On the eve of Memorial Day weekend and $4.00 per gallon gasoline, many of you will probably hate me after reading this. It sure feels like I’m paying an arm and a leg each time I go to the pump. However, gas prices really aren’t high enough. Sure, it makes a huge dent in my wallet every time I fill up my car. I’m at about $60 a tank right now, and there’s no end in sight. We really don’t have much to complain about – in Europe, gas prices are $8 - $9 per gallon, about double what we’re paying. True, two wrongs don’t make a right and we’ll probably get to that point soon, but our gas prices are relatively cheap if you really think about it.
With the recent increases in gas prices, reports are that people are driving less, carpooling more, and buying more small vehicles. I think these are great trends, but higher gas prices will help us conserve even more. As I sit here roasting in the hot weather, I can’t help but think we’re still not doing enough to save our earth. Can you image if gas prices went up 50 percent or more in the next few months? How much less do you think people would drive? How many more small cars would be sold? How many more carpools would form?
Don’t get me wrong. High oil and gas prices have a huge negative effect, both personally and to our overall economy. I would never want someone to trade a tank of gas for food on the table. I also know gas prices result in those myriad of potholes I drive over each day since the cost of asphalt has skyrocketed as well. However, if increased energy prices help make us conserve more and save our planet, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all. Imagine the day if crops don’t grow and there are huge food shortages due to global climate changes. I’m sure then, we’ll wish we were paying $20 a gallon for gas if that meant allowing us to grow food for everyone. We’ve done a lot of damage to our planet. No one ever said it would be cheap to fix it.
Hey, I’ve been a subscriber for about two weeks now…I’m starting to join the green revolution, so to speak.
Anyway, while I agree with your post, I think it is fair to point out that in many countries where gas is pushing $8-9/gallon, some foreign national healthcare systems are funded by their gas cost.
I just reread my comment, and thought I should mention how much I LOVE your site and what you’re doing. You’ve been a great help to me
Thanks for going out on a limb and speaking the unspeakable. I agree with you. I just started a blog at http://simplewaystohelp.com which talks about simple things people can do in their lives to help the world. As I have been thinking about the little things people can do it has become increasingly clear to me that motivation is the real issue. There are lots of things we can do to be more green and we are aware of many of them. What is going to make us actually do them? High gas prices have gotten people’s attention. Even people who think there is no such thing as global warming are becoming a little more green with gas prices as high as they are. So maybe it isn’t such a bad thing.
Deirdre and Djuna,
Thanks for the support. I’m glad you enjoy reading the site and hope to provide more helpful things in the future for our readers. If there are ever any topics you’re curious about, feel free to let us know at TTMYGG!
This post demonstrates a lack of basic ecological and economical understanding. First off comparing the average consumer need for petrol in Europe to the United States is ridiculous. For this reason, France one of the largest countries in the EU and yet it is smaller even than Texas. This means two things, people in Europe have to drive a fraction of the mileage that people in this country do’ especially those in rural areas (most of the country.) It also means that establishing and running a good public transportation system in Europe is a cake walk compared to ding the same thing in the US. Bottom line is that the petroleum needs of the Europeans and Americans are NOT comparable. This brings me to my second point; recent studies such as the one performed UC Davis have found that skyrocketing fuel prices are not significantly affecting demand which shows that people aren’t driving around all over the place for the fun of it. The demand stays high because it is absolutely necessary for people to go to work, to drive to the grocery store, to take the kids to grandma’s, to fuel up their tractor, for trucks to bring us almost all the goods that you use every second of every day. Americans are not consuming this much petroleum because we’re wasteful, we really NEED it. Third point, the amount of global climate change attributed to automobile emissions has been proven to be a small fraction of the total causes of climate change. The only thing that increasing fuel prices are sure to accomplish is the continued disappearance of the middle class and the furtherance of an economic recession. I will also briefly point out that alternative fuels namely the production of ethanol are directly responsible for much of the global food shortage that is driving the price of grains, particularly rice, above the level that many in the third world can afford. In conclusion, rising fuel prices have a minimal effect on consumption and therefore do not “save the world.” Rising fuel costs do however have a profound effect on the cost of necessary goods and increase American and global poverty levels.
AD,
First, thank you for sharing your perspective. I think conversations like these are necessary in moving forward. In regards to ethanol, I completely agree with you, and I think you would enjoy this post I wrote a while back: http://thingsthatmakeyougogreen.com/eco-friendly-fuels-may-do-more-harm-than-good/2008/05/02/
I can’t say I agree with your point about Americans consuming the amount of petroleum we do because we need it. It may be the case with you (and I applaud your efforts), but I definitely have first and second hand knowledge of unnecessary consumption. For example, were there errands run which could have been consolidated? Did people fly or drive out of town for Memorial Day weekend? Anyone drive to the movie theater lately or to have dinner with some friends at a nice restaurant? Rent a movie lately from the local video store? Turn on air conditioning in your car (which uses more gas) to make yourself a little more comfortable when it wasn’t really necessary? Anyone neglect to empty out the extra trash in their car which adds weight and contributes to additional fuel consumption? Fail to set up a carpool to work or for an event because it was more convenient to drive? Did someone purchase a car that was sportier or slightly larger than was really necessary?
Again, the point I’m trying to make is that I feel we are not doing everything we can to change our driving and living habits. I’m not an advocate for forcing people to choose between fuel or food by any means, but imagine if gas cost $50 per gallon. Would all our current gas consumption really be considered “necessary”?
To your point about automobile emissions, even *if* they are a fraction of carbon / climate change (which sounds suspicious, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt), we both know that there’s no silver bullet to help solve our climate crisis or global warming. However, if we can all take steps to help, every little bit adds up.
I’m not saying saving Earth won’t take some serious action and sacrifice on our part. It will take hard work and sacrifice, and we all need to come to grips with that.
I don’t mean to be too in your face, but I’m not sure I agree with this. Anyhow, thanks for sharing and I think I’ll come to this blog more often.
This article sounds well, but how everything is related together?
Max,
The basic equation is this. We all need to conserve. As gas prices increase, people will focus more on conserving as they try to reduce their gas expenses. It’s not quite not as black and white as this as there are a lot of socioeconomic implications to high gas prices, but perhaps there is a silver lining to the crazy run up we’ve seen at the pumps.
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100%, but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong.
Max,
You’re right. There are a ton of socioeconomic implications with skyrocketing gas prices, and I know we would all rather pay cheap gas AND conserve as well. One question to think about - if gas were $1 or even $2 per gallon today, do you think we (just thinking about the U.S. for now) would use more, less, or the same amount of gas as we do today?
Please keep these excellent posts coming.