Everyone is affected by the rising gas prices. Governments, communities, and families are all seeking relief from the economic turmoil that’s emerging. A progressive change in the way we are living is the only way to keep our heads above water.
The most common ways to bring immediate relief to reducing your gas bill are automobile factors. Try adhering to some of the following ideas:
- Empty your car. The lighter the vehicle, the less gas it uses.
- Map your trips to make sure you are taking the most economical (either shorter or more gas-friendly highway) routes.
- Keep your car in excellent repair. According to Chevy, keeping your tires properly inflated can save up to 3% in gas mileage, for example. Even better, having a clean air filter can boost your gas mileage by up to 10%, according to The Daily Green.
- Improve your driving techniques. Learning how to brake and accelerate properly, as well as keeping your speed steady can greatly affect your consumption.
- Responsibly use gas station credit cards for the extra incentives they offer.
- Refuel before your tank gets low. According to AAA, this will keep the fuel pump submerged and running cooler.
- Idle for as short a period of time as possible.
When looking over your oil consumption, an often overlooked practice is to identify all the ways in which oil is a factor in your life. Other than your automobile, oil plays a part in many other lifestyle factors.
Food
- Other than housing, the next biggest household expense is food. As gas prices increase, so does everything else. That can hit hard at the grocery store. It takes an awful lot of fuel for a tomato to travel from Mexico to Maine. Buy local foods when possible. Yes, that means you’ll have to eat more food that’s in season, but you’ll be reducing overall oil usage, supporting the local economy, and saving money.
- Even better than buying local foods, grow your own. Anyone (even city dwellers) can grow some produce and use zero gas to produce the freshest food.
- Producing meat and animals products uses more oil than most other food sources. Choose more vegetarian options. They are cheaper, nutritious, and help conserve resources.
Plastic
Plastic is a byproduct of oil. Use it as little as possible. Plastic is integrated in our lives in many ways. Try starting with the following tips:
- An ABC article reported that 12 billion barrels of oil is used to produce 30 billion plastic bags. Reuse your bags or bring your own totes.
- Glass storage containers are an excellent alternative to plastic.
- Wooden toys are not just nostalgic items; they are the wave of the future, too. Not only do they use less oil to manufacture, but they are more durable, last longer, and use less plastic packaging.
Yes, an oil crisis maybe threatening, but we are not powerless. Concentrate on improving the areas you can, and not only will you be better off financially, but may help reduce our nation’s dependency on oil.
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