Join us as we go Green, one step at a time
I know that many of you who read our humble blog do so because you, too, are seeking ways to live greener lives. Well, we want to hear from you!
Send me an email at jb at ttmygg dot com if you are interested in doing a guest blog. I want to hear about all the interesting ways you are reducing your global footprint. Let’s learn from each other!
So I mentioned that I was going to try to drive differently and see if I could improve my gas mileage. But if you don’t have a car computer that does it for you, how do you measure a car’s gas mileage. You probably know how already, but someone had to explain it to me, so in case you don’t know how I’m going to pass on the favor.To measure you’re car’s mileage, you’ll need a gas station, a calculator, and a notebook in your car. Here’s what you do:
Et Viola!
On the eve of Memorial Day weekend and $4.00 per gallon gasoline, many of you will probably hate me after reading this. It sure feels like I’m paying an arm and a leg each time I go to the pump. However, gas prices really aren’t high enough. Sure, it makes a huge dent in my wallet every time I fill up my car. I’m at about $60 a tank right now, and there’s no end in sight. We really don’t have much to complain about – in Europe, gas prices are $8 - $9 per gallon, about double what we’re paying. True, two wrongs don’t make a right and we’ll probably get to that point soon, but our gas prices are relatively cheap if you really think about it.
With the recent increases in gas prices, reports are that people are driving less, carpooling more, and buying more small vehicles. I think these are great trends, but higher gas prices will help us conserve even more. As I sit here roasting in the hot weather, I can’t help but think we’re still not doing enough to save our earth. Can you image if gas prices went up 50 percent or more in the next few months? How much less do you think people would drive? How many more small cars would be sold? How many more carpools would form?
Don’t get me wrong. High oil and gas prices have a huge negative effect, both personally and to our overall economy. I would never want someone to trade a tank of gas for food on the table. I also know gas prices result in those myriad of potholes I drive over each day since the cost of asphalt has skyrocketed as well. However, if increased energy prices help make us conserve more and save our planet, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all. Imagine the day if crops don’t grow and there are huge food shortages due to global climate changes. I’m sure then, we’ll wish we were paying $20 a gallon for gas if that meant allowing us to grow food for everyone. We’ve done a lot of damage to our planet. No one ever said it would be cheap to fix it.
I don’t have to tell you that gas is expensive. Of course, you could buy a new Toyota Prius or switch to a scooter, but did you know that by just changing the way you drive, you can improve your fuel economy by 30-40%? Seriously.
According to www.fueleconomy.gov, some simple things you can do can really make a big impact on the kind of mileage you get. Here are the key ones:
So, my mom was right after all. I’m going to give this a try for a few weeks, and report back on my results!
The other day I got a little “thank you” in the mail from PG&E (that’s Pacific Gas & Electric to you non-Californians).
Basically, the flyer indicated that I used an average of 2% less therms of gas compared to my average usage in January and February over the last three years. Yeah, I know, I am totally awesome.
This is great news, but to be quite honest, I’m not sure what to attribute it to. I was thinking that the biggest change is probably in my laundry activities - I now only wash in cold water. But…surely this can’t be it?
(Apologies for the crappy picture quality)
