What are you going to do about high gas prices?

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

You'll be waiting a long time for your hydrogen car.

Me, I'm not doing anything since my car currently isn't running and I don't really need it, so the increase hasn't bothered me in the slightest, from a direct standpoint.  Naturally, rising food costs are an indirect result of rising fuel costs.

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Yeah, I suppose I just start boycotting food....see how long that lasts!

05/16/2008 Thuy "Bebe" L. says:

I'm waiting for this car to come out:  http://www.fuelvaporca...

05/16/2008 Thuy "Bebe" L. says:

Oh, and what am I doing about the high gas prices in the meantime?  Working from home instead of driving to the office everyday!

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Thuy - that car is AWESOME looking!  I want, I want.  It's looks like a personal ground-rocket.  Suh-weet!

Yay tele-muting!

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

BTW, did all you peoples know that today is National Ride Your Bike to Work Day?  Too bad the weather didn't get the memo.

On another note, I ordered my bike on April 26th and was told by Big Wheel Bikes that it would be in in 7-10 days.  Should I do recon to see if they are holding it captive and letting other people put their butts on it?

05/16/2008 Leila C. says:

Yep - I rode my bike in the rain this morning...my pit stop was NIH and they had a little tent with someone from CityBikes giving free tuneups, and a bunch of free goodies and breakfast. :D Even though it's rainy - there was a pretty good turnout. Yay!

05/16/2008 Alicia G. says:

I don't have a car. So I will continue to use the bus/metro and occasional taxi.

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Leila - my  hubbs works at NIH too and biked in as well.  I think he missed the cool tent, because he didn't mention it.

Yay Alicia - we salute those that use public transportation....and we also pray for you.

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

$10 says that car won't be legal in the US since it's a trike, like the T-Rex.

http://www.go-t-rex.com/

05/16/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Hydrogen cars are about as environment friendly as the current gasoline powered cars, yet cost a hell lot more to drive and own. The fuel is a lot more expensive than gasoline. I am not sure how you'd be saving any money going hydrogen. In fact, many experts have called a hydrogen based economy a pipe dream just because of the extra energy and infrastructure required to fabricate these fuel cells.

CNG is a viable alternative, but is not environment friendly. And, we have enough CNG inside the US to last a long time. A CNG GGE (Gallon of Gasoline Equivalent) cost close to $1 right now, compared to $4 for gasoline. A move to CNG makes a whole lot more sense than trying to move to expensive hydrogen cars. But, car makers make more money touting the latter, so we tend to get disillusioned into believing that they're better.

05/16/2008 Justin S. says:

I'm trying to spread the word about systems, interconnectivity, and sustainability...  but it's friday and I'm too exhuasted to get into that today!

05/16/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Oh, and I burn about 60 gallons of gas a month. So, all in all, I am burning about $48 more a month compared to last year...which isn't really creating a hole in my wallet.

05/16/2008 Jon "I wish I was a balla" K. says:

World is Coming to an End.

05/16/2008 Michelle P. says:

I heard on the radio this morning that some gas pumps are not programmed to be able to charge $4 a gallon and therefore the gas stations may have to get new pumps.   Which may make gas go up even more!

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Wow, that's not good.  Who was the genius behind limiting the dollar amount on gas pumps?  The same person who set us up for the purported Y2K disaster?

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

The only ones with limits are old, mechanical pumps built when gas was under a buck a gallon.  Much like computer programmers in the 70s, people didn't expect their stuff to be used that long.

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Small-minded people!

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Also, the economic impact of upgrading a pump isn't all that bad: just around $650 per pump.  Considering the number of gallons pumped in a given pump through a year, it shouldn't cause a noticable increase in fuel costs.

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Oh, and encoding years as two digits means the max value is 99 rather than 9999, which at a time when data costs (and related processing times) were extremely high, was an efficiency decision rather than shortsightedness.

On a similar note, Unix and Linux systems (what every large-scale server runs) run out of time in 2038.

05/16/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Ben, the pumps are owned by gas station owners, so they'd have to foot the bill. Contrary to what we might believe, they are not the people who make any extra cash due to gas prices being what they are. And, I am sure regulations prohibit them from arbitrarily raising prices without approval from the oil companies.

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Didn't know that, Ben.  Yeah, we have a lot of Unix servers here where I work.  The hubbs works on Windows servers mostly.  I should ask him if he knows about this....

