The Price of $Gas$

As you may already know, the price of gas here on the island of Newfoundland went up by 6 cents/liter yesterday, bringing prices in the Avalon region up to 1.20 per liter. As expected, various news stories were done about this, with some people claiming that the larger, 4 x 4 gas guzzlers were a necessity in a Newfoundland winter and not a luxury. I think that statements like these are total BS. I drive a small hatchback 1.6 L car around town, and across the island during the winter months. My driving speed adjusts with the weather, and I have good snow tires, which equals to no accidents. People must move away from the large gas pigs and move onto more fuel efficient vehicles and/or public transportation and/or walking/cycling. They will reduce their impact on the environment and decrease the power of the oil companies. FIGHT THE POWER!!!!

Drive-Thru

I can't believe its been over two months since my last blog, I'm a slacker. Anyways, as I was riding home from work on my bicycle this afternoon, I passed by a fast food place (beginning with the letter M and ending with D) and a coffee shop (first word begins with T, second with H), both of these had long lineups for the drive-thru. Two major things wrong with this practice are the burning of soon to be precious gasoline and the release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Gasoline prices are constantly rising, and it is expected by 2012 that supplies will be short, why not save some gasoline and actually walk into the establishment. Earth's average temperature is increasing, which is linked to anthropogenic and natural causes, with increased carbon dioxide levels belonging to the former. This can be minimized by simple things like avoiding drive-thru lineups. Those of you that are pro drive-thru will argue that its faster to get drive thru than park your car, walk into the establishment, and get served. In some cases this is true, but when drive-thru lineups are long, it is actually faster to avoid drive-thru. About 2 weeks ago, I was in the town of Stephenville, NL, and I had seen a large lineup at a local coffee shop. Before the cars at the end of the drive-thru had been served, I had time to walk into the coffee shop, use the washroom, buy a coffee, and return to my car (a 50 mpg beast). Remember, ANTI DRIVE-THRU, ANTI DRIVE-THRU.