The best reason to pick out a car that does more miles per gallon is not just to save money while you drive.

We all know the consumption of fossil fuels is slowly but surely warming up the whole planet. This will have catastrophic results for our children and grandchildren in the not-too-distant future.

Recent reports indicate that the permafrost in our frozen north and south poles is beginning to disappear. It is thawing. This ice and frost is the stuff that presently keeps a much more hazardous greenhouse gas – methane – safely locked away were it can't harm us - for now. But that permafrost is already disappearing.

The more fossil fuels we use up, the more greenhouse gas escapes into our atmosphere and the warmer the globe becomes. Then, the more methane that will escape from its icy prison vault. The developed world's greedy fuel consumption and the by-products of our self-serving habits are altering the world's weather and temperature patterns right now. And the more our climate changes, the quicker the process will happen.

Results of global climate change can be seen everywhere. Violent weather is the most obvious indicator of this change. Soaring temperatures and volatile weather patterns are already causing events like typhoons and tidal waves. These catastrophes will step-up, with growing power and frequency, in proportion to to the planet's temperature.

What I'm saying is if we desire to leave a livable world for our descendants, we have got to pay attention to our fuel consumption now. And we need to cut back on it.

Administrations around the globe are taking serious notice of this, with measures such as the Kyoto Protocol having been put in place to cut down the industrial flow of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. And researchers are working on alternative energy methods such as solar power, wind power and power from the ocean waves.

What can we all do now then? Trim our fuel consumption and live a simpler lifestyle. That's a big start. And what next? Learn how to save fuel costs and drive a motor car with better fuel consumption. Walk more often. You'll get healthier too, and you will help to make this world a better place for our kids.