At the risk of drawing the ire of some folks, I’ll give you my take on the current gas situation here in the U.S. Stop your whining and do something about it! Do I like having to pay more for gas? No. However, having said that, I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone complaining about the high price of gas as they go screaming by my car at 75-80 mph in their land yacht, SUV or pickup truck. The number of people that really need to be driving around in one of these gas-guzzlers is small.
Do people really think that the politicians in this country will do anything to help long-term prices? I hate to say it but most will do what they think will make them more electable next cycle. Sad, but true. Actions should have been taken over the last 20-30 years to address these problems but no one had the guts to make the tough calls. Barring a global economic collapse or some horrendous terrorist event that cripples a major population center, you can probably expect the prices to remain high for the foreseeable future. Increased use in countries like China and India, instability in the Middle East, Africa and other oil producing countries, tough environmental restrictions on drilling and refineries and a lack of new oil reserves are all contributing to the price increases.
What could have an immediate effect but would not be particularly popular would be to lower the speed limit to 55 mph. Realistically, the real speed would be 60-65 mph since most people drive 5-10 mph over the posted speed limits. Depending on what agency or institution figures you want to believe, the projected savings would be about 5-10%. Without a doubt, that size of a gas usage reduction would impact gas prices. However, until politicians get a backbone, this is what you can do to help yourself and your country:
• Drive 60-65 mph – it won’t kill you, really! Leave for work 5 minutes earlier. That’s about all the difference it would make for the average commuter that uses the Interstate system as part of their commute. A small price to pay to save some of your own money and help control gas prices.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and check your air filter.
• Use a more fuel-efficient car. I realize it’s not financially practical for everyone to do, but if you can, go for it.
• Accelerate more slowly from the stop. You’d be surprised how often the more moderate driver catches up to you at the next stop.
• Watch and anticipate the traffic and stoplights ahead. It’ll save your brakes as well as gas.
• If you’re going to be idling for much more than 30 seconds, shut off the engine.
Here are three sites with some more tips and information on saving gas:
So folks, what’s it going to be? Are we going to continue to complain about prices and the lack of government solutions or are we going to take responsibility for our own small part in creating this problem and help to solve it ourselves? The choice really is yours.
