Let's post ideas on ways to save gas since it's now officially sky high

[LosinIt]

I can foresee that Mobil will use this catastrophe as a chance to raise the prices above $5 a gallon. So I thought that if we each could post an idea in the subject line and then elaborate in the message that might be a good idea for people to maybe be able to survive during this oncoming economic onslaught. I'm not sure how we're going to survive. I drive 45 miles one way to work so I have been thinking of either not coming home a few nights a week (my daughter lives near work) or asking to either work from home a few nights a week(technologically but maybe not politically feasible)or to work 4 10 hour days a week. I'm going to post these are ideas in the subject line. Let's see how many different ideas we can get.

[LosinIt]

1. Explore the possibility of alternate work arrangement 4X10 hr days

works well if you have a long commute

[radfringe]

8. Hey! I just said that to a few people at work yesterday

I'm in a area where mass transit or public transportation is not an option - we have buses but the routes do not go near major work places...

going to a 4x10 work week would save on gas.. I get 30+ miles to the gallon, a typical commute to work for me is about 40miles round trip. some co-workers live closer than me, others further out. Some drive big honking gas guzzlers, others drive cars with good gas milage...

A "conservative" average would save me about 1.25 gallons a week -- using that figure and multiply it out by 25 employees -- would come to a savings of 31.25 gallons a week.

multiply that figure by the number of work places and it's a big savings...

I for one would love a 4x10 work week.... it will leave 3 days to work at a 2nd job to pay for gas to get to my first job :evilgrin:

[GumboYaYa]

2. Don't drive, it's that simple......

take the bus or ride a bike. If you have never done either, both are enjoyable in there own way.

Unfortunately that is not an answer for the rural poor who will be most impacted by high gas prices. It also won't help with rising costs of foods.

[LosinIt]

4. even the rural working middle class we HAVE to drive

there is no work here, we have to drive to an urban center. I have to drive 45 miles one way to work. No I don't want to live in the city. I want my son to be able to grow up in the fishing village that we live in.

There is no access to mass transit. We have no choice. So you think because the gas companies have decided to gouge us with these exorbitant prices that the life we have built here should be uprooted and moved when my company could make concessions so that I could still do the same quality and quantity of work but just in a different way?

[GumboYaYa]

28. I think that people who CHOOSE to live 45 miles from the place

they work, regardless of what they drive, are a major part of the problem with fuel consumption in this country. I have great sympathy for those who live and work in rural areas as they have the least in many cases and are destroyed by high gas prices. I have absolutely no sympathy for those who choose to make that massive drive every day.

[rustydad]

34. Try this

http://www.bikeengines.com/info.htm

I bought this power unit for my mountain bike 16 months ago. I have a 25 mile commute to town, one way. I have put more than 5000 miles on the bike with no problems or accidents. Goes 30 mph or more, gets 250 mpg. No license, insurance, or registration needed. If this is too much look at a motor scooter with the large wheels and 150cc engine. They get around 80 mpg. Bob

[iamjoy]

12. Still Economically Feasible To Drive

A lesson in economics, or opportunity cost.

OK, I live 8 miles from work. I can't ride a bike. The nearest bus stop to my office is 2 miles.

To drive to work takes 30 minutes.

The bus would cost me a $1 each way, or $2 total. It would take 45 min to an hour to go the distance between the bus stop near work and my house. Then the two mile walk. So, it would take almost an hour and a half to get to work.

My car gets 22 miles per gallon. So, I use a little over a third of a gallon of gas getting to work, lets just round it up and say half a gallon. Lets say gas is $5 a gallon, which it isn't yet, but we'll just say. It will cost $2.50 each way, or $5 per day.

$5 vs. $2 sounds like a no brainer, but what about that extra 2 hours each day added to my commute? If I made $10 an hour, that's $20.

Not worth it to not drive. Even some one making minimum wage is better off driving if you consider the time value of money.

of course, I didn't factor in the additional costs associated with wear & tear on a car, but I think you get my point.

[GumboYaYa]

24. But then let's factor in the damage you are doing to the environment

and the fact that we have to spend treasure and lives in places like Iraq to keep that simplisitic little economic model viable and maybe you are better off riding a bike or walking.

[iamjoy]

31. Sorry

I know I have to take some responsibility, but the fact that we don't don't have good public transportation is the real crime. It is ridiculous for an 6 mile trip to involve two buses plus more than a 2 mile walk.

The bus schedules in Central Florida are not frequent (in most areas only every half hour at best) and not always helpful for making connections. The bus stops often have no shelter and no bench to sit, just stand on the side of the road, and there are often no sidewalks along a very busy highway, just overgrown grass. Then there is the two mile walk in sticky humid weather.

So the real question is, why isn't public transportation more feasible? I would ride the bus if it involved no more than a quarter mile walk and could get me where I needed to be in an hour.

[GumboYaYa]

32. No forgive me if I'm too harsh today....

ordinarily I'm a much more compassionate person, but today I'm just beside myself watching the city I love be destroyed.

[GumboYaYa]

33. No forgive me, I'm very distraught today

as I have to sit here and watch a city I love so much be destroyed. I'm lashing out nedlessly and apologize.

[RC]

15. Winter is coming. Ice & snow are not bike friendly.

Natural gas & fuel oil costs are going to bankrupt some and even destroy business.

[GumboYaYa]

26. I am car less and have endured St. Louis winters on

bikes and public transportation. When it gets really icey or snowy, those methods frequently are better ways to get around. You just have to add layers. It may not be as comfortable as sitting in a warm little car by yourself with your own self-selected music and private enviromnment, but it won't kill you if you dress appropriately.

