Things are going well at the Little Red House. I received news that our new energy efficient sliding glass door and thermal pane window will be installed next week. This is fantastic news, because it will allow us to move forward on some much needed work in the main living areas of the house. In the mean time, we've been putting in some work on our new "victory garden" and going to a lot of graduation parties. One recent party required a trip to down state Illinois, which meant another road trip.
With gas close to $4.00 a gallon here in Chicago, it got me thinking about two recent stories I heard on NPR that deal with the price of gas and the way we drive. One made me cringe, the other gave me a little hope...
The first story concerned Chrysler's new scheme to try and dupe people into buying fuel guzzling SUVs. You can listen to the whole radio segment here, but basically (as NPR's website states):
The car company will let U.S. consumers lock in gasoline prices at $2.99 per gallon for three years, using a pre-paid card. It's part of an incentive program to boost SUV sales.
It's shameful that Chrysler is stooping to such a lazy and pandering gimmick instead of putting their energy into innovation. At one point they we're a company lauded for their cutting-edge car design and creative spirit. Yet, this ploy to try and cling to "the status quo" is the mark of a company in distress—a company that has lost its principles. It is my hope that Chrysler will understand the irresponsible nature of their stunt and change their gimmicky ways.
The second drive-time story is about a group of creative people innovating their way to try and change people's driving habits in order to help conserve gas. Again, you can listen to the entire story here, but NPR's website explains:
Around 400 Denver residents, including the city's mayor, are part of an ongoing experiment to see if drivers can be trained to drive "greener."
A device in their cars will track whether they are braking suddenly or speeding excessively, or if they have other bad driving habits. The goal of the test is to link aggressive driving with excessive fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
David Armitage, CEO of Cartasite, the company that makes the device, says collecting data from several hundred vehicles is key. That's because the program's goal goes beyond just rating individuals. Armitage says the data will help define aggressive driving.
"The goal of the first study is really to enable us to define that shape of that bell curve and understand what normal behavior is. Once we've done that, we will take that information, and we can put it right back into the device."
This is exactly the type of creativity that will help put us on the path to a sustainable tomorrow. Change needs to happen in small, steady steps. Everyone seems to be waiting for a solution to our energy crises to come thundering out of the blue. Most likely, that won't happen. Our way forward needs to be recognized as a series of small steps that all of us take. Small steps, lead to bigger steps. Bigger steps lead to world-changing solutions.
But it takes innovative thinking and a principled spirit—not greed or short-sightedness. If you get a chance, listen to both stories and think about ways to make small changes in your own driving life. They will add up for the greater good!
Please tell us the details on your new energy efficient sliding glass door and thermal pane window. Which manufacturer did you deem "worthy?"
Posted by: Paul Ringstrom | May 13, 2008 at 01:48 PM
I'll be discussing the details about the new door and window in a few weeks for a "PrairieMod Monday" post. To give you a preview, however, I went with Anderson for both items.
Posted by: Eric | May 13, 2008 at 02:03 PM