no gas on May 15th?

no gas on May 15th?

I'm not sure I can participate... the wife whipped up a delicious fresh salad last night, and in my advanced age, greens are starting to have an entirely different affect on me....

oh... you meant like gas for the car?

well why didn't you say so in the first place?

Seriously though, if I don't buy gas today, it will be purely coincidence. I love our earth, I despise big oil, I hug trees occasional (I still refuse to wear sandals though, can I still be in the club?).

I read the emails.
I feel the frustration,
I weep a little every time I fill up the car.
...but I also know how meaningless the gesture is.

The best analogy I've heard is that it's like someone trying to strike back at McDonalds by saying "I'm not going to get a Mcgriddle-grease-and-egg-bacon-sandwich for breakfast today.... But I'll probably stop by and get a quarter-double-super-sized-happy-meal-with-extra-mayo for lunch" You wouldn't hurt McDonalds doing that, they'd just smile and as if you want fries with it. At the end of the day, they've still got you money.

If the entire nation decided to avoid getting gas on May 15th, but then got gas on May 16th instead, the effect would be null. Sorry.
At the end of the week they've still got you money.

But...
If the same number of people cited in the original email about May 15th (The email said there are 73,000,000 internet users they were hoping to reach, a more realistic number is actually 205,000,000 internet users) made an effort to use a gallon less of gas each month, the impact would be profound.

One gallon is about what.... 20 miles? Maybe a lot less or a little more depending on what you drive. So if you could figure out how to drive that amount less, it would make an honest difference. And ironically, it would be even easier for the gas guzzlers. If you've got a big ol' truck that gets like 9 miles to the gallon, all you've got to do is drive 9 miles less each month. That's like biking to work 2-3 days out of a month.

Now if you're on one of those mopeds that gets around 90 miles to the gallon... you're screwed :)

I'm not a motivator...
I'm the last person that will ever start an internet movement.
But maybe if this floats around a bit it will wind up in the hands of someone who can really spread the word.
So pass it around... if you feel like it.

The problem, I think, is that it's easy for people to say "I won't get gas on the 15th" so it's an appealing idea. Having an effect by actually doing less in the day, instead of more. ("Change the world by being lazy" ...wouldn't that be nice?) But the idea that might actually make a difference takes some effort, so it probably doesn't stand a chance of catching on.