RUNNING ON EMPTY
Today I bought gas, something I do about once a month - a little over eleven gallons - I paid a record (I think) high of $3.099 / gal. Now admittedly I don't drive much, but I do wonder about those that do drive a lot. I wonder how high the price of gasoline would have to go before Americans would alter their 'hop-in-the-car-for-everything' life-style. Would it be $12 a gallon or $25 a gallon? Who knows?
But I am pretty sure that we will never address alternative fuel sources or expanded mass transportation systems until the price reaches out-of-this-world proportions. We go to war for oil, die for oil, muck up our environment for oil and let oil determine our foreign policy. When will we realize the fact that it's a losing situation.
Every few decades we have a wake-up call but it never lasts long. It takes years to develop and implement new energy policies but we always work in crisis mode and then when the crisis is over plans are scuttled until the next crisis comes along.
Current unrest in the middle east has our stock market all a twitter as the price for crude oil rises. The oil business is BIG BUSINESS, it literally DRIVES everything we do and sadly I feel right now we are RUNNING ON EMPTY.
I remember when we were first married, hubby worked at an interstate gas station and he REFUSED to buy gas there! .32 a gallon!! unheard of..he would drive into town before paying that! ha!
ReplyDeleteI never was a cit gal, but may have to rethink..no transit, a library with 3 books (that's really close to the truth!!) and NO grocery store!! makes walking (except walking for the sake of just walking) rather irrelevant...We may have to rethink our place of residence...any good ideas??
that would be "CITY gal" need to double check before posting!!
ReplyDeleteMare, I used to fill the tank of my '68 VW Bug for $2.66 (10 gallons). LOL
ReplyDeleteWe can't ALL live in the cities. They won't hold our population. The best you can do is enjoy where you live, keep your car in good running order, drive a car with low fuel consumption and live your life. President Obama wants high-speed rail all over the USA in 15 years. We'll need it. Public transportation where I live isn't very good. Actually, there's not much of it. I don't even know where the nearest bus stop is. I get a break on my car insurance for driving less than 3,000 miles a year. I buy locally, try to buy from locals and maximize my trips out. I don't know what more I can do, but I don't want to live in the city either.
Katie
Three days later....gas is now $3.19/gal. Go BIG oil, go BIG business that supports and drives US Mideastern Policies.
ReplyDeleteI would support gas rationing then people will look for alternatives - California, have you heard of car pooling? Big cities aren't the answers and rural living isn't the problem - it those in-between...