Skyrocketing gas prices have been at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds lately (at least the media would have us believe that). With prices being more than double what they were a few years ago, Americans are finally starting to reduce the amount that they use their cars.

The modest decrease in automobile use (1.8% fewer miles driven in April 2008 than April 2007) is good news, but more extensive changes will likely be in store if gas prices continue their meteoric rise. What is the magic number in terms of price that is going to lead to fundamental changes in how we live in North America? By fundamental change I mean hard choices that have a profound impact on how we live, such as moving from the suburbs to the city to reduce commuting expenses.

I was listening to the great Mitch Albom on Detroit’s WJR-AM the other day, and he posed that very question to his listeners. It is a very intriguing question. Mr. Albom contends that in North America our addiction and reliance on our gas-powered automobiles is so great that we would sacrifice almost any other expense before undergoing a radical and fundamental change in our lifestyle. Mr. Albom believes that $10 / gallon (about $2.67 / litre) is the magic number that will introduce a wave of change. This is not an unrealistic scenario - keep in mind that European gas prices are already near or greater than $10 / gallon and many parts of Canada are well on their way to $6 / gallon.

Is Mitch way off with his thinking, or do you think his guess sounds reasonable? Send me your comments about what your own ‘tipping point’ is with regard to changes induced by gas prices.

Photo courtesy of Therese Flanagan
www.thereseflanagan.com

Recently I was in talking to my lawyer about the Kuzuka website and she made a comment that shocked me. She said that she wanted to hang a clothesline to cut down on some of her home energy use and take a step towards reducing her carbon footprint. She decided not to get a clothesline because the city of London (Ontario) had an antiquated by-law that bans the use of clotheslines!

I was so appalled by this news that I did a quick internet search when I got home about clotheslines bans. It turns out London is not alone - communities and home owner associations across Canada and the USA have similar policies in effect. Included in this list are large governments like the city of Vancouver and the province of Nova Scotia. There is even a website dedicated to these unnecessary laws: http://www.laundrylist.org/.

The frustrating thing about these clothesline bans is that they are not at all based on anything scientific or energy-related. These bans were put into place to preserve the aesthetics of residential areas - basically clotheslines were thought to be ugly. I think public opinion has shifted on this issue, and having a clothesline is now considered a ‘thumbs-up’ in many people’s eyes.

In response to the changing perceptions of clotheslines, the province of Ontario and the city of Southampton NY recently passed laws that outlaw any existing clothesline bans - kudos to them for their action on this issue. If your government still has clothesline bans in effect, contact your local representative and let them know what you think about it.

Meanwhile, I’ll send my lawyer an email to let her know that its OK to go get that clothesline after all.

Photo courtesy of Kevin P on morguefile.com.

My wife Jenni and I launched Kuzuka.com earlier this year as an on-line marketplace for carbon offsets. At that moment my life as a blogger began. My blog, “The Buzz”, will provide commentary on the carbon offset industry and other climate change-related things that pop into my head that I want to share.

Before Kuzuka took over our lives, I was a scientist at a leading research institute who used satellite images to answer questions about climate change. I would look at pictures of the Amazon to see how much rain forest had disappeared. I would also look at pictures of Asia to see how much rice was being grown, since rice agriculture is a big source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Now that you know my background as a science geek, hopefully you will understand if it takes me a few blogs to transform my writing style. I’m used to writing for ultra-dry, put-you-to-sleep science journals. This is a big shift in styles for me, but I’m up to the challenge.

I hope to hear from many of you over the coming years. Please feel free to email me with questions or comments about anything related to offsets or climate change - your inquiries will be posted in ‘The Buzz’ so that all readers can benefit from them. And if I can’t answer your questions I’ll try to find someone who can.

Thanks for reading - Steve