In its July issue, Marie
Claire magazine featured 10
Things We Won’t Ask You to Do to Cut Back at the Pump. The list, though
meant to be humorous, really seems to laugh at the oil crisis as if no
fashionable 20-something woman should ever consider making some serious
lifestyle changes to do her part to change the world.

The list is, in parts, funny. Suggestions such as filling
your car with balloons and floating to work, cutting your engine while
descending steep hills, using bald tires to avoid drag, rounding up
neighborhood kids to push your car, dumping passengers without stopping, and
siphoning… yes, those are funny. Good job there, Marie Claire.

But also on this list? Combining errands. They use the
example of dropping off dry cleaning while taking your sister to the hospital
to give birth. But this really cuts down on one of the easiest ways we can
conserve gas. Combining trips tends to be one of the first things drivers do
when gas prices increase, and today, it seems like it’s a way of life.

Another suggestion is walking through a drive-through ATM
lane. How about skipping that drive-through lane altogether? Park your car and
walk inside the bank, or use the walk-up ATM most banks have. Or maybe you
should walk through a drive-up ATM. You have as much right to be there as any
motorist.

Finally, Marie Claire
really takes a swing at Bicycle City and cyclists everywhere. Their last
suggestion of things not to do to save gas? Get a bike. As in, do not get a
bike because fashionable 20-something women should not ride bicycles. I cannot
figure out why this is on this list. Is it because helmets create the dreaded
helmet hair? Because you can’t bike in Manolos? No matter where you live, I say,
get a bike and use it! If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that using a
bicycle for daily transportation is convenient and safe, by all means, do it!
If using a bike for daily errands isn’t going to work out for you, park it during
the week and hit the local park on the weekends. Have fun and forget about your
hair. You’ll have time to style it later, after the world is out of oil.