In my last blog entry, I wrote about a friend at work asking me recently why diesel fuel is so much more expensive than gasoline, and the answer was somewhat sinister. Well, later that very same day I was at a dinner party with friends, and another sinister issue came up. Since we were all eating, it was only natural for the conversation to turn to the high cost of food. Inevitably, someone asked why food prices were rising, and someone else said, without any trace of doubt in his voice, “Well, it’s because all of our crops are going to biofuel production.”

I had to break in when I heard that. “No,” I said, “You’re falling for big oil’s propoganda.”

Big oil would like us all to blame the biofuel industry for high food prices, but it just isn’t so. I explained to my friends that far more of our corn and soybean crops are used to feed livestock than to produce biofuels. And then we eat the livestock. And nobody wants to give up their Whoppers.

Does this mean we should blame the livestock industry? Do we all become vegetarians? No, that would be just as silly and ignorant as blaming the biofuels industry (although it wouldn’t hurt any of us to eat less meat). So, as you’re cooking out this Fourth of July weekend, if you want to look for something to blame for high food prices, don’t blame biofuels. The real culprit is the high cost of transporting food to market, and that, my friends, is caused by skyrocketing fuel prices. Which takes us full circle, back to the question of why diesel fuel has become so much more expensive than gasoline. Sinister, isn’t it?

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…

I had an illuminating chat the other day with Alexis Coffey, Freightliner Trucks’ Medium-Duty Marketing Manager, about her company’s plans for producing hybrid work trucks. Production is already underway, so if you’ve been thinking about adding a hybrid work truck or stepvan to your fleet, Freightliner is taking orders…

According to Coffey, Freightliner Custom Chassis has been building hybrids for the delivery van market since 2003, and it’s this proven hybrid system that is now available on the Class-6 and -7 Business Class M2. “We started the concept truck two years ago, and now we’re in ‘pre-series,’” she said. “This year we could build 400 to 500 trucks. And going into full production at the beginning of next year, we’ll be talking about very high numbers. You bring me the order and I’ll build you the truck!”

Coffey sees the greatest potential for the new M2 hybrid in the utility market, in large part because the lift and the PTO on a bucket truck can be run silently on the hybrid’s battery pack. Imagine no more shouting between the guy in the bucket and the gal on the ground, because the truck isn’t running (The engine only starts up for a few minutes at a time to recharge the batteries when they get low)!

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s phenomenal news when a truck OEM like Freightliner puts it money where its mouth is and starts putting this type of advanced technology on the market. Of course it will only succeed if there’s a ready market for these trucks, and that’s where you come in. Place your orders now!