From the AJC we see more margins on which people adjust their behavior in response to high gas prices:

When Eric King moved from his apartment in Pittsburgh to a single-family home with a lawn, he bought a manual lawn mower instead of the usual gas-powered kind. He figures he's putting money in his pocket and saving trips to the filling station.

He's got plenty of company. Sales of manual — or push reel — mowers with the cartwheeling blades are on the rise this year. Officials attribute the surge to increased environmental concerns because of emissions from gas-powered mowers, the faltering economy that makes the generally less expensive push reels more attractive, and $4-a-gallon gasoline.

"With the way gas prices are going through the roof and are going to stay there or increase even further, that was the main reason I considered one," said King, 29. "I don't consider myself an environmentalist; I consider myself an economist."

American Lawn Mower Co., a Shelbyville, Ind., manufacturer of manual and electric lawnmowers, says sales are up 60 percent to 70 percent over last year.

"It's unbelievable," said Teri McClain, inside sales administrator. "I think gas prices are playing a part in this."

McClain estimates that about 300,000 push reel mowers are sold annually in the United States. That's about the same number of electric mowers that are sold. Though growing, sales of both still are dwarfed by the roughly 6 million typical gas-powered, walk-behind mowers purchased every year.

Push reel mowers have evolved from those heavy iron beasts of the past into lighter (19 to 34 pounds), easier-to-push models with widths up to 20 inches and cutting heights that can be adjusted quickly. Accessories include grass catchers and sharpening kits.

Clean Air Gardening, a Dallas, Texas, retailer that sells push reel and electric lawn mowers as well as composters, rain barrels and organic fertilizers, said sales are up 27 percent this year, while sales of electric mowers made by Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker Corp. have increased more than 20 percent this year.

People Powered Machines, an Ipswich, Mass.-based Internet store, has seen a 25 percent rise in the sale of push reel and electric lawn mowers so far this year.

"The increasing price of gasoline is one of the bigger factors," said spokesman David Temple.

Instead of trading in gasoline mowers, other people have opted to cut back on how often they cut their grass.

Randall Fullam now mows his lawn in the Dayton suburb of Riverside once a week instead of twice ...

NB--I'm on the road for the next couple of weeks--expect light blogging.