THE US REPORT

The website CleanMPG is a curious entity—created during times when most of us want to max a gallon of gas as much as possible. My own commute is very emissions-friendly—I walk from our bedroom to my office. But I can’t dodge driving altogether—newspapers want in-person interviews usually, author events require me to show up in person, bank deposits and other errands require driving.

There’s an interesting forum on ‘hypermiling,’ a term I didn’t even know. CleanMPG offers this: “Hypermiler is a term coined by Wayne Gerdes to describe a driver who strives to exceed their vehicle's EPA fuel economy rating.” There are a number of tips on the site, and a special discussion thread on hypermiling, and a constant caution to refrain from doing anything illegal. Some advanced tips having to do with tire pressures and types of oil seem complicated to me—my knowledge of car engines is limited to starting and stopping.

The Environmental Protection Agency also has a few tips for fuel economy—observing the speed limit, avoiding idling, and ditching excessive weight in your trunk. I never thought much about that last tip until a young man helped me with my groceries. “Wow! You got a clean trunk!” he said. I asked him what he meant. “You oughta’ see the stuff people have in their trunks.”

The CleanMPG website has a lot of information about electric vehicles as well as information about fuel efficiency in older vehicles. The site banner claims members have saved more than 189,000 gallons of fuel.

Text and photo by Kay B. Day