Original image at blogs.cars.com

A lot of people have scoffed at my hobby of hypermiling to extend my car’s gasoline mileage, thus saving money, protecting the environment and helping to defeat oil-funded terrorists. But it turns out that hypermiling really is catching on. NPR’s Talk of the Nation mentioned the issue last Friday during a segment on techie words and developments of 2008 (Hat tip to Kimberly Hundley). As the show noted, hypermiling actually was named Word of the Year by the publishers of the New Oxford American Dictionary. These experts of the English language were fascinated by the amount of attention hypermiling received after crude oil/gasoline prices skyrocketed early this summer.

As for my own techniques, unfortunately my average mileage has continued to slip, now down to about 41 miles per gallon from my early high of 45 mpg. I can point to a number of reasons including some problems I’ve had with my tires, the colder weather, and heavier commuter traffic to negotiate with school in full swing and the return of winter visitors. But I suspect the biggest factor is simply the surprising fall in gas prices over the past couple of months. Hypermiling requires a lot of focus and concentration to do correctly. Less concerned about the cost of commuting, I’m not committed to following hypermiling techniques every time I drive.

At least I haven’t fallen back into all of my bad habits.  I don’t speed. I check my tires more now (once I got the problems solved). I try to avoid stop-and-go traffic. And 41 mpg is still better than my average before hypermiling of 37 mpg. But one new year’s resolution will be to pick up hypermiling more often. Let’s see if I can boost my gas mileage again.

The Valley’s National Public Radio affiliate, KJZZ-FM (91.5) recently invited me into the studio with morning news anchor Dennis Lambert for an interview about three Arizona ballot measures: Proposition 100, an constitutional amendment that would ban any taxes on the sale of real estate; Proposition 101, another amendment that would guarantee anyone’s right to pay for private health care from their own pockets; and Proposition 201, which would mandate 10-year warranties on new home construction. The interview was presented today during NPR’s Morning Edition, at about half of the length of the entire conservation (which is rather generous for a broadcast interview).

These initiatives are widely seen as “less sexy” than a constitutional ban on gay marriages or the measure pushed by the payday loan industry; and the details can be complicated. While the Tribune Editorial Board has taken a stand on all of the measures, I sought to give a balanced explanation about what they would do and outline the strongest arguments provided by those for and against them. Listen for yourself and let me know how I did.