Sometimes There Really Are Simple Answers

Faced with high gasoline prices, and the very likely prospect that those high prices are here to stay, we’re hearing a lot of talk about more offshore drilling, drilling in the arctic, tapping our strategic reserves, coming up with alternative fuels, etcetera and so forth.

But, unless I’ve just missed it, there hasn’t been any organized effort at conservation. Nevertheless, we Americans have started conserving all on our own: We are, in fact, driving less … carpooling, taking public transit, combining trips, parking the gas-guzzlers.

Estimates are that we drove some 30 billion fewer miles over the past six months compared to the same period of the year before. Assuming an overall average of 20 miles-per-gallon, and projecting those numbers over a full 12 months, we’re already saving something like three billion gallons of gas a year. At $4.50 a gallon, that amounts to 13.5 billion dollars or roughly a $50 savings for every man, woman and child in the U.S.

And here’s a really delicious thought: If we keep it up and do even better, think of all the money that we won’t be shelling out to pay our dear friends the Saudis for their crude oil.

If that doesn’t bring a smile to your lips and a spring to your step, nothing will!