High Gas Prices Mean 4-Day Workweeks

Some positive developments from high gas prices - more flexible schedules:

When Ohio's Kent State University offered custodial staff the option of working four days a week instead of five to cut commuting costs, most jumped at the chance, part of a U.S. trend aimed at combating soaring gasoline prices.

"We offered it to 94 employees and 78 have taken us up on it," said university spokesman Scott Rainone.

The reason is simple: rising gas prices and a desire to retain good workers. And while so far only the university's custodians are eligible, Rainone hopes the option will be offered to all departments -- including his own.

Full story: Workers shifting to 4-day week to save gasoline

In other news, researchers have found that city dwellers use less carbon than rural or suburban dwellers:

Each resident of the largest 100 largest metropolitans areas is responsible on average for 2.47 tons of carbon dioxide in energy consumption each year, 14 percent below the 2.87 ton U.S. average, researchers at the Brookings Institution say in a report being released Thursday.

Those 100 cities still account for 56 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide pollution. But their greater use of mass transit and population density reduce the per person average. "It was a surprise the extent to which emissions per capita are lower," Marilyn Brown, a professor of energy policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of the report, said in an interview.

Full story: Researchers: City residents produce less carbon

One Positive Effect of High Gas Prices: More Biking

People are starting to bike more thanks to high gas prices:

Four-dollar-a-gallon gas is good for business — if you run a bike shop. Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers — or buying new ones — to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say.

"Everyone that comes in the shop is talking about the gas prices," said Barry Dahl, who opened Barry's Bikes in Bismarck in April. He sold more than 50 bicycles in the first month, double the projections in his business plan.

Teacher Joyce McCusker of Herndon, Va., owns a bicycle for the first time in years. She bought it last month and uses it to make the eight-mile trip home from work. A friend drives her pickup to take McCusker's daughter home from school.

"I'm still using fossil fuel," she said. "In two years, my goal is to ride both ways, every day through the year."

The full story: Gas prices knock bicycle sales, repairs into higher gear

Petition to Google Maps to Add Biking Information

Sign the Google Maps 'Bike There' Feature Request petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.html

Driving...Argh...

I am currently in a 7-week yoga teacher training program on the other side of town, and after checking out the public transportation options, I finally decided the car was the better way to go. Taking the bus there isn't a problem because it's only one transfer; but on the way back three busses are needed and I don't want to be transferring around from bus to bus after 9 pm on a Friday night. (Not to mention I'm lugging around a heavy bag full of textbooks, a yoga mat, and often a lunch sack.)

Because of this, my gas costs have shot up exponentially (I normally don't drive this much). I'm looking at spending an extra $150 in gas this month thanks to all the driving back and forth and the highest gas prices in history.

I'm a little frustrated that there aren't better options; but it's that continual concern of being a single female trying to navigate public transport late night after dark that's my biggest reason for taking the car.

Why More People Don't Take the Bus

Here is an interesting thread on LosAngelesGasPrices.com about why people don't take public transit more in SoCal.

For myself, I would take the bus more places if it weren't for the safety issue late at night...and sometimes it just takes too darn long. But the bus did come in handy recently, when I had a weekend workshop to attend. I took one bus that cost me 75 cents each way. The parking for the day at the hotel was $19/day. No kidding.

$4 Gallon Gas in Hawaii

Big news today: Gas is hitting $4/gallon in Hawaii. Now, if I lived in Hawaii, I would not want to drive all the time. It's beautiful there - how about walking or at least getting a scooter? What's really ironic about the article is that people who are driving oversized trucks and vans are whining, saying this is "crazy" and "outrageous."

Folks, if you weren't driving an oversized behemoth, you wouldn't be wasting all your money at the gas pump. If you have to pay over $100 to fill up your tank, maybe you need a more fuel-efficient car. Don't blame gas prices for your own shortsightedness.

My New Green Tech Blog

There are some environmental topics I'd love to cover here that don't quite fit in with the subject of this blog. So I've started a new blog:

Green Tech Girl