$4.89 and counting

While the average motorist pays a little over $4 a gallon for gas at the current moment if they're lucky, myself and other diesel drivers (including the truck drivers who cart the products we use daily cross country) are paying almost $5 a gallon. Every time I go to pump my gas, I can't help but half be pleased and half be really irritated at the prices. Why would anyone be happy to pay $5 a gallon? Well, simply put, the past couple of years when I tried to tout my reasons for why the current administration NEEDS to pay more attention to alternative energies, many people would say things like "I don't really care about the environment" or they wouldn't be so blunt, but would tune me out halfway through what I thought would at least be a discussion.

Now, people are listening. Their pocketbooks are taking a hit so even those who "don't care about the environment" are being forced to listen to the cries for an alternative to the current state of affairs; while their first thoughts to solutions are still often something I would disagree with, I get more than the previously allotted 5 seconds to state my case. Even more so, I happen to know a few SUV drivers who are now giving me tips on how to be more fuel efficient. For instance you can keep your speed to below 60 mph and make sure your tires are filled to the correct air pressure. Or you could invest in a car that has higher fuel efficiency. And if you really wanted to help change the way our country views oil, you could pressure your state and federal representatives to create more forums for alternative energies and to find ways to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil.

As always, companies are going to prey on our current needs. You are being hurt by the current prices of gasoline, so the car companies are trying to persuade us that their cars are really the best based on miles per gallons. The Honda Pilot, an suv, has been represented in many advertisements, one of which shows a family walking on the side of the road to get more gas for their car that has apparently run out. They get picked up by a man in a Honda Pilot who gets....wait for it....a whopping 23 miles per gallon. Make sure that before you follow the advertisements to the car lot, that you really think about what this means. 23 miles per gallon may sound wonderful to the average suv user, but remember it's not even close to what you could be getting with a hybrid or a sedan. My Volkswagen Jetta TDI gets approximately 50 mpg. There is a list of the best and worst fuel efficient cars produced by the U.S. Department of Energy which can be found at:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bestworst.shtml. Check out the facts behind the advertisements before purchasing any vehicle.