High gas prices = change in habits

The price of oil is high. Unprecedentedly high. Even higher than in the late 70's (even when we adjust for today's dollars). There are many reasons for this, but honestly, the heaviest hitter is supply and demand. Our demand for oil is higher than ever, and the supply side cannot increase as much as we want in the amount of time we need. Thus, the best thing we (everyone) can do is try to conserve and demand less.

We thought we'd share with you a couple of the small ways Kellen and I are trying to be better. I've been wanting to put together a post at some point that talks about why oil and gas prices are what they are, what the oil companies are doing about it, and maybe tie in a little of what I do for a major oil company. But that will take me a while (I want to make sure I cite credible sources and provide links for more information). For now, the Springer quest to reduce our oil consumption and thus alleviate some of the guilt we walk around with.

Carpooling and Public transportation:

Yes, before now we were not utilizing public transport enough. In my defense, we only live 9 miles from where I work and any mode of public transport would require me to drive at least 2 or 3 miles to the park and ride and would then take me twice as long to get to work. Kellen's in the same boat (although in the winter and spring he rides his bike the 9 miles to school, right now it is too hot and thunderstormy to depend on that method). However, with one of us driving the dodge pickup, the diesel miles start adding up. So now, Kellen drives me to work in the morning in our relatively fuel efficient car (which we'd like to trade in for a hybrid sometime), then continues on the 2 miles to school. In the evening I ride the light rail to the park and ride and Kellen picks me up on his way home. He doesn't pick me up at work in the afternoon because downtown traffic is awful. So this approach effectively halves our daily gas/diesel use and we get to spend commuting hours in the car together rather than grinding our teeth at Houston traffic alone (which is a huge bonus for our sanity and relationship). Now this may change at some point, but I think that finding ways to conserve require flexibility, right?
(one note, though. We still drive a ton because this is Houston and it pretty much defines "urban sprawl". But we're trying to cut down.)

Reusable shopping bags:

Yes, I know you've all heard this one before, but we are complete converts. The hardy cloth bags can fit way more groceries and they can be slung over the shoulder so you can carry more at once, making the loading and unloading process easier. We were generally getting about 10-12 plastic grocery sacks a week (because you can only get a couple cartons of yogurt and maybe some bread in one bag), so we're saving there. Plastic is a petroleum product, so just these little things can contribute to cutting down on demand.

Any other ideas for us?