USA Today: Americans unlikely to save much gas

In our little blog microcosm all we talk about is a variety of ways to conserve fuel or switch to renewable fuel sources. But, according to a USA Today article, the majority of Americans don't plan their fuel consumption habits. It seems we get used to slow increments in fuel prices and we're more afraid of losing something than we are motivated by the advantages of giving it up. If our gas prices went up a dollar overnight, we'd complain, but the slower increases of a couple a cents every time we fill up don't seem to bother most of us. Conservation means sacrifice and giving up some things we take for granted. But while there is evidence of fuel-saving, even that can be put in a negative light. It took a significant rise in gas prices before people changed their behavior just a little bit. If prices were to drift down, conservation would quickly be abandoned by many, but today's high gas prices don't necessarily encourage fuel-saving behavior by everyone. So are things hopeless? Maybe in the near term things look grim, but in the long run things might change for the better. We might make a more fuel efficient choice for our next car and automakers are probably going to give us many more fuel efficient cars to choose from.
[Source: USA Today]