Teaching old dogs new tricks? It took soaring fuel prices for old habits to shift. But they’re shifting alright. Just take a look at these poll results – Gallup finds that big numbers of Americans are making changes in their daily lives to deal with higher gas prices. Here’s a snapshot:
Most telling, perhaps, is that 7 out of 10 poll respondents are considering a more fuel-efficient car. That’s a change that’ll help control energy costs for years to come, no matter what happens to the price of gasoline. (And given recent history, hoping for a return to cheap oil is a risk that fewer and fewer families are willing to take.)
Even though we can’t control the price of gas, we cancontrol our consumption – we can drive less, take transit, consolidate trips, drive slower, put air in the tires, carpool, walk…choices that are good for our pocketbooks, the climate, and our health. So, it’s no surprise that Americans are already choosing smarter travel habits. Over the long haul, it’s just common sense.
Rising energy costs—and our demonstrated ability to adjust our consumption in response—gives us all the more reason to support a cap on climate-warming pollution. A cap will allow us to take charge of our energy future, invest in alternatives that are more stable, and keep more of the money going to foreign oil in our local economies – with the added bonus of taking action to turn around our impacts on the climate.
Jon Morgan
Transit ridership growth is finally picking up significantly, even though just 31% of those in this survey said they were using transit, bikes, or feet more. Hopefully ever-rising gas prices will force more demand and money for transit. I’d hope that along with tolls, high gas prices would encourage more people to use cars more efficiently by carpooling more. I’m curious why there’s no slugging in the Seattle region. We certainly have the HOV lanes and gas prices to support it.