America Over A Barrel
"Never underestimate the power of a small group of individuals to change the world." -Margaret Mead
Gasoline is the rape of an industrialized nation and fossil fuel should go by way of the dinosaur. I yearn for the high price of gasoline to lead to a non-violent revolution. I believe that high gas prices must permanently imprint on the consciousness of the populous before we can begin to take proactive measures to lessen our dependency on foreign nations. The time is ripe. The price per gallon of gas is the highest in my lifetime. In New Jersey, gas hovers around $2.50 cents a gallon. While there hasn't been a shortage of gasoline in this country, the consumer is unequivocally overpaying for its return. It is almost to the point that you can't pass a gas station without needing gas. Consumers can't shop for gas economically because they are wasting precious gas driving for a better price. The other day I took note of the price of gas at my usual filling station. On the return trip home, the numerals on the billboard had already been changed. Gas was more expensive on the way home. A lesson to be had, it can only be rape when they get you coming or going.
The time is long overdue to revolutionize how we transport in the land, air, and sea. The price of gasoline effects virtually every commodity in the final cost to the consumer. It destroys the ozone layer. Call me cynical, but petrol could even cause an ugly war in a desert country. Nobody wants to see that happen. An idea fifty years behind its time, the world needs to lessen its dependency on other countries for gasoline.
Hybrid technology is finally making its way to the American consumer. Hybrid automobiles are powered by electricity and gasoline. Many hybrid models get over 50 miles to the gallon. A movement needs to take afoot whereby people trade in their gas guzzlers for more economic models. I hope people learn to embrace hybrid models as reliable and efficient transportation for the future. An increase in supply and demand can only propel more research and better technology. The hybrid cars of today may be the nanotube powered cars of tomorrow. Government regulations are forcing US automakers to carry at least one hybrid model in their fleet by 2007. Some automobile companies are ahead of the game with models entering their second generation. Partisan politicians should wean themselves from the deep pockets of greedy oil backers and stop holding a nation back.
I am not in the market for a new car but the price at the pumps prompted me to check out my first hybrid car this week. I went looney tunes over the Toyota Prius. While hybrid cars do not have all the bells and whistles, the return on a cleaner environment and pocketbook is a tradeoff worthy of deliberation. I doubt any country is looking to start a war over electricity.
Labels: current events
posted by Joe Tornatore | 1:17 AM
6 Comments:
I think the gas prices are a masked boon, myself, because I foresee folks staying home more and maybe even getting to know their neighbours. Imagine! Let's take the car out of the driver's seat, says I.
Madcapmum,
and the gas out of the tank as well.
This is a hot issue, not only here in the USA, but across the world. Gas, gas, gas…..guzzle, guzzle, guzzle…..muzzle, muzzle, muzzle. Money used to be called the root of all evil, now it is oil. Who ever owns the oil, or at least has control of it, rules the world. (This is why we’re in Iraq.) Keep the prices high, higher, then outrageously higher by the age-old concept of supply and demand. The idea is very simple, the more oil the consumer needs, the less oil they’ll produce. (OPEC) The owners of the oil fields dictate their terms of supply and demand. Why should the oil owners produce more oil for less dollars, yens or euros when they can produce less oil for more money? This is called good business sense! So, we find ourselves in a catch 22 situation.
I agree with you, Joe, an alternative means of energy is needed to get out of the squeeze play that we find ourselves in today. It is only going to get worse as time goes by. The handwriting was on the wall twenty years ago that this situation would come to fruition. The automobile industry is on the right tract. This should have been accomplished ten years ago, but better late than never.
Medbh,
A profit margin like that could make a vice president do a jig.
Oil talk seems to bring out political finger pointing which is a shame. But let's face it, it's the politcal pansies in Washington that won't support alternative energy research. Worse, they actually get in the way of new technology. "Not in my state are you gonna do this"!
I'd love to go to hybrid cars but there isn't one big enough to chauffeur little kids in. What's a grandmother to do?
Camille,
With the price of gas skyrocketing,, it may be more practical to buy an economy hybrid and rent a limo whenever you have to cart a bunch of grandkids around.
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