Conservation, the short term solution

The following is an excerpt from a post on the Hybrid Cars blog by Maria McLean titled, "Soccer Mom Sans SUV". In all the talk about various alternatives to petroleum, we tend to lose sight of the best short term option for helping to wean us from fossil fuels and otherwise help curb carbon emissions. This option is conservation. You know, drive less, turn off lights, use energy hungry appliances left, etc.

"It's also noted that neither biofuel source is plentiful enough to replace petroleum-based fuel in the US. This puts the lie to big automakers' push toward flex-fuel vehicles, many of which will never see a full tank of E85, but all of which benefit from fictional CAFE calculations.

The biggest resource we have, it would seem, is conservation. Even if you own a 12-mpg SUV, you have the power to use less fuel and pollute less. Will the rising costs (monetary, environmental, and geopolitical) of gasoline finally drive that point home?"

Enjoy!