Is it really worth it to sacrifice the futures of our children for our own personal comforts now?

[GumboYaYa]

29. I agree about natural gas prices.

I am trying to prepare for that. Last year I built a passive solar air heater and used it to help heat my home. I am going to build several more this weekend. I am also shopping for woodstoves right now. Wood will definitely be cheaper than gas this winter, plus it is CO2 neutral.

[LosinIt]

3. Check out the possibility of telecommuting for at least part of the week

this one can be a political hot potato. I want to do this, but then the aspect of other workers thinking I am getting special treatment if I am allowed to do this. Plus, I work nights and the self-proclaimed 'shift lead' gets his panties in a bunch because he sees his empire crumbling if it is perceived that the shift can run with less bodies there than he says he needs.

[tedoll78]

5. I have a few things planned.

I just got a new job. When they asked me what shift I wanted at the hospital, I asked for three 12-hour weekend night shifts. That's two less commuting round trips than most people. {In addition to quite a pay differential, I don't have to sit in stop-and-go traffic.}

When possible, I commute on the motorcycle (>50MPG) rather than my truck (~25MPG).

I shop at the grocery store only twice a month, on the way home from work to save a trip.

I don't go out much anymore; instead, I stay in and watch TV/read DU/play video games. When I do go out, my friends and I carpool. This saves a ton of money, makes parking easier, and is just plain more fun.

I walk or ride my bike when my destination is nearby.

Those are the few steps I'm taking. The money I save will be used to kill my remaining credit cards. After that, I'm buying a plot of land so that I can build an entirely off-the-grid solar-powered home. Peak Oil preparations are ongoing, let's just say..

[applegrove]

6. Bike, walk, telecommute!

[laylah]

7. complete errands

in one trip if at all possible, carpool if you must go to the office, factory, bakery, whatever, use public transportation where possible.

Jenn

[LosinIt]

9. can't find anyone to carpool with me at 11pm dammit

but I am going on the dayshift for the month of October. I had asked my boss who lives in the next village over about catching a ride with him once. He had hemmed and hawwed about it all day, and then finally called me in his office and confessed that his wife doesn't allow him to have other women in the car with him. Can you say whipped???

[B Calm]

10. Car Pool

[BlueEyedSon]

11. Get a hybrid, mc or scooter; combine trips; don't drive 1 day/week

[B Calm]

14. I thought about getting a 120 MPG scooter, but winter is coming soon.

[BlueEyedSon]

19. true, it is not for every climate or every season

:(

(although they make due in western europe somehow)

[Ganja Ninja]

13. Here's a few.

55 mph speed limit
4 day work week
a mandatory 1 day a week driving moratorium for everyone but cops, doctors, firemen, nurses, paramedics & anyone who's job is essential to public safety and service.
close retail stores one day a week.
every other day odd/even gas fill ups.
limit the amount of gas to 15 gallons per fill up
(The last two tend to drive people into smaller higher mileage cars)

[LosinIt]

17. I remember the even /odd gas fill up days but how did it work?

what were the details? did it go by license number? what about vanity plates, although they weren't very popular in the 70s.

[Ganja Ninja]

23. Usually was determined by plate numbers.

The last number on the plate odd or even determined which day you were able to buy gas.

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

16. keep your tires properly inflated

[Cocoa]

18. move closer to where you work

or find a job closer to where you live.

Make your decision on where to live and work with public transportation in mind.

[Francine Frensky]

20. This is gonna be bad for the suburbs/bedroom communities

if it continues.

[BlueEyedSon]

21. Manhattan (and other urban centers) is already unaffordable

[durablend]

22. Not an option for many...

As has been stated repeatedly, "pack up and move" simply isn't an option for many, and "find a closer job" may or may not be either (and opportunities are going to become more slim if the economy tanks).

[WePurrsevere]

25. Here are a bunch from my husband and my favorite from a friend :D ....

the now retired but always learning and researching "engineer". :) He was also a mechanic and gas jockey as a young man back during the last big "shortage" of the 70's. (Copied from our eclectic board)

Some have already been mentioned I think but it won't hurt to say it twice I guess. :)

1) Slow down
most cars/trucks get best gas mileage at 47mph. The power used to overcome wind resistance and drag increases dramatically as speed increases.
2) Drive like there is an egg under your foot
3) Don't change lanes quickly.
4) Avoid using car as storage space (the more weight, the more fuel is needed).
5) Buy gas in the early morning before the day warms up.

Ok how about mechanical? Now I realize that with modern cars you are limited but there are still some tweaks that can be made.
1) Use a K&N air filter (no, I don't own stock or work for them they are just the best I have found.) At about $50.00 it is not a cheap filter but it is reusable so over the long haul it is cheaper and it lets the engine breath better so it works better.
2) Use the proper grade of oil for your machine. To light or to heavy a grade can use more fuel.
3) Keep your engine tuned.
4) Keep tires at proper inflation.

and my personal favorite... a contribution from a friend of mine:
Ride a horse :D

(Even with a carriage added you get pretty good mileage per bale and bucket and it's environmentally friendly as well. ;) )

[PA Democrat]

27. Great website with ideas to save gas

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml

[bribri16]

30. I tried to get folks to do this before. Stop all unnecessary spending.

Stay away from the malls. Buy only necessities and drive only when necessary. Car pool as much as possible. Walk when you can. Have most of the elderly in a community try to schedule appointments on the same two days each week and arrange for driving them and picking them up on the same trips. Boycott all gasoline stations that appear to be gouging more than others (they all will be gouging).
Write you Congressman and bombard the media with so much e-mail and mail that it jams their systems. Refuse to buy the products that are advertised the most on TV, stick to store brands and do without if you can.