Okay, this idea may be too radical for some, but it worked for me. Last week, when I was planning out Memorial Day weekend with my kids, it became obvious that everyone would be happiest if we stayed close to home, didn’t plan any long drives, and took advantage of locally-available entertainment. I had to admit, using the bare minimum of gasoline on Memorial Day weekend seemed a perfect way to honor our men and women in uniform, so many of whom are in danger in Iraq right now fighting for oil.

So, instead of filling up the tank and driving across the state for the three-day weekend, we found things to do right in our own backyard, and I made a bet with myself that I would get through the weekend with only the eighth of a tank of gas I had in my car. What did we do? Well, relying heavily on our own personal motive power, we took advantage of the community farmers’ market, the annual “Buckskinners Rendezvous” taking place in the park next door to our house, the tennis courts across the street, the community bike path, and the river a block away. Oh yeah, and the Weber grill, the local ice cream stand and a deck of cards! In the course of three days, we got around on our bicycles, our canoe, our rollerblades, and, last but not least, our feet.

Okay, we did cheat a little by going to the drive-in movie theater on Saturday night, but that’s only six miles away… In the end, I won my bet with myself, and didn’t have to buy gas all weekend. And you know what? We all had a great time, we all got plenty of sunshine, fresh air and exercise, and we didn’t miss driving the car one little bit…

It’s an interesting time in the fuel efficiency world. Saving the world by using less gasoline and diesel fuel is no longer an altruistric dream; it’s become an economic neccessity. How else do you explain Toyota’s recent announcement that it has just sold its millionth gas-electric hybrid Prius? That translates into what Toyota believes is “a reduction in CO2 emissions (considered a cause of global warming)” due to the fact that those million-Priuses produce approximately 4.5 million tons less CO2 when compared with gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class and of similar size and driving performance (although they do not include an estimate in the amount of gasoline saved!).

Last week I saw further proof at the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference in Las Vegas, NV. I was moderating a panel discussion on fuel efficiency technology for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and I asked how many in the crowd of about 250 people how many of them were fleet managers who were under orders to “green” their fleets. About three-quarters of the people in the room raised their hands, and I have to say it was an impressive sight!

On the other hand, I also took part in a panel discussion with several other transportation journalists on the future of transportation, and one gentleman in the audience called us all on the carpet for being alarmists. An engine rebuilder from California, this gentleman didn’t believe there was any need for alternative fuel vehicles or hybrids–he went as far as to say, “I don’t believe you that we have to solve this problem in the next five years. I don’t think we need to solve this problem within the next five hundred years!”

If we really don’t need to solve this problem for the next five hundred years, I guess Toyota will look a little stupid, what with all those Pruises out there… What do you think? Do we have a five year window, or five hundred? Have we reached peak oil, or peak hysteria?

Sometimes even I get tired of ranting about how and why the country’s (and the world’s)fuel problems have gotten so completely out of control, and when I do, it’s nice to happen upon some good news. Yes, it’s nice to be reminded that there are an awful lot of very smart people out there who are working on solutions to our problems.

Today, I got such a reminder. Today, I received a press release from CALSTART, a group that bills itself as “North America’s leading advanced transportation technologies consortium,” announcing the winners of their 2008 “Blue Sky Awards,” and it made my day. You see, there’s not just one award; there are serveral, and the winners are a pretty impressive lot.

First up is Eaton Corporation, of Cleveland, Ohio, winners of the Blue Sky Award™ for “being the world’s first in developing and bringing to market both hybrid electric and hybrid hydraulic systems for medium and heavy commercial vehicles.” Next up, Business Region Göteborg of Sweden won the Charles R. Imbrecht Blue Sky Innovation Award™ for “catalyzing Sweden’s use of biomethane as a renewable transportation fuel now powering 4,500 natural gas cars, trucks and buses and a commuter train.” Southern Counties Express, Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for “buying a fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) port trucks and operating an LNG fueling station that is publicly available to the port trucking community.” Union Pacific Railroad Co. (NYSE:UPN), of Omaha, Neb., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for “the development, procurement and deployment of more than 150 ultra-low emitting ‘Genset’ multi-engine diesel switching locomotives.” And last but not least, ZipCar, of San Francisco, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for its car-sharing program and “its impact on the environment, reduction of parking demands, lessening of traffic congestion and greenhouse emissions.”

We here at Fuel Advantage magazine congratulate these winners, and we thank them for the positive contributions they have made to the world. If they keep this up, we may not need this magazine much longer!