Gas, Consumption, Conservation

I wanted to just say something about the current gas prices crunch and share my approach to the so called problem. I'm a big supporter of reducing our consumption of gas, and I loathe wasting our resources in general, so I'm always trying to figure out a way to reduce my impact. Here's some ideas to help save money and lower our consumption for the all the good people out there trying to do the same. There aren't too many alternatives right now, so we have to work with what we've got.

1. Start Slow & Lose the Lead - This plays such a huge impact. How fast you accelerate really eats up more gas. It's basic physics. The larger the mass, the more energy is required to move and maintain it's speed/velocity/etc. Here's a basic rule of thumb I like to use. When starting from a complete stop, keep your foot on the pedal (throttle) at a set pressure. Meaning, push down just a bit and hold it there. I'm getting an extra 50-60 miles per tank. This translates to 2-3 gallons for some cars, which is $4.00/gallon x 2 = $8.00/savings per fill up. I fill up weekly, so that means $8.00 x 52 = $416 yearly I'm paying less for gas, but most importantly...I'm consuming less.

2. Drive the Speed Limit - How much faster can you realistically get somewhere by driving faster? You might save a few minutes if you're lucky and don't get a speeding ticket. I have done so many long distance trips, and I set my cruise whenever possible. This is one of the best tools in your car to help conserve even more and so many people don't use it. I set my speed at 55-60mph, and my car (Honda Accord EX 4-Cyclinder) has hit 35 MPG! Normal city and day to day driving has gotten me 29-31 MPG. This is all due to going the speed limit, combined with conservative acceleration. Those extra miles start to add up when you fill up every week and you're getting more miles for your money! Another plus I don't get speeding tickets.

3. Don't Use A Drive-Thru - Everytime you go to get a quick bite or stop at the bank for a quick deposit, you're car is idling. When you're sitting there for 3-4 minutes waiting, you're burning up energy. Multiply that by how many sit at a drive-thru everyday! All that gas just going up in smoke. Another plus is I don't make it a point to stop by fast food. But if you want some guilty pleasure, just park the car and stroll in. If you find yourself having to stop somewhere for more then 2 minutes, you could just shut the engine off.

4. Thursday 5-Cents Off Gas Sales & Lines - This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Every Thursday I drive by this one gas station and every Thursday, there's this huge line of cars that spill out to the main road waiting to get gas. All to save 5 cents a gallon. It takes about 5 minutes to fill up each car. You have, say, about 6 cars in front of you. That's a 15-20 minute wait. The worst part is that the cars that are waiting are actually standing there with their engines running, windows closed and the AC running. That's 15-20 minutes of 10-13 cars just idling to save 5 cents. If you do the math, they not only burned up their savings, but are actually wasting gas and money to save money. Simply an oxymoron. Also, if you think about it, most of us fill up about 15 gallons every week. If I were to do what these people are doing, I'm wasting 20 minutes of time and gas to save 75 cents! If I was a huge SUV requiring say about 30 gallons, that's a whole $1.50.

5. Combine Errands - This is another simple one. Make a list of things you have to do and do it on one trip out. From the dry cleaners to the groceries. For example, I know so many people that don't make grocery lists. When you get home, you forget you needed something, and there you are going to make another trip to the store. Combining errands and having a to do list will help you get everything done, conserve time and energy, and sane!

6. Shop Online - I do this not only because I can find awesome deals (Slickdeals, Fatwallet) on what I want, I don't have to drive around all day to get what I need. With the way gas prices are, it's cheaper to pay for shipping & handling anyway. And the convenience is great! Here's the math I figured: If a hundred people in a delivery area shop online, one UPS truck delivers all 100 things. If you break down the costs of to operate one truck, that's less consumption in my book. If it's feasible for you, I know some grocery chains are offering delivery as well. Again, a nominal fee compared to gas. Here's a few: Peapod, Safeway, and even Amazon! If you do live in walking distance of one, I would recommend a farmer's market though. Always try to support these local guys whenever possible.

7. Carpool - This is the oldest trick in the book, but hey, it works!

8. Maintain Your Car - From proper air pressure to keeping up with routine maintenance. If your car has to work harder, it'll be less effecient.

These are just some of the things I though we all could do to help conserve, but if you have any more, definetly share them by leaving a comment. I would love to hear them! All of us have to do our part and collectively make a difference.

Mini-Shot Out
A nice friend of mine and fellow local photographer Armin Defiesta has been on my case about getting a blog started, so I have to just say that I was thinking of him constantly pushing me and asking me what my major issue was, when I hit PUBLISH for the blog. So I have to give him a shout out.