Doug Hilton's Blog

Ways to reduce dependency on oil

There has been a lot of talk recently about the need to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, especially with the recent "revelations" that purchasing petroleum based products could be funding radical Islam. President Bush has now called for a reduction in the dependency on our imported oil. While I do not fully agree with simply the need to reduce foreign oil imports and use domestic oil, I do agree that we need to reduce, if not eliminate, our thirst for oil.

I have collected together a number of ways every person can help in this noble quest with a broad range in both effectiveness and ease of accomplishment. Most of these are common sense, but there are some that people don't realize have anything to do with oil consumption.

This list comes from a number of sources, including my past experiences and knowledge, the More Hip than Hippie podcast and their listeners, and other websites throughout the internet. I make no claim of ownership of these ideas, and want merely to share them.

• Purchase either a hybrid or more fuel efficient vehicle. While this is probably one of the most likely ways to put a dent in our oil consumption, it's also probably one of the most expensive. I hear a lot of talk about how hybrids are not an end all and how they are not economicaly feasible, but the goal here is to REDUCE the amount of oil we consume.
• Perform simple tune-ups to your vehicle to ensure you are getting the best gas mileage you possibly can.
  • Make sure your tires are properly inflated.
  • Change your oil and filter on a regular basis, every 3000-5000 miles.
  • Keep your air filter clean. A dirty air filter is robbing your engine of oxygen
  • Drive with the windows up and air conditioner off. Open windows create drag on your vehicle and reduce your gas mileage.
  • Accelerate slowly and drive at a steady pace. Quick accelerations and erratic driving speeds burn more gas.
• Carpool, take mass transit, ride a bike or walk to wherever you are going. A friend and I both work at the same office, and he passes my house on the way to work. We have both determined that we use an average of 2 gallons of gas a day each when we drive to work. This amount is cut in half when we commute.
• Turn back your thermostats, especially if you have oil heat. Set your thermostats to 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer. Also remember to turn your thermostats back an additional 5-10 degrees when you are not home.
• Close off unused rooms and close the vents/turn the heat off in these rooms. There is no need to heat/cool an unused room.
• Reduce the number of plastic bags you take from stores when shopping. If you buy something small, simply refuse a bag. Most stores are more than happy to let you walk out with simply your receipt as they are also paying for the bags. If you need a bag, think about taking your own. Each reusable cotton bag can save hundreds, if not thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime. I have also found some stores will give a 3 cent credit on your total bill for each reusable bag used.
• If you have to use a plastic bag, use the smallest one possible and as few as possible. When you are done with them, either reuse them around the house, or donate them to libraries, farmers markets, family owned shops, etc. They also purchase plastic bags for their use, contributing to the number of bags. Donate them and close the loop a bit.
• Instead of using plastic water bottles, purchase a high quality, reusable stainless steel water bottle and fill it with filtered water. Again, plastic is a petroleum product and each plastic water bottle you use contributes not only to the land fills, but also the oil companies.
• Crayons - yes, crayons. These are made from wax, which is a petroleum product. There is no reason, nor need to keep crayons from your children, but switching to a soy based crayon can reduce the amount of oil consumed each year. There are a handful of manufacturers on the market, simple to find using the internet. Granted, you can't simply walk into your local mega mart or grocery store and find these, yet, but they are readily available online, and in instances I have found, they are cheaper than the name brand was based crayon.
• Childrens toys. Opt to purchase wooden versions of toys instead of their plastic counter parts. Blocks, puzzles, even toys such as train sets are available in wood.
• Purchase locally grown, in season produce. If your local super market does not carry local, ask them. Better yet, shop at your local farmers market. Not only will you be supporting the local economy and getting fresher foods, but you will be helping to conserve oil. Produce grown across the country or overseas has to get to your store somehow. This is usually by a combination of truck and airplane. The both use large quantities of fuel both poluting the air and contributing to the dependency on oil. Shorten the distance from field to table as much as possible.
• Purchase products that come in glass containers instead of those that come in plastic containers. There has been a large switch from glass containers to plastic ones over the past several years, in part due to costs, and in part dues to safety. There are still some companies that use glass to package their food products, and given the choice, glass is the better way to go.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments. Most of these are things that everyone can do with little effort. It's simply a matter of modifying our behaviors. If we all did our small part, we could help to alleviate the need for broad sweeping legislation that can only harm us in the long run.