Image Courtesy: AAA via Grist.com

Found this interesting graphic on Grist in an article titled “How high do gas prices have to get to trigger behavior change? “.  So, do Americans really change their driving habits when the gas prices rise? According to the graph, the answer is an emphatic yes.  The article quotes AAA saying, ” A AAA survey conducted at the beginning of the month found 84 percent of respondents saying they have changed their driving habits or lifestyle in some way in response to recent gas-price increases, and 87 percent would change driving habits further if prices remain this high for long. The most common change adopted so far is combining trips and errands, which 60 percent of respondents say they’ve done. And 16 percent say they’ve purchased or leased a more fuel-efficient vehicle.” Read the entire article here.

Note:  If the gas prices continue to rise with the drum beats of war getting louder and louder by the day, we can expect to see many drivers ditching their cars and opt to taking transit to work and to other places.  I hope the transit agencies do everything in their power to demonstrate the conveniences of riding a bus/train and entice these flocking masses to continue using transit as a primary option for getting around.  Oh, the big question I have in mind – Are the American transit agencies equipped to handle this sudden spike in ridership? Many transit agencies are hobbled by poor funding patterns over the years and it will be hard to meet this new segment of ridership arrives to what is an already exploding demand.  Let’s see what happens.  (Oh, no matter what the scenario is, one can expect to see a decline in VMT numbers again).

(Source: Reddit.com)

The brilliance of this image lies in exposing the hypocracy surrounding the escalation in gas prices. Too bad such political ploys have become the norm at Capitol Hill.  Can we let the President focus on solving the nation’s problems and spare him these silly distractions?  Compelling enough for a web post.

Image Courtesy: via Reddit

Image Source: NG Oil & Gas (via Jalopnik) Click to Enlarge

The saying goes like this: A picture is worth a thousand words. But this picture shown above is worth all the words you ever want to write about our addiction to foreign oil.  What is striking in this picture is the fact that almost everyone of these top 10 nations where we get our oil from, with the exception of Brazil & Canada, has been battling or contributing to violence in its own soil or in foreign soil through covert (at times overt) funding for terror groups & radical factions.  Hope our Government as well as the citizens start thinking about ways to curb this problem.  A good start would be to look at the type(s) of vehicle sitting in our driveway and ask yourself this question “Do I really need this vehicle?”  If possible, downsize to something that makes sense (a v10 or v8 for a daily commute to work does not make sense).  Just by doing that, you are not only contributing to a greener planet but also towards limiting the funds flowing to gunslingers and bomb makers in these hot spots.

(Source: Jalopnik & Oil and Gas News via Cool Infographics)

(Source: Carnegie Mellon University Design Decisions Laboratory)

PITTSBURGH— Carnegie Mellon University professor Jeremy J. Michalek and researchers Dr. Constantine Samaras and C.-S. Norman Shiau report in a new study that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with small battery packs may be the best bet for saving drivers money while addressing U.S. dependency on foreign oil and global warming.

            In an article to appear in the journal Energy Policy, the authors find that urban drivers who can charge their vehicles frequently (every 20 miles or less) can simultaneously reduce petroleum consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and expenses with a plug-in hybrid vehicle whose battery pack is sized for about 7 miles of electric travel per charge. In contrast, plug-in hybrid vehicles with large battery packs – sized for 40 or more miles of electric travel – are too expensive for fuel savings to compensate, even in optimistic scenarios.

            Plug-in hybrid vehicles use charged batteries to propel the vehicle partly using electricity instead of gasoline, which gives them potential to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. “Larger battery packs allow drivers to go longer distances on electric power. But batteries are heavy and expensive,” says Michalek. “We accounted for the effects of additional batteries on vehicle cost, weight and efficiency in order to understand the net implications on petroleum consumption, cost, and greenhouse gas emissions. Over a range of scenarios — including fluctuating gas prices, new battery technologies or high taxes on carbon dioxide emissions — plug-ins with small battery packs are economically competitive with ordinary hybrid and conventional vehicles for drivers who charge frequently.”

Click here to entire press release.