Here in the Triangle, the housing market isn’t our biggest financial woe.  Energy costs is.

As the price of energy goes up incrementally every day, we are less concerned with foreclosures (though some do face this nightmare, we are significantly lower in foreclosures than the national average) and far more concerned with the cost of going to work.

My own commute, as hypocritical as it may seem, is often over 60 miles a day. Nope, I’m not willing to bike that. That’s a price I pay to live where is convenient to Marc’s work (Raleigh) and me work in the city that I love and dream of (Durham). The extra kicker is that Marc drives for a living sometimes (UPS).

My sister and I were on the phone last week and joked how we’re tag-teaming to kick the Ozone’s butt, letting it know we will all do our part to destroy it a quickly as possible. Joking is all we can do to rid ourselves of some of our guilt in an action so contrary to the lives we *want* to lead and the values our hearts carry.

Then we lightened up and agreed we do our part in other areas. We try to shop and eat responsibly. We try to keep the lights off, and to use CFL or LED lights where they make sense (don’t use them in closets… that doesn’t make sense). We wash dishes only in a full dishwasher and laundry in cold water most of the time.

We are big proponents of alternative energy ~ smart research and application of alternative energies ~ here at Green Grounded. Wind is one of our faves, so far, along with solar, and even switchgrass. And there are no definitive answers right now, but by God, the current situation is bleak and getting bleaker. At the current rate, some Triangle residents will have to choose between gas to get to work and healthy food for their families, or their rent, or who knows what. Not to mention the increase of food cost due to rising gas prices and corn used for biofuel. But I fear we are teetering on a disaster if we don’t demand more from our government systems now. And I am not speaking of gas tax holidays or drilling more oil reserves, because, frankly, I see those as superficial gimmicks and lack of true foresight.

Airlines have to think differently. Vehicle owners have to think differently. Fleet companies have to think differently. Homeowners have to think differently. The government must think differently. And we have to do this thinking together, with open minds and civil, educated discussion. The initial “more expensive” cost of alternative energy will be what ultimately saves us from widespread environmental, health and financial devastation.

No preference here or anything, but to pull a quote by Barack Obama out of the May 2008 Endurance magazine,

Americans also benefit from healthy environments that allow them to pursue healthy choices and behaviors that can help ward off chronic and preventable diseases. Healthy environments include sidewalks, biking paths and walking trails; local grocery stores with fruits and vegetables, restricted advertising for tobacco and alcohol to children; and wellness and education campaigns.

I could not agree more… but currently, our fuel consumption is consuming our energy, time and money that could (should) be going to building these bike lanes, walking trails, sidewalks and campaigns.

On that sad note, I will add a CNN post my friend Christian recently sent me on 6 gas-saving myths. Until next time…

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With gasoline prices hitting record levels, it seems everyone has a tip on how to save fuel. Much of the advice is well-intentioned, but in the end, much of it won’t lower your gas bill. Sure you want to save gas, but there’s a lot of bad advice on how to do it. Some of it makes no difference, and some of it can wind up costing you. Here’s a look at a few misconceptions:#1. Fill your tank in the morning
You may have heard that it’s best to fill your gas tank in the early morning while the fuel is cold. The theory goes that fluids are more dense at lower temperatures, so a gallon of cold gas actually has more gas molecules than a gallon of warmer gas.But the temperature of the gasoline as it comes out of the nozzle varies little during the course of the day, according to Consumer Reports, so there’s little, if any, benefit, to getting up early to pump gas.#2. Change your air filter
Maintaining your car is important, but a clean air filter isn’t going to save you any gas. Modern engines have computer sensors that automatically adjust the fuel-air mixture as an increasingly clogged air filter chokes off the engine’s air supply.While engine power will decrease slightly as the air filter becomes clogged, a lack of performance or an increase in fuel consumption will be negligible, Consumer Reports says.#3. Use premium fuel
With prices already over $4.00 a gallon, premium gasoline is a hard sell these days. But a lot of drivers think because their owners’ manual recommends premium, they’ll get better fuel economy with it. Really, they may be paying more money for nothing.Newer cars for which premium is “recommended” - but not “required” - won’t suffer with regular fuel. Modern engine technology comes to the rescue again. When sensors detect regular instead of premium fuel, the system automatically adjusts spark plug timing. The result is a slight reduction in peak horsepower - really, you’ll never notice - but little or no reduction in fuel economy.