Warning: This is not a sweet, generous-spirited post.
Is anyone else sick of the price-of-gas conversation?
Everywhere I go, someone bitches about or mentions the price of gas. If you drive an SUV, I have no sympathy. You're the reason we're in this pickle. Your children are no safer in that gas-guzzling behemouth; in fact, you're probably at greater risk for rollovers. You'd be better off in a nice, boring Camry. Even my John-Birch-Society-leaning grandfather drove a Pinto--chartreuse with a CB radio.
The fact of the matter is we only recently surpassed the historic gasoline price high of $1.35 in 1981. Adjusted for inflation $1.35 equals roughly $3.20 in 2008 dollars. Now that gas prices are tipping the $4 and $5 marks, we're having to think about how we aggragate our trips, whether we drive or take the bus, does it make sense to carpool, ride our bikes or buy a scooter? In Europe, they've been dealing with high gas prices for years, which is why you see so many Smart cars and so few trucks on the streets.
Overall, I think the high price of gas is good. It's already forcing the issue of conservation, and yesterday, on a rare trip cross town during rush hour I noticed a slackening of traffic. Surely this is a good thing.
Of course, the problem with expensive gas is that it reverberates across all sectors, boosting the price of essentials like food--and yarn. For people who can ill afford it this is an incredible hardship, forcing people to choose between medicine, transportation to work and breakfast.
As a society, we scared the crap out of OPEC in the 1970s, when we started buying tiny Japanese cars and driving less. If we could get the Federal Government to ease up on its energy expenditures--imagine the quantities being wasted on the Iraqi desert--we might be able to drive down demand and price. Hopefully, this time we would remember to keep a lid on our demand and continue to drive smart. I don't remember being less happy riding around in my grandpa's Pinto. Do you?