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

I'm well aware of that.  At the same time, I have a hard time believing that even a small station isn't earning $650 profit on a pump.  I don't know what the regulations are, but it's never stopped owners from raising prices if they feel the need.  It's simply a poor decision to be more than a couple cents higher than anywhere nearby.

05/16/2008 Jade "Domestically Inclined" R. says:

Ditching the car and getting a scooter that gets up to 80-100 mpg. :-) It'll be fun for Spring-Fall.

05/16/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Jade - I'd love a scooter!  Those Segways are perty neat too.

Ben, this is what Richie (aka my husband) said when I told him about the crapping out of Unix in 2038: "they will probably fix it in future releases and if the OS right now is still running in '38, then God help us"

I thought that was kinda funny.

05/16/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Haha, yeah, the problem up until recently was that time was stored as a 32 bit value, but now we have 64 bit processors readily available, and there's plenty of time to fix it.

Oh man I rode a Segway once.  You actually feel dorkier than you already look.

I've been waffling on getting a motorcycle (and a regular bike, as well) for awhile now, but haven't bitten the bullet on it.

05/16/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Recommended movies about this:

Who killed the Electric Car? - http://www.imdb.com/ti...
A Crude Awakening - http://www.imdb.com/ti...

Book:

The Hype about Hydrogen - http://en.wikipedia.or...

Check them all out :)

05/17/2008 Robin "Let My Fingers Do the Talking" W. says:

I'm parking my SUV for most of the time.  Granted it's a Saturn Vue and gets much better milage than a Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade, but driving has gotten way too expensive.  I'll use my bike, the bus, the Metro, or I'll walk.

05/17/2008 Chang W. says:

I think ultimately people aren't going to do anything different from their regular routine. Change is hard, despite the whole Obama campaign slogan thing. Suck it up is what I'll do.

05/20/2008 MiRIAM "loquacious locavore" w. says:

I wonder if high gas prices will prompt more folks to move into city centers where they have more access to public transport and can walk to more amenities?

Will folks table their summer road trips because gas costs so much?

What price does gas have to get to in order for people to really change their behavior?

05/21/2008 Victor Z. says:

Bike. (Admittedly I'm in denial that I've left California for good and haven't gotten around to bringing my car here yet)

http://www.yelp.com/to...

05/21/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Miriam: People already ARE tabling their roadtrips.  Tourist attractions are expecting less domestic visits this summer.  I doubt people will move into city centers any more than they have unless it gets a LOT worse.

05/21/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Saw on the news last night that the Metro system is starting to get overburdened and WMATA is urging government offices to ask employees to come in late for work.

05/21/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

I know we don't pay very much in the US for gas as prices are pretty much double overseas, but I'm hoping that the rising prices will really get people to think about their needless fuel consumption and about alternative fuel sources that are beneficial for the environment.  It also couldn't hurt to have more people on their bikes; less traffic congestion, less belly flab, more energetic happy people and so on.....

When we drive, we always take our Hybrid, when we can, we run or walk to the gym and when my bike comes in (or whenever it gets released, I should say) our plan is to bike to all local spots that we can to not only get into shape, but to cut our fuel consumption and thus personal pollution.

That was really the point to me posting this - I wanted to know if people are thinking about alternatives, making a difference in their lives like the man I referenced in the article above.

05/21/2008 Jason "Sheriff John Stone" C. says:

This is an interesting article (it's about a year old though) about how refinery capacity hasn't kept pace with demand, which leads to high prices:
http://money.cnn.com/2...

05/21/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Cool article Jason - gives us some insight; thanks for posting it.

05/21/2008 Zach G. says:

I plan to keep doing what I've been doing, which is not owning a car.  Honestly, whenever I do get a zipcar or drive a friend's car I get so damn frustrated driving in DC and especially in NoVA that I'm really glad I live in a city with good enough public transportation that I don't need a car.  It's too bad more of our cities aren't this easy to live in without your own transportation.

I am thinking about getting a bike too, but it's gonna be hard to bike to work and not look like a disaster in the summertime.

06/08/2008 Brian "Down the Hatch" J. says:

I've decided to make more money.  It seems to be working.  

