Message #53911

[countrigal]

I must say that I like what you say, but can't see it working well where I live.  Though my husband and I will start trying to drive to work together (as we only work 10 blocks from each other) in order to conserve gas.  I drive a minivan due to family size and necessity, and my in-laws drive an SUV for necesity - needed space for 2 wheelchairs and ability of passengers to get in and out more easily due to limited mobility.  My husband only drives our truck when he needs to haul things, either on the trailer or in the bed of the truck, otherwise he drives the car.

As for public transportation or walking... there is virtually no public transportation where I live, and that includes the entire state, and what is available is unreliable.  And walking is not an option since we live in a sprawling suburban area... and it's a minimum 15 minute drive (with no traffic and no lights slowing you down) to the nearest store of any kind.  If I lived within walking distance of work, you can bet I'd be doing so.  And if I could walk to the grocery store, I'd do that too.  I did a lot of that while I lived overseas, only driving when I had to, and loved the freedom of walking and getting exercise while completing necessary tasks.

I've looked and looked into carpooling from my area, but no one lives in my area that also works in my company.  And there really are no other companies close to us that I could look to for carpooling partners either.  And with kids, that adds a kink to carpooling.  (my company is in a residential area, with the only close 'business' being the Middle School next door.)

So while it sounds ideal to say that everyone needs to conserve, it's not always as easy as it sounds.  Our cities have gotten too large so that folks live in rural-suburban areas which require long commutes to work and/or shopping, and for a number of folks, it's too late for them to modify the vehicle that they drive as they only have one and it's the SUV or whatever, and in a lot of areas mass transit is minimal to non-existent.  What we can do is try to drive smarter, drive more efficiently (something I've already started doing, which has increased my MPG's), and when possible, purchase vehicles which will allow for more fuel conservation.  I'm really interested in the alternative fuel sources that are being developed... would love to be able to buy a vehicle that runs on diesel and have it burn on oil from soybeans or other reproducable sources, and the knowlege is already there, we just have to support the building of plants for production and refinement, and get the farmers to start planting for those reasons.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator