Recent editorials in the WDN
spoke of "peak oil." My brother, who has been involved with the
transportation industry for over 30 years, has maintained for nearly 10
years now that we will reach Peak Oil before 2010. There is an
organization, The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (http://www.peakoil.net/) that
discusses Peak Oil in great detail.
I believe the majority of
Americans are in denial about that inevitable day when the wells run
dry. With gasoline prices nearing $3.00 a gallon a while ago, I
continued to see 30% to 60% of cars at my favorite Kwik Trip (on a nice
morning, mind you) idling while the occupants were inside collecting
coffee and donuts. I think people are doing a lot of talking about what
the government and everyone else should do about this crisis but most
are not internalizing this reality and changing their own behaviors.
I am beginning to see
initiatives to save on gasoline use in particular that depend upon us
making substantial changes in our daily schedules (much of which is
beyond our individual control). Neighborhood carpooling, for instance
will not succeed as a start because it asks us all to make major
changes in how we schedule our transportation needs at a time when we
are not even ready to let the cabin of the car cool off or heat up
while we get our coffee! We need to work to motivate small changes
first. That is a way to help people truly acknowledge that the problem
exists and to realize that they can do something about it.
I'm not sure even small changes
will be widely accepted until gasoline prices exceed $5.00 per gallon.
At any rate, I would suggest that we begin with things like:
1. Shut the engines off when
they are not being used (If no one is in the car or if the driver
is sitting off the road reading a map, chatting on a cellphone, etc.).
This is so obvious I am amazed that everyone does not do it right now.
Arguments about it taking more gasoline to start the car than to let it
run were questionable in the old days. With new engine technologies,
such arguments don't even pass the smell test.The engine on my wife's
car shuts down at stop signs - and she gets great mileage!
Drivers of diesel powered
vehicles, too, can realize significant fuel savings by simply shutting
off the engine. For instance, once a school bus engine has warmed up
(Here it needs only the trip from the Minnesota City School Bus Company
garage to the school to warm up.) it can be shut down while waiting for
school to end. Unless it is very cold outside (The buses are not air
conditioned, so this does not apply when it's warm.) the engines don't
have to be running until the buses are loaded and they are ready to
pull out. I am not advocating shutting down such engines at each stop,
but I have observed school buses sitting at the WSHS transfer point for
nearly 30 minutes every afternoon - with their engines running to "keep
them warm" when it was 80 degrees outside! What will it take to
encourage the Minnesota City School Bus Company to stress conservation
of fuel with their drivers? Such moves have been a struggle for
trucking companies but they are slowly beginning to make progress - and
to realize the savings.
2. Discuss the impact on fuel
mileage of quick acceleration starts. Encourage drivers not to engage
in intersection races. I cannot count the number of times that I have
made a left hand turn into the inner lane of a four lane road (the way
I was taught) only to find the car behind me beginning to rapidly
accelerate past me on my right even before the driver has completely
negotiated the turn. That wastes gasoline! Such aggressive driving
habits are not limited to young hot-shot male drivers, either.
3. Encourage people to plan
trips in order to accommodate as many needs in a single trip as is
possible. Get groceries on the way home. Stress the use of other high
technology devices like cellphones to save on trip time and miles by
allowing tasks to be added "on the fly" (I'm not advocating talking
while driving. Pull over to the side, shut off the engine, and add to
that grocery list.)
If we can sell such simple
changes to people then we can perhaps move to changes that impact
lifestyles and major transportation habits:
1. Begin carpooling by
identifying groups that have similar schedules, work at the same
place, and who live on a common route. It's not necessary to all live
in the same area, If I worked at TRW, for instance, I could pick up TRW
employees all along my route to work as long as we all worked the same
shift. They don't all have to live up by me on the hill.
2. Encourage people to begin to
buy smaller cars. Frankly (and this is just my personal opinion), I
don't believe anyone ever really "needed" an SUV. Minivans are cheaper,
get slightly better mileage and hold more people and cargo than an SUV.
Seems if a driver doesn't "need" a minivan then that driver surely
doesn't "need" an SUV.
3. Encourage people to make EPA
mileage ratings a priority when buying a car and let the dealer know
that mileage is important. Then too, let the losing dealers know that a
poor mileage rating was the reason their car was not the car of choice.
If we are going to let the marketplace determine some of our energy
policies (and it's likely that we will), then it's important to inform
that marketplace at all levels, not just at the consumer level.
I don't make posts often. It's
probably just as well. I can't seem to make a short one.
-Leslie Hittner
