Life Blog Surf: How are you coping with rising gas prices?
by Beth in a post at Ramblings of an Undisturbed Mind says what's on everyone's mind this week:
I had an interview, (yes, yet another one), this morning and on my way there, gas prices were at $3.24 a gallon. Not even an hour later the price had risen to a whopping $3.44.
I'm seeing the same rise at the pumps in my corner of New Mexico. I've been riding my bike and walking for nearly every errand I have to run. Since I live in town, it's fairly pain-free to keep out of the car. Not everyone has this luxury, though, and the blog rolls are rife with anxiety and practical advice.
Meryddian reports in her livejournal what's happening with gas prices in her Chicago neighborhood:
See, the newspapers are reporting that Chicago is the highest-price gas market in the country (yay, us) with an average around $3.60/gallon. While in actuality, our local gas stations are charging $3.85-$3.99+ for regular unleaded - and those who pony up for premium or to pay the extra cash at self-serve stations are being gouged well into the $4.00-$4.25+ range.
Aluminum Sunset gives a great list of ways to conserve gas. Here are a few ideas from the list:
Check your tire pressure. Over/under inflated tires kill gas mileage.
If you have a lot of errands within a mile or less of one another, drive to a central location, park, and get out and do your errands. You can always bring stuff back and drop it off in the car.
Organize your trips well. Make sure grocery shopping is the last thing you do. Attempt to make your route nonrepetitive. Plan out where each stop will be and don't retrace your steps unless everything is on or directly off of one road.
Will the prices continue to rise? How are prices affecting your lifestyle right now? What changes will you have to make? What advice can you offer BlogHer readers who are coping with making ends meet while commuting to work?
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Comments
The only thing I can see
The only thing I can see that can come out of this is that the government will start to invest in researching for alternative energy sources. Examples, hydrogen fuel cells, solar power, nuclear plants, and etc. Also, people cut down on the burning of gas/oil because it's hurting they're wallets. In turn, this lowers the carbon emissions producing less global warming than if the prices were still low. There's always a pro and con to things ;)
Car Glass Replacement
Learn by example
The best thing to do when in doubt is look towards countries (e.g., Denmark) who have managed to cope with ever rising energy costs and, not only survived, but (apparently) become energy-independent.
lia from luebeck, germany
Author of the media safe 101 page on the Red Tent Blog and the personal yum yum cafe
Blessing in disguise?
Nice piece, Birdie. I'm glad to see a dialogue on this subject here.
My hope is that high gas prices will force some much-needed culture changes. Most people in my area drive massive SUVs and pickup trucks even though they don't really need to. The other day we saw a guy in an enormous, tricked-out pickup veer around a small patch of dirt on the street--such a fear of getting dirt on his truck would seem to indicate that this person isn't driving a pickup for any practical purpose. Its size and look are simply to stroke his ego and to intimidate other drivers, and I consider that guy a prime example of someone who deserves to feel the pain of spending $100 to fill his tank.
We need some long-term thinking here about how we're using fuel and how to cut back on what our country as a whole uses, not simply short-term thinking about how to fit higher costs into our personal budgets.
That's cheap to me
Hi Birdie,
Thanks for this post, and my compliments to you. I love to read your writing.
I couldn't resist responding to this post from my point of view. I live in Italy, where gas costs 1.30 Euros per liter, which roughly works out to about $7 a gallon. My husband and I deal with gas cost by having only one (gasp!) car, which runs on either lead-free gas or liquid propane. People here who own big fat SUV's or powerful luxury cars, which believe me aren't nearly as many as in the US, pay a gas guzzler tax. Maybe these growing gas prices in the US will give people a wake up call about thoughtless consumption and pollution. Getting hit in the wallet is usually more effective than voices of reason.
Wake up call (gas prices)
When I lived in So Cal, I had neighbors who drove the hugest honkin' SUVs you ever saw! They didn't need to drive such large vehicles - it was all for show. Now that I live in a poor rural town, it's quite different. People do drive exactly what they need. Some of the ranchers and farmers in town need to drive pickups and larger vehicles, and I hear them worry about how they will make ends meet now that prices are rising. It's a tough situation, since our society has developed such a dependence on fossil fuels, as well as the kind of distribution system that demands things move over long spaces to reach their destination. Ugh. All of this needs to change.
Birdie
Birdie's BlogHer Blog
La Pajaro
Beauty Dish
Cheap to me, too
Ditto the seven bucks a gallon prices. We've been paying that for years here in Seychelles, so cars are small and public transport is used a lot.
I hadn't been back to the US in ages, but my last trip had me shocked to my shoes at the size of vehicles. When I left the trend was to small and efficient, then gas prices fell and supersized came back into vogue.
Tut, tut, people.
Sandra Hanks Benoiton
Paradise Preoccupied
Public transit
Oh, how I wish Toledo and the rest of northwest Ohio had decent public transportation. I work a mere four miles from my home. Even during rush hour (barring any accidents or other unforeseen incidents), it takes me no more than 15-20 minutes to get home. But if I were to take the bus, which is our only available public transportation other than calling a taxi, it's more than an hour commute one way. And since the buses stop running by 11:30 p.m., I'd have no way home from work once we close up at midnight.
So, basically I go nowhere anymore except work and to the grocery store. I'm trying right now to determine the best cost-effective way of getting to BlogHer. I don't think it's going to be driving myself.
Disorderly Conduct