Gas-X

I love these series that The Grey Lady has been doing lately, when they present a topic and get a bunch of different people to write and easily-digestable, 200 word or less item on it. It never fails to get me thinking and fire up my imagination.

This week's round-up is on the impact of high gas prices on daily living. Definitely worth reading in full for yourself. But here are the items that I found especially interesting:

1.) The wage gap. Apparently riches are only spending around 2% or less of their income on gas, while the poors are spending around 16%. And, oh did we meniton, that a lot of cities are cutting back on public transportation this year? In the interest of avoiding class warfare, definitely a problem that I think we might want to address. (Fuel for Inequality)

2.) The Green Bubble. The latest investor fill up, but even if this one bursts, it'll most likely leave all sorts of good stuff behind. (What the Green Bubble Will Leave Behind)

3.) The New White Flight. Apparently, people might start abandoning their houses in faraway suburbs for smaller houses or apartments in the city, due to high gas prices. What will become of those abandoned neighborhoods? And, as someone who lives in a walking neighborhood, I'm beginning to worry about urban pile-up. That is, more people in the city. More cars on our narrow streets. People living on top of each other. Ugly, high-rises going up to accommadate more apartment dwellers. Problems to follow. (Ghosts of the Cul De Sac)

4.) The death of road trips. I feel sad when I think about this, but Michael Paterniti makes a pretty convincing argument for why this might be a good thing. (Goodbye to the Great American Road Trip)

5.) Tax credits for not driving. Yes! So agreed that this should happen -- especially now that I'm riding an electric bike. (Tax Brakes)

6.) Driving green. Some simple tips on how to use less gas while tooling around town. (Be the Prius)

7.) Lightening up. I had just about decided to get a Saturn Vue Hybrid vs. a ThinkCity for reasons I'll get into in a future post. But apparently, I might want to wait a little while longer, because Detroit while start using some futuristic materials to make cars lighter and therefore, greener. (The Light Stuff)

8.) Helmet hair. Dreadlocks are immune to helmet hair, but just about every other hairstyle is not. This is a funny reminder, why many women might not switch to a bike-riding lifestyle, no matter how high gas prices get. (Hair-Raiser)