Are we turning Green?

Today after a great meeting, a friend and I had coffee, and as per usual I steered the conversation to a green topic. Now I have to say my friend is very pragmatic. I wouldn't say he's skeptical, but cautious on how quickly we are actually going to turn green. His thoughts are leaning toward a much slower turn then mine. Then, I mentioned about the unavailability to even test drive a hybrid car at any of the dealerships. And that got me to thinking about the first hybrid I actually drove and when. It was a Honda Insight, which a few of you might remember. I decided about 10 years ago traveling Los Angeles for a visit with my Grandmother to see if I could rent a Hybrid. At that time, there was only a small independent that rented Hybrids. As per usual California was the leader in North America. 

It was an interesting ride, since the car went silent every time you stopped, something I really wasn't used to. However, when I stepped on the accelerator it went. Did it go fast, No; but I only had to fill up once during the week. Seating only two was fine for me, since it was only ever going to be my Grandmother and I in the car. 

So here it is 2008, and once again I went to visit with my 94 year old grandmother. She's an incredible women, and I only hope that I'm able to get around as well as she can when and if I reach her age. So being even more environmentally aware, I decide to see if I could rent a Hybrid. Gas has gone up over $4.00 per gallon, so financially I thought even if I had to pay extra for the car it would pay for itself. So on-line I went expecting a few more choices, but I didn't expect that every major rental agency would have Hybrids. The plethora of choice was incredible. I rented a Prius for the same money as an economy car.  Not only did I get to save a bundle on gas, but also on the rental. 

So are we turning green? The answer is yes, and a little faster then I expected. Did I give anything up, no: other then saving money on gas as well as the rental.