Seriously, though, there is a car going into production in India that runs on compressed air.  That's it -- air!  I think the range is somewhere around 200 miles if you just run it off the air tank but I think in the end it will have a small petrol motor that will run an air compressor and keep it going.  Someone was saying that on one (small) tank of fuel, you could theoretically drive from LA to NYC on a tank of gas and never have to stop.  That's awesome.  Oh, and the engine doesn't get hot (no combustion) so it uses a gallon of veggie oil instead of engine oil and it only needs to be changed once a year or less.

06/08/2008 Techie G. says:

Hypermiling is a solution! Turns out small changes in driving habits can increase mpg 10-30 percent or even more.  With $4/gallon gasoline, thats like getting 40 cents to $1.20 off of the price....

06/08/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Yay my car seems to be running again.

06/08/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

I burned 5 gallons yesterday :(

06/08/2008 Dane K. says:

i'm really banking on the Air Car !

i ride a scooter though, so i spend about a gallon of gas a week for to/from work (roughly55- 60 miles total a week).... i wrote an ireport !

06/08/2008 Dane K. says:

btw, if you're not familiar with the Air car...

it's actually a car in production... a french company designed it and licenses it...   there's a company in india that makes it there...   that same company just bought jaguar and land rover from ford.  i was kinda expecting that to help propel it into the US for rollout.  however, i read recently that some other company has now licensed it for the US, so they'll be making and selling it here.

the pistons are powered by compressed air...  the engine is only there to power a generator that fills the air tank, but you can fill it yourself at home too and never need the engine for short hauls.  you can go 1000 miles on a tank of gas.  also the engine can use pretty much any type of oil since it doesn't actually get hot...so it could use veggie oil or anything really.

http://zeropollutionmo... is the company making it in the US... they're taking reservations for delivery in '10 starting very soon.

http://en.wikipedia.or...
http://www.youtube.com...

...scheduled to be selling in the Us in 2009 or 2010

06/08/2008 Dane K. says:

oh, and it's cheap.  under $10k

06/08/2008 Libby "Don't make me go back!" F. says:

My friend converted his car to run on used vegetable oil.  It really works!  He gets the oil (for free) from the local Chinese restaurant and has to siphon all the gross bits meat out....  It's been running for about a year now.

06/08/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

That's cool Libby.  We used to be able to fill up our hybrid's tank for $25 and go about 400 miles, now it's $40.  pooh.

06/08/2008 Chang W. says:

Buy one of these things and ride Metro...if I lived closer to the city.

http://www.dahon.com/u...

06/08/2008 Dane K. says:

oh brian beat me too it.

the whole diesel conversion thing is cool, except it's not going to be free much longer.. particularly as more and more people do this.  there's already places where they're filing police reports for used veggie oil theft...  restaurants sell their oil to people who com get it from them, these "collectors" are getting very mad about it.  apparently they use old veggie oil to make dog food??? ick

06/08/2008 Chang W. says:

actually, i want this one: http://brandscycle.com...

06/08/2008 adam k. says:

I have a Land Rover Discovery (hold your thoughts about insecurities) that "delivers" 8 miles to a gallon in city driving. I am delivering it to the nearest  Salvation Army. Will buy a bicycle and Zipcar it.

06/08/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

I'd use Zipcar if they had drop off and pick up locations in Fairfax.

06/08/2008 John S. says:

I ride a motorcycle. It looks like motorcycles and scooters are going to get much more popular as people realize the MPG that they can offer. My motorcycle gets a minimum of 60mpg, and depending on what kind of riding I do, it can go up to 80mpg. The way I look at it is that 60mpg means I use half the gas that a 30mpg vehicle (like my car) uses for the same distance. This effectively cuts my gas costs in half, so it's kind of like I'm paying half price for gas. I dig it!

06/08/2008 Kevin "Public Servant" L. says:

I'm tempted to get a motorcycle.  Hrm.  Wonder if I can pull off the entire sport bike thing... without dying :x

06/09/2008 Dane K. says:

half price for gas... and it gets you around quicker probably too

06/09/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Kevin: You're thin, so you can pull off a sport bike without looking like a goof.  Even if you weren't, you'd still be cooler than anyone not on one.  Wear proper gear and you'll be fine in most accidents.  Remember that a motorcycle is much more maneuverable than a car, so it's easier to *avoid* a serious accident.

06/09/2008 Kevin "Public Servant" L. says:

Yeah... I guess it's the entire... I've been on an ambulance to car accidents way too many times to have much faith in a motorcycle.

Still, I think it'd be awesome to speed around on a cute sport bike with my messenger bag slung over my shoulder!

06/09/2008 Craig R. says:

I'm getting a motorcycle... soon... I hope.  Hooray!

06/09/2008 John S. says:

In addition to the mpg boost, another nice benefit of a motorcycle is being able to use HOV lanes. Also, there is no such thing as a yellow light anymore. Just red & green.

06/09/2008 Shaun "The Softball Captain" O. says:

im going to ride the metro everywhere!

06/14/2008 Bob G. says:

If you're interested in seeing an awesome documentary about how our planet is running out of oil and what the implications are for all of us, our church is holding a free screening of "A Crude Awakening -- The Oil Crash." The screening is this coming Friday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring. This movie was recommended earlier in this thread by Saurabh G. and rightly so. It's eye-opening, even frightening, stuff. The movie will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Steve Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International, who will suggest ways we can help bring about the transition to a clean energy economy.

07/13/2008 MiRIAM "loquacious locavore" w. says:

Has anyone actually tried a "staycation" to save on the cash it would cost to take a road trip?

07/13/2008 Chang W. says:

I'm using my frequent flyer miles for vacation this year. No gas, no extraneous airline surcharges. Staycation seems like a waste of your time off IMO.

07/13/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

A staycation would work if there were any guidances about falling prices/inflation or a resurge in oil production over the coming time. In the absence of any of that, you would just have to prepare for another staycation come next summer.

07/13/2008 adam k. says:

Gas will soon be $6 a gallon; consequently, the Dow will fall to 8000. If at this point you still have a job, you better not still have a conventional gas guzzler. Save all you can for milk, eggs, and OJ.

And a moped.

07/13/2008 Jamie B. says:

I make every vacation a "staycation"!  Well, most of them anyway.  And now I have a word for it!  I actually have less desire to fly to some other part of the world to look at their dirt than I do to just stay here and catch up on the things I enjoy doing but do not have as much time for as I'd like, due to pesky things like work.  I will watch with fascination as modern society's utter obsession with wanderlust (to the extent that you are simply not cool if you do not fly all over the globe on a regular basis) clashes with its desire to "be green", which involves not spending too much fuel.  Planes are actually quite fuel efficient on a per-passenger basis, but it's still a lot of gas to haul you 7000+ miles on a round trip to Europe.  (A 500 mile trip in your car by yourself would burn considerably less fuel.  A car with 4 passengers is more efficient per person than a loaded plane.  Maybe a car with 2 people, if it's a hybrid and you go easy on the pedal.)

At any rate, the real fuel consumers on the road today are our 18-wheelers.  Everything you see in your room was probably on a truck at some point.  Your computer, your monitor, your desk, your chair, the clock on your wall, your walls themselves, etc, all on trucks.  Battery powered trucks are simply not viable: the technology isn't up to the task of pulling heavy freight around.  The only really interesting option is to build trucks that can draw their power from the road, which means we'd need a truly massive nationwide road project to embed these power delivery systems in the road (most likely it would be done as an inductive system, not entirely unlike how an electric toothbrush charges).

And then of course you'd probably want to back it up with nuclear power plants, since backing it up with coal is probably missing the point and backing it up with alternative energy sources simply isn't feasible (most "green" energy production methods get opposed by environmentalists -- e.g., wind generators threatening birds, dams threatening wildlife, etc).

I don't see gas going to $6 being some kind of major economy crashing event.  Europe pays more than that.  I just think it's an interesting footnote that switching to hybrid or electric cars really doesn't solve the major gas consumption problem, which is freight.

07/13/2008 Jade "Domestically Inclined" R. says:

You'll see me at Shell praying to God with DC's 7th Day Adventist to lower gas prices.

http://www.washingtonp...

Who knows, it might work.

07/14/2008 Lee "Cluck U 911 Wings" T. says:

The higher prices havn't made commuting any easier on the roads, but it has crowded the metro to the point where I don't want to ride it anymore. I am in favor of higher gas prices, I'd like to see it at least $10 would balance us out with the Europeans.

