involved and I'm looking forward to hearing the experiences of those who do give it a try.
By the way, EIA has a comment on the one-day "don't buy gas" silliness (bolding added by me for emphasis):
What can consumers do to help lower gasoline prices? What about boycotts?
Yesterday (May 15), some consumers heeded a call spread through the Internet to not buy gas that day. However, if these consumers simply shift their gasoline purchases to a different day, while continuing to use the same amount of fuel, no reduction in actual consumption of gasoline will have occurred. While EIA "neither formulates nor advocates any policy conclusions," (see this statement on EIA's independence), if prices are high due to supply and demand factors, and consumers cannot directly increase supply, reducing demand is left as the main option for consumers.
Exactly what I've been saying.
And I'm sure once you're in Arlington you'll be able to save plenty.
I could walk to the closest Kroger...I do sometimes. I don't get STUCK in traffic very often at all and I can pick 1 day a week USUALLY to NOT drive. I don't spend much on gas at all.
When I do buy gas I nearly freak at the cost. I feel for you guys up there STUCK in traffic w/ NO mountains to look at. Sad for you!
HERE, being retired, I can choose to make all my trips on 1 day, walk where I want, if I want. BUT if I drive 2 minutes I can see the Peaks of Otter...2 unbelievably amazing mountains that many of you, hopefully, have seen. I can drive 30 minutes and be at Smith Mountain Lake or the National D-Day Memorial. I can be in Charlottesville in 1 hour and Roanoke in 50 minutes and your neck of the woods in 3 1/2 hours...barring traffic.
I'll stay here...Jerry Falwell and Liberty University not withstanding...I LOVE the mountains and the lake and Central VA!
I hope you guys DO walk to places up there because it's been my experience that it's usually a 45 minute trip to most grocery stores etc. Bleh.
We also bought a new efficient heat pump and back up gas furnace, and got new insulated windows. The above-mentioned resulted in considerable sacrifice.
We have changed many of our bulbs to CFLs, insulted, caulked, and beginning next spring (when our Accord is paid off) will save for a hybrid. Did I mention we get 42 mpg on the highway? Not bad for a non-hybrid. For the time-being, I figure, we are doing our part.