Today's post was an item that was previously published by The Day of New London, Connecticut on 2007, May 27. As I pay $4.99 today for diesel, and others in my town pay $4.07 for regular gas, the article may seem somewhat behind the time, or are we merely crossing the threshold?
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Imagine
S.F. Gale
This is a test.
The good news is: it's self-grading and you don't have to share the results with anyone but yourself.
The bad news is...well, I'll leave that to you to determine.
Here's the test, and it's a two-parter.
Part 1. Next Monday morning as you slip into the cockpit of your four-wheeled living room and crank up the stereo, or voice dial the cell phone, take a look at the odometer and note the mileage reading. Write it down. A week from then, do the same and calculate the miles you drove in the past week.
Now, for the next four weeks, try to reduce that weekly mileage by 10%. If you drove 200 miles in the prior week, try to drive no more than 180 miles for each of the next four weeks. Keep track of your results.
Part 2. Look at last month's electric bill. Look at the kilowatt hours you and your family used. Look at the closing date of the bill, the fifteenth or twentieth of the month, or whatever. Now, beginning with the next billing cycle, do whatever you think feasible to reduce your total electric usage by 10%. Check the bill at the end of that cycle. Compare it with your base month, and with the same month last year in case seasonal fluctuations are relevant.
Now, here's the test:
1. How difficult was it for you to achieve the 10% reduction goals?
2. If it was reasonably easy, is it worth continuing as an adjustment to your lifestyle?
3. If it was difficult or impossible to achieve, why was that so, and what would it take to make it possible for you?
4. How difficult would it be if you had to reduce by 20%?
Now, imagine one of two scenarios:
Scenario 1: The Middle East goes 'boom', and the next big hurricane whacks the Houston shipping channel (or plays a return engagement to the Big Easy this autumn).
Scenario 2: Five to ten years from now statistics substantiate the validity of peak oil and climate change beyond rational doubt, and prices for all forms of fuel escalate rapidly, driven by ever growing international demand from a world that is still foolishly striving to emulate our unsustainable lifestyle.
If either of these scenarios were to occur, either this year or next decade, how would you adjust?
Relax, this is just a test. You have time to think about what you've learned, and the next time you choose to take this test, you may score better.
On the other hand, the next time you are presented with these questions, it may not be a test.
In the mean time, happy motoring!
Onward.
Imagine
S.F. Gale
This is a test.
The good news is: it's self-grading and you don't have to share the results with anyone but yourself.
The bad news is...well, I'll leave that to you to determine.
Here's the test, and it's a two-parter.
Part 1. Next Monday morning as you slip into the cockpit of your four-wheeled living room and crank up the stereo, or voice dial the cell phone, take a look at the odometer and note the mileage reading. Write it down. A week from then, do the same and calculate the miles you drove in the past week.
Now, for the next four weeks, try to reduce that weekly mileage by 10%. If you drove 200 miles in the prior week, try to drive no more than 180 miles for each of the next four weeks. Keep track of your results.
Part 2. Look at last month's electric bill. Look at the kilowatt hours you and your family used. Look at the closing date of the bill, the fifteenth or twentieth of the month, or whatever. Now, beginning with the next billing cycle, do whatever you think feasible to reduce your total electric usage by 10%. Check the bill at the end of that cycle. Compare it with your base month, and with the same month last year in case seasonal fluctuations are relevant.
Now, here's the test:
1. How difficult was it for you to achieve the 10% reduction goals?
2. If it was reasonably easy, is it worth continuing as an adjustment to your lifestyle?
3. If it was difficult or impossible to achieve, why was that so, and what would it take to make it possible for you?
4. How difficult would it be if you had to reduce by 20%?
Now, imagine one of two scenarios:
Scenario 1: The Middle East goes 'boom', and the next big hurricane whacks the Houston shipping channel (or plays a return engagement to the Big Easy this autumn).
Scenario 2: Five to ten years from now statistics substantiate the validity of peak oil and climate change beyond rational doubt, and prices for all forms of fuel escalate rapidly, driven by ever growing international demand from a world that is still foolishly striving to emulate our unsustainable lifestyle.
If either of these scenarios were to occur, either this year or next decade, how would you adjust?
Relax, this is just a test. You have time to think about what you've learned, and the next time you choose to take this test, you may score better.
On the other hand, the next time you are presented with these questions, it may not be a test.
In the mean time, happy motoring!
* * * *
Onward.
