| By Stony,
on Saturday, 15 March 2008
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What can we do about high gas prices? There is only one thing that is practical
that we can do ...stop driving our cars!
Sure we can cry and moan, but that won't help anything. The only thing we can do
as individuals to help ease the gas prices is to stop buying gas! Or limit the gas
we do buy. We all need to get smarter about consolidating our trips, or to walk or ride a
bike when we can.
| For some of us, more walking is a good thing!
Besides being a good American by using a smaller share of gasoline, we can benefit from
the added exercise. Another thing that would help reduce our gasoline usage would be to
down size our cars or trucks. If we were all to buy the smallest, most gas efficient
vehicles we can get by with, our countries energy needs will be much lower and we can
almost be energy self sufficient, just by making marginal reductions in what we use!
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It's amazing how much I was able to cut my gasoline usage just by cutting out
unnecessary driving and combining errands or store trips. I even often go over to the
neighbors and ask if they need to go to the store when I do, to save them a trip. By doing
this, I can help my neighbors cut THEIR gasoline usage!
Back in the "good ol' days" when gasoline was hovering around $2.00 a gallon
I would use about $15-$20 of gas in an average week. That included running to the
store nightly, running for supplies for my job, and recreational car rides or drives in
the country.
Now that gasoline is punishingly high or "outrageous" as a CNN corespondent
describes it, I cut out all my unnecessary driving, combine trips and I spend only
about $5.00 a week on gas, now that gasoline prices are making a run on $4.00 a
gallon!
I'm beating the oil companies!
They may be getting more for their product, but I am managing to use far
less! My goal is to park my car all summer and use NONE of their
product! I can walk or preferably ride my bicycle all over town for any of my needs,
AND ride and walk all over for the fun of it!
Sure, my wife will still use her car, but far less that she used to. I may even
start walking my wife to work like we did all last year when the weather was warm enough.
And we will be in the market for a smaller car for her in the spring. My car with
a small four cylinder motor, and a five speed manual transmission with overdrive gets a
cool 35MPG around town, and in the mid 40's on the highway. And of course it helps,
to be a conservative driver with a light foot!
Last year I quit using my power boat and bought a canoe! Paddle power uses no
gas!
Many people like outdoors recreation, and we are blessed with plenty of that very close
to home. We have very many outdoor recreation opportunities available to us within a
very short driving distance. We have a National Forest, the Allegheny National
Forest, and a great state park, Allegany State Park (NY) all within a one or two gallon
drive from home! Our family will be taking many "Two Gallon Trips" or
"mini vacations" throughout the year.
Where previously we might have jumped in the car and drove to the "Jersey
Shore" or Presque Isle Park in Erie to spend a few days on a beach, we will
settle for the beach at the ASP or one in the ANF.
It can be a game to play or a goal to see just how little gasoline you can use in any
given week. Try to use less than the week before. Sure when there is ice and
snow on the ground, walking or cycling is no fun ... but when the weather breaks, walking
and cycling is the way to go!
As Americans we are sometimes powerless to change the way some things are that effect
our lives, but this is one thing that if we all put a little effort into, we CAN have a
major effect on. As I listened to CNN all week long, I continually heard the
various reporters calling on Americans to stop driving their cars, to combat the high
gasoline prices. Stop driving your car! The combined effect of all of us
pitching in even a little can be astonishing! "Just say no" to your car!
|
W.B. Burkholder 
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