Green Term of the Week - Hypermiling

The news about gas prices and the gas supply over the past few weeks have been alarming. We've been watching a lot more news commentary type programs lately, mostly because of the elections, so I've been listening to all of the reasons why the experts think the gas prices are going up so quickly.

People are beginning to conserve gas in ways that they haven't for decades. This isn't a bad thing. The other day one of the kids across the street was having a birthday party at a play place and he invited my boys and another neighbor boy. I went across the street and asked the other neighbor boy and his mom if they wanted to ride to the party with us. Every little bit helps.

There are those that are really taking the "every little bit helps" maxim to heart and practicing something called hypermiling to save every drop of gas they can.

Hypermiling is the act of driving your car so that you can maximize gas mileage. It includes things you may already do like using cruise control and keeping your tires inflated, but it also can include more extreme things like drafting - the practice of turning your car off on the highway and allowing it to use the reduced wind resistance from the car in front of you to work for you.

It's easy to see why hypermiling is becoming popular right now. Between the high gas prices, the concern about the oil supply, and environmental awareness, people are looking to conserve. If you're one of those looking to conserve, I suggest you try some of the hypermiling tricks, but be careful of some of the more extreme, dangerous ones like drafting.

Here are some links to sites with some ideas:

The Ultimate Guide to Hypermiling
Maximize your Car's Efficiency with Hypermiling