I am in a very similar situation with respect to what I drive. I have a 4WD pickup. In the winter, conditions here can be pretty treacherous. I had a Ford Ranger prior to this vehicle, but it didn't survive my first winter here. I could probably come up with a more fuel efficient choice that works, but I normally drive less than 5,000 miles a year. When I do drive, I stick to about 60 mph. I never run the AC in my truck, and try not to in my house.

My house has compact fluorescents throughout. In the winter, I put an extra layer of clothes on. In the summer, I open up the windows. I know you can't get away with that in a place like Houston, but that's one reason I don't live in Houston.  

RR

Hello RR & fello TODers,

My "light green" conversions are much like yours.  Here in Phx, just today, I finally turned on the swamp cooler.  No heat needed last winter, just an extra sweater, and when it started warming up: we would open the kitchen and bedroom arcadia doors after sundown to nightly cool the house sufficiently to keep the heat at bay during the day. Yet most people in Phx have been running their A/C units for several months now, and it is not even hot yet!  Now that the night-time temperatures are starting to elevate, running our swamp cooler is still much cheaper than running an A/C unit, and the upducts in each room ventilate the rafter space to help cool the entire house [if you keep the doors and windows closed].  An A/C unit just recycles the stale air inside the house, and has to work that much harder than a swamp cooler because the rafter space gets very hot here in Phx adding heat to the inside rooms.  I prefer the fresh filtered swamp air and the cost savings, but I have been unsuccessful in convincing my neighbors to convert over.  At least they do not have air-conditioned garages for their cars like some wealthy residents do!

I went from a '95 4.3 liter V-6 shortbed GMC pickup to a recently purchased used 2004 0.580 liter Honda Silverwing scooter for nearly all my transportation needs--quadrupling my fuel savings, and having a lot more fun too.  =)  I just have minimal liability coverage on the pickup and only use it when I need to haul something too bulky for my scooter.  Most residents here are still caught up in their SUVs with the A/C on full blast, but I hope most will soon become 'light green' from rising fuel prices and join me on scooters, mopeds, motorcycles, and bicycles for most of their commutes and errands.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

Hi Bob,

Last summer I bought a Kawasaki 125 cruiser bike for my short jaunts to town. Actually I bought it from a guy down there in Mesa almost new.

It works great for 90 percent of my trips, and gets about 90 miles per gallon. Occasionally I fire up my restored 1986 Toyota pickup if I need to haul something.

For any longer trips we take my wife's '96 Honda Civic Hatchback, which will get about 40 miles a gallon if one drives conscientiously.

The Kawasaki is definitely a lot of fun, especially since my four-mile trip is on very scenic and empty back roads.

Hello Don in Colorado,

Phx is probably one of the worst 'walkable' cities in the world when it comes to meeting the daily needs of its citizens, and the ever increasing sprawl is only going to make things worse in the future when we need to localize everything as much as possible.  Even I realize that my scooter is only a temporary 'bridge' to what really needs to be done, but our area leaders are totally clueless, or totally in the pockets of infinite growth advocates [Westexas's Iron Triangle].

Consumers will change and modify habits as prices skyrocket, but eventually they run into the 'wall' of the existing infrastrucure being totally mismatched for the infrastructure requirements of the new paradigm.  The big question then is: does net energy wealth and vital biodiversity still sufficiently exist to peacefully make this final paradigm leap?  My belief is that most US cities will not be able to afford this final transformation-- that is why I advocate the global building of distinct biosolar habitats protected by Earthmarines.

If our national leaders even merely discuss the building of these habitats: it will be a huge wakeup call for the masses that a paradigm shift is coming, and they will start Powerdown much more willingly and cooperatively.  The more gradual this shift can occur-- the less overall violence will occur.

There is much speculation on TOD whether the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, and their govt. contract for camps will be harsh concentration camps for the poor and severely indebted, or for illegal immigrants, or for those protesting against the existing status quo of the infinite growth paradigm.  I would hope the elites would build these camps in geographic areas that incorporate the best future estimates of sustainable biodiversity and instead accept the pioneer Powerdowners like Richard Rainwater and those of much less wealth willing to jumpstart the next paradigm.  Time will tell.

Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?