Before the hating starts here are my reason for wanting higher gas prices.
1. Most americans as a whole drive way too much, and rarly think about mass transit. American cities are designed to be job centers to sourrounding bedroom communities. What a waste of time and resources.
2. Too many SUV's and big trucks, how do I measure "too many"? Mostly driven by one person
3. When prices hits the double digits, our bought and paid for politicians will be replaced, hopefully by the lesser evils. The new breed of politicans would (hopefully) fight hard to change the oil based economy we live in. I find it insane to think 35 mpg can't be the minimum standard now. The Japanese have found out how to do this with their non-hybrid Camry in Japan for over a decade, how come the same car isn't here.
4. I was in Canada a few weekends ago, they have a Saturn something (GM car) that does 43 MPG, how come we can't buy that car here?
5. I want gas prices at $10, but that doesn't mean it will go there. The economist in me prices gas at about $1.35 for regular unleaded in 2001 prices. So why does it cost $4.10, here is my break down.

Fair market Value 2001 dollars, $1.35
Devalued dollar due to dumbass federal reserve , $.90
Borrowing from China $400 Billion a year in household goods export, and the oil cost to shipping it here, $.90
Bush-nomics more damaging than Regan-nomics, no control on hedge funds, traders, $.95 to $4 (hey it can happen)

Total price of fuel - $4.10 to $8
I don't think Obama can do any better, it took Bush 7 years to raise our gas prices, and it will take Obama at least 7 if he wants it lowered. I am not convinced he cares any more about the Average American than John McCain.

with all that said, I tried to put a deposit down for an Aptera, www.aptera.com, only to be told I have to be a California resident to order 1. So anyone in Cali want to lend me their address?

07/14/2008 adam k. says:

Price of crude directly impacts the economy and GDP. For every $10 rise in the price of crude (without other adjustments made to accomodate these prices), the US GDP retards by 0.3%...this is based on a 2005 study, when oil was around $40/barrel

07/14/2008 Laura "Buck Hunter" V. says:

Don't know if it will help, but you could write Congress about it:

www.StopOilSpeculation...

It just seems like high gas prices have affected everything around us, which seems to further push us into a downward spiral nearing recession.  For me, I bought a bike and ride it whenever I can.  No need to drive down the hill to the grocery store and CVS.  On weekends, I ride my bike to the metro and take it on with me.  Then ride my bike at the other end.  A bonus is the exercise points.

07/14/2008 Chelsea "last week in DC!" J. says:

Though I do have an SUV, it's not a terrible SUV and gets about 20 mpg city, and 23 or so highway.  But i'm trying to keep it parked as much as possible and walk everywhere.  However, I can't walk to my gym and I don't have a bike, so it does get driven frequently from Ballston to Seven Corners.  I'm also trying to buy as much of my produce locally as possible to cut down on the 1500-3000 mile journey that a banana must take to get to my kitchen.  Anyone intersted in finding out more on becoming a "locavore" read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle... so good!
http://www.animalveget...

07/14/2008 Robert "typical white person" F. says:

I'll hire a servant to tote me around town on a cart.

07/15/2008 Meghan "the nicknameless wonder" G. says:

My fiancee has been biking to work... 13 miles each way!!! Every day!!!! maniac!! Little old me has been biking for short distance errands and commuting whenever possible. In fact I have a beach vaycay in the outer banks in a few weeks and 5 of us are cramming into one car ala college spring break style just to save on gas. I predict it will not be nearly as fun as it was when i was 19.

07/15/2008 Kathleen M. says:

I saw a commercial yesterday for a Mercury Mariner (an Explorer, basically) which said it gets more miles to the tank than a CRV. I got SO angry because I shopped and shopped for the most fuel-efficient 4WD car I could find (and afford! Audi... sigh).... but then I realized the Mariner just has a bigger tank, not a higher MPG. Sneaky sneaky, Mercury.

07/15/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

I don't get Mr. Lee's ranting at all. On the one hand you want America, or DC, specifically, to adopt a more European culture, but on the other one you hate crowding inside the metro. The last time I went to anywhere in Europe, all the subway systems were crowded like hell, except maybe London's. Rome's was especially bad.

1. Sure, American cities are job centers, but you forget you're doing a bad comparison. America is also more spread out with a very low population density compared to most such cities in Europe. This spreading out has more to do with the US being a huge land mass than job concentration.

2. That's wealth for you. I don't see anything morally wrong with liking big trucks and SUVs.

3. Again, you're comparing a tiny 'island' like Japan to the US. Different considerations. Oil was and still is the cheapest source of energy in the world. There would be a global leader called America without oil. Oil is cheaper than a gallon of milk. And, we have no scarcity of cows.

