I can recall the summer of 2004 when gas really started to climb. I was working in Trenton, NJ and commuting almost an hour (one direction) from Philadelphia. The job was a good way to get experience and the gas prices weren't absurdly high yet, so I just dealt with it. Besides, gas prices in New Jersey are lower than most states on the East coast, so I would push the fuel gage "to the right of the slash" until I hit the border.
We all were relatively naive that summer. We thought oil prices would eventually level out and that this was a temporary phenomenon. Four years later, we are slowly coming to the realization that it is not temporary. This is our modern transportation reality--$4.00 gasoline, with the price poised to rise to laughable heights as the summer drags on.
I just got my car back in working condition after leaving it to sit quietly in the driveway for over two years. The impurities in the gas tank have had a while to settle to the bottom and this is not good for the exhaust system. My father, ever the sage in all things automotive, told me to let the gas level get to about 1/4, then fill it up with premium and put in some tank-cleaning additives he has in mind. I thought this was a good idea, except... where can you find premium gas? More and more stations are choosing to post only the price of regular unleaded. I wonder how much extra I'll need to drive to find that five-dollar premium grade.
But back to the title of this blog. These high fuel costs have prompted mixed reactions from the American public. Some have resigned themselves to simply pay the price. Perhaps they have sufficient income for it to not put a dent in the family finances, and perhaps their job situation is such that there is no other choice. Others have absorbed the extra cost at a significant loss in disposable income, grumbling with each visit to the pump. Still others--those who are able--have made the choice to take public transport, or carpool, or use more manual methods of getting from A to B. I saw a white-haired man this very afternoon, in a blazer and khaki trousers with an umbrella under his arm, walking home along Route 114. I see more and more people riding bikes with their briefcases strapped to their backs. But I also see several commuters going solo in their giant SUVs every morning. Who can criticize without knowing the details of their particular situation? This entry isn't being written to criticize decent, hardworking Americans.
This entry is about criticizing how our collective thinking about transportation has evolved into a looming catastrophe. This country has a reputation of technological innovation and a knack for accomplishing the impossible. Once we were only able to enjoy certain fruits and vegetables when they were in season; now we can ship them from all over the world and never want for an orange or for nearly anything we wish to eat at any time of the year. But consider the direct relationship between fuel costs and the cost of food that is brought from across the country (or the world) to our grocery store shelves. In times of rising fuel costs, consider how your own personal choice to buy locally-produced foods can not only reduce the need to transport, but also help support producers in your own community, state, or region.
The invention of the automobile has given us the freedom to move about as we please, and travel great distances as we see fit. Yet our automobile culture has also slowly resulted in the spreading out of America and the mentality that we no longer need to have local businesses peppered among our neighborhoods and within walking distance. How many of the stores at which you shop are found all together, probably in a strip of development along a major route, and miles from where you live? The trend of the mall and the strip mall in the American shopping ritual causes us to leave our neighborhoods to buy almost any product, spending precious time driving and sometimes being caught in the traffic created by countless other motorists who are all converging on this one area to purchase their own goods. In addition to time, this type of shopping causes us to spend money on gas so we may travel 5 or even 10 miles down the road. There are also underlying social costs of this system: as where we live, shop and work become further apart, we have fewer opportunities to interact with our neighbors and coworkers.
Even in American cities, where businesses are still dispersed throughout residential neighborhoods and public transit is available, we still experience street-choking traffic, as cars carrying one person each make their way to city lots and garages and fought-after street spaces. But these urban motorists can't be judged too harshly. The same automotive mentality that has driven commercial spaces from our small urban and suburban neighborhoods has also allowed the quality, convenience and volume of public transit in many of America's metropolitan areas to be outpaced. Simply put, our society is not set-up to use public transportation on as large a scale as those in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Unless automakers start producing cars that run on non-petroleum fuel, or gasoline-powered cars that get at least 60 miles per gallon, and unless the American public starts to change its habits and expectations, many things we take for granted will need to change dramatically. We've enjoyed a great many years defying nature, annihilating distance, shortening time, but the time has come to be a bit more realistic.
So why are high gas prices good for America? Because they are encouraging us to do the following:
- Walk or ride a bike to more places instead of using your car--save money on gas and burn some calories you gained eating at TGI Fridays. Not to mention you don't need to find a parking space for your sweet Huffy.
- Carpool or take public transit--save money on gas, and have a nice conversation with your fellow carpoolers. Also, when it's your turn to drive you can play your new favorite song on repeat and really annoy the hell out of them.
- Buy more fuel efficient cars--reduce your carbon footprint and save money on gas. Plus hybrids make almost no noise in low gear, so you can sneak up on people and honk.
- Buy alternative-fuel cars--reduce your footprint even more, and look like you're from the future.
- When possible, buy locally produce goods--reduce the need for transport and get yourself some delicious locally grown produce. Your local farmers will appreciate your dollar alot more than a huge corporation will, plus factory farms use incredible amounts of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, which are essentially petroleum products and bad for the soil.
- Support initiatives and policies that will help to reduce our petroleum use, in all forms.
- Demand better public transportation from your city or state.
- Take canvas bags to the grocery store and use them instead of plastic or paper bags.
Conservation is Patriotic. Please do your part.
