The time has come to stop sticking your head out the window and yelling “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” as Howard Beale told you to do in the 1976 movie “Network”.(1) NOW is the time to do something about IT! The “IT” is the price of gasoline. What can you do? Easy. Rise up people and help yourselves and your environment. Rise up and “SAVE ONE GALLON” of gasoline per week per car. That’s it. One gallon. Think ahead. Plan. Don’t stop shopping at the Wal-Mart or Target or the Mall of America. Don’t buy fewer groceries at Safeway or Costco. Just do it in one trip - not two or three. Don’t cruise Main Street for two hours - go see a Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart or Kristen Bell movie instead or stay home to watch American Idol or listen to Usher or Miley Cyrus. Just do something to “SAVE ONE GALLON” of gas per week. Fifteen to twenty-five miles per week less driving - that’s all. Don’t change your life. This is not a call to sacrifice anything. Just be one gallon of gas smarter per week. Band together people. The voices and actions of three hundred million people can and will have an IMMEDIATE IMPACT. You can make a difference right NOW. Don’t depend on President Bush or Vice-President Cheney or Speaker Pelosi or the Congress of the United States or the Department of Transportation or the Department of Energy or the Environmental Protection Agency or even the IRS. And don’t look to John McCain, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton to do the work for you. This is a country “of the people, by the people and for the people”.(2) So PEOPLE it’s time to help yourselves and do something about “IT”! You have the power - the power of the people. You have the will. You have the knowledge. You have the tools. And, you REALLY have the economic clout. So why not take matters into your own hands and make a small change in your life that will have a huge and positive impact on everyone’s life. And…help save the planet from choking to death at the same time.
How will saving one gallon of gas help? You want to know the impact of such a small thing? Well, here are the facts:
1. According to the US Department of Transportation, there were 136,568,083 passenger cars registered in the United States in 2005 and the total motor vehicle registration was 247,421,120 which included trucks, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles.(3)
2. In 2006, the US used 388.6 million gallons of gasoline per day for motor vehicle gasoline consumption(4) or about 11.658 billion gallons of gasoline per month.
3. If each registered passenger car used one gallon of gasoline less per week (a savings of 136,568,083 gallons) for a monthly total of 546 million gallons, this would be a reduction of 4.6% in the amount of gasoline consumed.
4. If each registered passenger car used two gallons less per week that figure would 9.2%.
According to Dr. Kenneth B. Medlock III of the Baker Institute of Rice University: “In order to achieve lower prices in the longer term, it is imperative that demand growth in this country be curbed. Many have pointed to growing demand in Asia as the culprit for higher prices, but we consume 33 percent of the world’s road transportation fuel and demand continues to grow. Thus, as American demand goes, so goes the world price of oil…Perhaps the most powerful tool we have for lowering both the level and volatility of gasoline prices is conservation. For example, if the average American could simply drive 35 fewer miles per week, we could immediately cut national gasoline consumption by 12 percent, or about 1.3 million barrels per day of oil. This would have a staggering effect on the gasoline price.”(5)
Now let’s get serious about helping the planet, too. Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Personal Emissions Calculator(6), driving 22.9 miles less per week or approximately one gallon of gas(7) will save 1,105 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per year from being propelled into the atmosphere. The average car spews out 12,100 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per year. Drive one gallon less per week and reduce your personal auto emissions by 9% per year! Not too shabby.
So now it’s your turn. Don’t write to Washington – EMAIL this page to your family and friends instead. Don’t complain about the government – send a LINK to this page to everyone in your computer’s address book. CONTACT your friends via MySpace, Facebook or your blog and let them in on the plan. Start the ball rolling right now. You CAN do it. It can happen almost over night. Your rallying cry of “SAVE ONE GALLON” will be heard around the world in an electronic minute. It’s time to stop yelling about how mad you are and just DO something to make the world a better place!
