Lifestyles

Mark Morford has a great column in todays sfgate. In it he speculates about our near future of petroleum deprivation. How will people react to 8 dollars per gallon? It seems that even though the price of crude is dropping (today anyway) the price at the pump is not expected to go down any time soon. CNNmoney offers Six Fixes for High Gasoline Prices. These fixes are rife with short-sightedness and are largely supply-side oriented. Most would be likely to have little impact at the pump, while some could have dramatic environmental impact. The article ends on a sage note:

The fact that these proposals have so many caveats, and would likely bring prices down only moderately or not at all, leaves some analysts saying there's not much the government can do to lower prices.

High gas prices are here to stay, and consumers are just going to have to bear the burden until they figure out how to use less fuel, they say.

""Like the president said, it's an addiction," said Lee Schipper, a visiting scholar at University of California Berkeley's Transportation Center. "There's going to be a time when going cold turkey hurts."

Moreover, even if the government could lower prices, it might not be in everyone's long-term interest.

"It's only when the price is high that people actually do things" to conserve, said Schipper. "Gas at $2 a gallon underprices the real cost to the environment and the nation."

Morford's speculation is entertaining, but here's what's happening NOW: People are driving less, driving more efficiently, and making better decisions about how to live. Hell, maybe we'll even get our rail and streetcar systems back.

JetBlue goes Green

CSRwire reported this morning that JetBlue has announced a green initiative. The press release from carbonfund.org addresses several steps that JetBlue is taking to clean up their act. They will be making operational changes (read: increasing efficiency), working in conjunction with Airbus, Honeywell Aerospace and International Aero Engines to develop a sustainable jet-bio-fuel, and offering carbon offsets to their customers through carbonfund.org.

This move to help customers purchase carbon offsets for their flying is one that I have been expecting for a while. It seems natural. PG&E has an offset program that goes right on your monthly gas bill (I wrote about it here).

I have been wondering why car dealerships aren't offering Terrapass offsets right from the salesperson. They could even offer offsets as an incentive.

conventional green

This popped up on CNN about a week ago. Convention and conference organizers are finally leaning green in response to their corporate clients. Big Business is starting to care:

But lately, greener practices have become a priority for businesses. Of the two-thirds of the world's top 500 companies that publish corporate social responsibility reports, 87 percent address climate change and 65 percent have a specific portion on climate change issues. Seventy-eight percent publish quantitative emissions data, according to CorportateRegister.com.

These types of corporate social responsibility mandates -- combined with some managers' genuine concern for the issue and a public demand that companies do their part -- has led to the growth of green meetings.

And here's a good reason:

Many companies and meeting planners have been pleasantly surprised that producing green meetings can be cost effective.

Some elements do cost more, but the increase in efficiency can offset the expense, Makower said.

For example, he said, using pitchers of water instead of individual bottles might cancel out the cost of organic food.

McKinley said a meeting client recently saved money by switching from plastic disposable service ware to compostable serving pieces, because the high price of petroleum increased the cost of plastic.

Again we see that green is good from both an economic and an environmental perspective. For those who are still skeptical about climate change, I'll say this: Take advantage while you can! It's a trend right? So no one can actually accuse you of caring about the climate (how embarrassing!). If they do, you can explain how you're taking advantage of the ignorant masses by using their desire for all things green to save you money!