Gimme Da Loot, Gimme Da Loot!!!!

When I brought my car 5 years ago it cost me $15 to fill it up with gas. Last week I paid $40. But you know what, I'm not going to bitch and complain about it.

I hear people all the time complain about how high the gas is and how messed up paying $4 a gallon is, and I agree it is messed up. But my co-worker from Dallas pretty much summed up the whole gas "crisis". He said, "...until gas prices get to a place where middle class people have to choose between gas and eating, the government will not do anything about it and people will deal with it. Besides, most of the people who are complaining are still taking summer vacations." We are consumers!

Saudi Arabia (the oil gods) just said yesterday that they would increase production of oil to meet the demand of the US, China, and India. This increase in production should help the cost of gas go down a whopping $0.10 per gallon!!!! Thank You Saudi Arabia!!! What would we do without you?!

Brown Tip:

Stop Bitchin and take metro!

I know y'all, metro is the worst. They are always late, broken, and completely unreliable. But you know what, I take metro to work everyday and I only have to fill my car up every 2 weeks! Taking metro helps to save gas and reduce CO2 emissions (this is an environmental blog after all). And if you work for the government, they give you metro checks which, if you are creative, you can flip for more money!

Tacoma, Washington

I spent the majority of last week in Tacoma, Washington for a conference. During my time there it was pretty much cold and rainy everyday but the people were so nice and pleasant, like a little sunburst in the middle of a rainy day. One of the other things I noticed was the way the people in the Seattle area care for the environment.

The local power company, Seattle City Lights, has a program called Green Up where customers can choose to get a portion of their power from a renewable power source for an extra $3 to $12 dollars a month! WOW! And they advertise this on TV. What if Pepco or PSE&G, which serve 2 major metropolitan areas (DC and NYC), actually discussed, explained, and promoted the use of renewable energy to their customers? We could all be green thumbs with very little effort.

Also, I flew Alaska Airlines direct from Seattle to DCA. It blew me away that they recycle all the plastic cups used on board. Just think about how many drinks you have on a coast to coast flight that lasts about 5 hours...... now multiply that by about 70 (for your flight)..... then by 300 (for all the other flights).... You get the idea. I don't think people really understand the amount of garbage we generate, even in a short time period. Isn't it nice to know that there are places that take this into consideration.

Brown Tip:
Wash Your Cups!

I drink tea a lot and I know some of you drink coffee a lot. Instead of going to Starbucks and having your double mocha coco venti white chocolate latte in a paper cup, take your own reusable coffee cup or travel mug.

Most coffee and tea shops will give you a discount for using your own cup and, of course, it helps to reduce the amount of waste we generate.

I want an SUV?!

I've been happy with my ULEV (ultra low emissions vehicle) for the past 4 years. The civic has been very good to me; it's cheap, reliable, low on gas, and spacious for me. However, I feel like at this time in my life I need an upgrade. I don't like when Bonna has to squeeze into it. I don't like going home to jersey and not being able to take my family out all at one time. I don't like having to borrow someone else's truck when we need to go to Ikea or when Bonna has a gig. Lastly, I hate feeling like the world is advancing around me. You ever see someone with a old assed cell phone?! And you be like, damn that's a old assed phone, get a grown up phone like a blackberry. I need the blackberry equivalent to a car, and that car is the Lexus RX 330.

I know, I know, I can upgrade the civic with an Accord or some other car that is not a gas guzzler, and really be about protecting the environment, but that's the rub. How do I not sacrifice luxury (which I fee like I deserve, and I know this is very obnoxious) but at the same time not increase my harm to the earth. This would be easily solved if I got a hybrid. However hybrids are made for people who live in the city and helps them to save gas in stop and go traffic.

So what do I do? I think a lot of us run into this problem. You want to be good to the earth, but we have such bad habits (like feeling entitled) that we just can't seem to get over. Maybe I'll consider the hybrid.

Brown Tip:
Recycle Damn It!!!

Recycling cuts down on our use of natural and non-renewable resources and energy consumption.

Recycling is required in DC but not in Maryland. The recycle forms for PG and Montgomery County, MD only take a moment to fill out.