You don't need Energy Ace to tell you that gasoline prices are hitting new record prices but it may make you feel better to know that, adjusted for inflation, gasoline is still cheaper than it was in March 1981 ($3.40 a gallon in today's dollars).  This may not last long; $4 gas is predicted by May.

If this is too much for you, here's a few suggestions for improved fuel economy:

1.  Keep your tires properly inflated.  Under-inflated tires are soft, and have increased rolling resistance (friction).  This reduces mileage, and incidentally causes your tires to wear out faster.

2.  Drive slower.  Gas mileage at 75 miles per hour is about 20% worse than the mileage at 60 mph.  If you have an unaerodynamic, boxy-shaped vehicle, like an SUV, the mileage degradation is even worse.

3.  Don't idle your motor more than, say, ten seconds.  A study at an engineering college found that only a very small amount of gasoline is required to start, or re-start, your engine.  They determined that it is about the same as six seconds of idling so for anything predictably longer than that, switch off your engine.

This article in last month's newsletter drew some inquiries about the safety of reusing commercial bottles that store-bought bottled water comes in, questioning the assertion that  they should not be refilled because they break down after multiple usings.  This led us to do a little more research and this is what we found:

Snopes.com dismisses this as an "urban legend," saying it got started in someone's master's thesis which was not peer-reviewed.  They go on to say that even the International Bottled Water Association does not make this claim.  Heloise of Heloise Hints does, saying that after extended uses and rewashing, the plastic starts to break down.  Plasticsinfo.org settles the matter with a quote from the FDA: "FDA permits the use of PET in food and beverage packaging for both single use and repeated use."