It occurred to me much later that I might be misparsing non-USian diction for arrogance (which is easy for me to do), and I apologize for that.

I would also like to point out that when a bunch of yanks stand around and kvetch about the price of whatever, we’re not looking for sympathy precisely (or a few notes from the world’s smallest fiddle) - this is in some ways a time-honored American method of getting our collective bile and venom distilled and concatenated until we are, en masse, riled enough to do something about it, whatever “it” is.

So yes, standing around bitching about it serves a useful function, even if it’s boring for everyone else.

One large car in the garage which gets kept in good condition but moved as little as possible. When it’s not moving it won’t burn gas and could act as store for the evacuation box. Then get a small, efficient car for everyday use, and a scooter to get a single person around town.

Alternative, get a very fuel efficient large car, and a small economic one.

It would help if there were a more friendly enviroment for public transit here, but really, there isn’t. Portland, Bangor/Brewer “BAT” and Western Maine Transit are the only 3 public bus systems I can think of; I rode the buses in Baltimore all the time.

Carpooling depends on being able to find someone with a similar or compatible destination/time schedule…

a) my name does not have “u” in it.

b) I don’t know exactly what you want to hear
It may not get better. We may not have any hope of expanding oil production; indeed, the flow of oil may start shrinking, even as the demand continues to go up. I don’t want to see that happen, but it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with what any of us want.

c) I don’t think you have any easy solutions in sight
That said, I still think that collective solutions, such as public transit (if you can build a freeway, you can build a light rail line; if you have freeways, you can probably pull up a lane and build a light rail line) give you more hope than attempts at individual solutions.

d) You may have to agitate and organize for your lives
Lierally. And believe me, it gives me no pleasure to say any of this.

John Sprague (and a whole bunch of other people) - As I am fond of mentioning when complaints about the price of gas / heating oil / basic foodstuffs, it’s not so much that the price of gas has tripled in ten years, it’s that my hourly wage has barely risen AT ALL. (I’m making $0.25 US more than I did at the end of February 1998. Whee.)

There are lots of money-saving options for people who have resources to begin with - buy a newer, more fuel efficient car, move closer to work, live in a city with good bus/train/streetcar/taxi service, move to a cheaper city, find a job with a shorter commute, etc. Different people are going to optimize their efficiencies in different ways. Not all options are workable for all people in all situations - I get the impression that people from more densely populated countries forget how spread out some parts of the US are and while it might be more fuel-efficient for Americans to live and work in communites that are simultaneously walking-density, safe, and affordable, the plain truth is that most of our communities miss at least one of those qualities and the lower down the income scale you go, the greater the probability that you won’t find any of them.

It’s a bit arrogant to hint that there are quick-and-simple one-size-fits-all solutions to these issues and that Americans should just suck it up because it’s oh so much worse somewhere else.

Buy a new, more efficient car? That’s great if you can afford one, but a new Prius (base prise, 2008, listed at $21000) costs more than my gross annual income so I don’t think I’ll be buying one any time soon. I did buy a used car last year that gets a little bit better mileage than my old one (25/mpg versus about 22) and it’s paid for, so I think I’ll drive it until it dies (like I did the last one.)

Move closer to work? Well, if I had a permanent job, maybe - we live close to my partner’s work since he has a real job and I’m a temp. I try to select for jobs within 12.5 miles of home since that’s a gallon of gas, round trip, per day (at 25 mpg), but sometimes when I get work it’s the next town over and that’s 23 miles each way - or 2 gallons/day, or $6.30/day, or $31.50/week, which is damn close to 10% of my net after tax withholding. I’ve flat out told the agency I won’t go further without getting a higher wage, because I don’t think it’s reasonable to spend more than 10% of my net just on transportation to and from work.

I could keep ranting, but you get the picture.

If you don’t feel safe without an SUV, get a hybrid. It’s not a perfect solution — the gas mileage doesn’t compare with an efficient small car — but at least you won’t feel like you’re pumping carbon over everything in sight every time you drive it.

Whenever you decide to make the switch, you’ll have a rough ride, but the sooner you do it, the better shape you’ll leave the atmosphere, and the more resources you’ll have to make the switch.

calliopejane: My suggestion may not appeal to you, but I’d say that if you absolutely do not trust your local government to plan an evacuation using public transportation, you might want to relocate from a coastal city. If I really believed getting involved in politics would help, and I didn’t want to find somewhere further from the levees to live, then I’d go in with the neighbours, buy a school bus, and keep it in a secure spot, ready for the nex hurricane to make a beeline for my city.

Small “towns” didn’t used to mean a collection of subdivisions and big box stores with parking lots. They used to be more concentrated also.