Conserving Gasoline

I quit my job. For a variety of reasons mind you but one of the reasons was the price of gas. For the first time in my life I have a job that is about 45 miles away from where I live (so 90 miles round trip). I usually live within 10 or 15 miles so this is a great distance. I did the math and discovered that at the rate of my pay for only part-time work, about 1/5 of my salary was going into my gas tank. I'd be better off taking a non-career focused job in my home town with a significant pay cut. It'd only cost me about $150 in profits and I would gain hours that were spent in a car to do other stuff.

So I quit. Now I have no need to travel so far so often. The town I live in is small enough that I could walk everywhere I need to go. And despite being a small town, there is a free bus system that runs during the week that I could also take. Or if I must, my car could get me to the grocery store on only a few pennies a trip. So I get to conserve gasoline, save money and hopefully get some exercise too.

From http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=3109

  I really don't mind that the prices for gas are going up. I know it is the socially acceptable thing to do to complain about the high price of gas but the price is still not representative of the actual cost of the gas. There are so many externalities related to the acquisition, processing, distribution and use of gasoline that $4 a gallon just doesn't cover it. I'll accept the high price of a great convenience in modern transport and only use it sparingly. Now instead of just driving anywhere and everywhere, I will do the math to determine if that trip is worth the $32 it will take or if I could combine a lot of errands in one trip rather than take lots of little ones.

I won't give up driving but I'll be wiser about it. I intend to visit some nice trail systems nearby this summer but I'll try to stay closer to home than I have in previous summers. One of the drawbacks of living in such a large, wild state is that getting to a lot of the trailheads requires long drives on gravel or dirt forest service roads. Instead I'll discover the adventures in my own backyard. Even with travelling to fun places this summer, I'll still use less gas than if I kept my job and travelled 300 miles a week.