Cheap Gas Tips
Apr 13, 2008 
Diane MacEachern, the founder and president of Big Green Purse and the author of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World (featured on CSPAN's Book Notes), is passionate about empowering women to use their marketplace clout to protect the environment. A best-selling author, successful entrepreneur, sought-after public speaker, and long-time conservationist, she has launched the only company in the U.S. dedicated specifically to transforming women’s environmental concerns into measurable improvements in our quality of life. As the co-founder and president of an award-winning communications company based in Washington, D.C., Diane's clients included the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the Earth Council, World Wildlife Fund, Earth Day, the National Wildlife Federation, Earth Share, the League of Women Voters, and the Women's Environment Development Organization. A frequent speaker on women and the environment, Diane serves as the vice-chair of the board of directors for the Alaska Wilderness League. She has been cited for her Distinguished Service as a board member of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Diane played an integral role in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's campaign to educate the public about global warming. In addition, Diane helped develop Earth Quest, a traveling museum exhibit underwritten in part by the Ford Motor Company to educate children about the environment. She also worked with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to establish the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument during the Clinton Administration.
She is also the author of Enough is Enough! The Hellraiser’s Guide to Community Activism: How to Organize a Successful Campaign for Change, and Beat High Gas Prices Now! The Fastest, Easiest Ways to Save $20-$50 Every Month on Gasoline. Big Green Purse has reached #7 on Amazon's ranking of environmental books.
Diane MacEachern--
With gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, there's never been a better time to conserve fuel. The following tips will help you save from $20-$50 a month at the pump. Added bonus? They'll protect the environment, too, since every gallon of gas burned generates the carbon equivalent of a 20-pound bag of charcoal briquettes!
1. Drive smart - Avoid quick starts and stops, use cruise control on the highway, and don't idle. (Using cruise control alone can improve fuel efficiency by as much as 14%!).
2. Drive the speed limit - Remember - every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.
3. Drive less - Traveling a mile or less? Walk, bicycle, use a scooter or moped. Have lots of errands to do? Combine trips. Researching, making conference calls, and writing? Telecommute, and do those jobs at home.
4. Buy the cheapest gas you can find - Buy gas in the morning, from wholesale shopper's clubs, and using gas-company rebate cards. Track neighborhood prices on the Internet.
5. Keep tires properly inflated - Improve gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Replace worn tires with the same make and model as the originals.
Excerpted with permission from Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World, by Diane MacEachern. Available in bookstores and on-line now.
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