Although the skyrocketing price of oil is killing the airline industry (except Southwest) and making a wide variety of products more expensive, it’s finally persuading people to make better transportation choices as well. That makes me happy. People are trading in their gas guzzling trucks for more fuel-efficient sedans, setting up carpools, moving closer to work, and using public transportation. Recently year-over-year oil consumption actually dropped for the first time in a long time.

One technique many people are using has been labeled “hypermiling”. They challenge themselves to squeeze every possible mile out of their existing cars through improved maintenance, pulling unnecessary stuff out of their cars, and most importantly changing how they drive. Check out this website on the subject. Many of the techniques seem easy to do once you’re in the habit, but I obviously don’t recommend NASCAR-style drafting. =)