4. Simple. Market demand. Not everything is bad in this country due to corruption.

Obama and McCain aren't going to change things by themselves. They're just politicians, and we live in a democracy. It's upto us to build a future.

07/15/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

I meant 'there wouldn't be a global leader'

07/15/2008 Angela "Pulchritudinous 'tude" M. says:

Kudos to everyone making changes!!  To Meghan, Laura and Chelsea - that's awesome stuff!!

07/16/2008 Ryan "chilax" P. says:

Get a job that reimburse for your gas and mileage.

07/17/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Kathleen M. says:

I saw a commercial yesterday for a Mercury Mariner (an Explorer, basically) which said it gets more miles to the tank than a CRV. I got SO angry because I shopped and shopped for the most fuel-efficient 4WD car I could find (and afford! Audi... sigh).... but then I realized the Mariner just has a bigger tank, not a higher MPG. Sneaky sneaky, Mercury.
-----------------------------
You live in DC, why did you get 4WD?  For the minimal amount of snow we get here, FWD would more than suffice, as would snow tires and careful driving on RWD, either of which would yield better fuel economy (all other things considered equal).

07/17/2008 Rich L. says:

cute vespa + viking helmet = saving gas and kicking ass.

bonus for plastic viking hammer strapped to side of vespa.

07/17/2008 John S. says:

Hey Rich L. - photos or it didn't happen. chop chop!

07/17/2008 Kathleen M. says:

Hey Ben,

I bought my car when I lived in Ohio.... lots of snow and ice, and my campus was super hilly. I'd like to buy a more fuel efficient car, but 1) I don't have the money, 2) I rarely drive so it seems silly to spend money on a new car and 3) buying a new car would use up a hell of a lot more resources than dealing with so-so fuel economy. So yeah, basically it's just leftover from my much more rural days....

07/17/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

Oh, okay, that makes sense then.

Buying a new car for fuel efficiency rarely makes sense since the multiple thousands of dollars one would spend on a new car would buy a LOT of gas in even something making single digits in mpg.

07/17/2008 Kathleen M. says:

Exactly, Ben! It drives me crazy when people pitch their perfectly good cars in an effort to save a couple of miles a gallon. It takes a lot of time for your wallet to recover, and it takes a ridiculous amount of resources (yes, including oil!) to manufacture, ship, and sell that new car. If you're in the market for a new car, feel free to buy a more fuel efficient one (and no, that doesn't necessarily mean hybrids-- their nickel batteries are a whole 'nother subject), but otherwise just drive less.

07/17/2008 Rich L. says:

Can we just bring back rollerskates and cut off jean shorts?

07/17/2008 Jamie B. says:

Interesting factoids:

70% of people in the UK outside London commute by car with an average commute time of 45 minutes.  France is 36 minutes.  Italy is 23 minutes.  New York is 30 minutes, California is 26.5, South Dakota is 15.

Source: BBC / US Census Bureau
(I think we might be overglorifying the state of European commutes.)

07/17/2008 Saurabh "Lovelorn" G. says:

Hah

Mumbai is like 120 minutes.

07/17/2008 Rich L. says:

The thing is, European commutes are always through lush countryside, brimming with character.  As the orchestra swells, your race-tuned Rolls Royce Silver Phantom bares its fangs, and pulls you through the rolling curves of a country steeped with history.  Your journey ends at a beautiful country club where you eat terrible sandwiches and trade pithy remarks with the femme fatale who happens to be the wife of the man you are there to meet while discussing something dangerously illegal and exciting.*

In American commutes, you drive your hybrid prius through a city, watch a homeless guy jerk off behind a dumpster, and end at a 8 hour workday drudge, the soulless pulse of the great American automaton we call industry.  You go home, eat a pizza bagel(you can have pizza ANYTIME), and fall asleep, your dreams of oceans, still salty sweet from your tears.**

So naturally European commutes SEEM shorter.

*this may not be true
**or this one I am pretty sure it's not, really

07/17/2008 Ben "Sabado Gigante's biggest non-Spanish speaking fan" M. says:

My commute at my old job was through a rolling mountain road.

It was really awful and it snowed a lot there and not having to drive to work is way more awesome.