The Sky Is Not Falling
The oil problem is a problem that we have behaved ourselves into. We are the demand side of the equation, and until we change, not what we say, but what we do, the problem will not go away or be fixed. The current spike in gas prices does not mean the end of the automobile, in five years, ten years, or fifty years. Nor will trains come to the rescue. Trains aren’t the problem, the beds they run on are the problem. If we can’t, or don’t want to fix the bridges that cars run on, we are not going to fix the tracks trains run on.Â
Here are some old and recent examples that coop-up this argument. The Oakland Bay Bridge used to have trains running on the lower level. Not anymore, because they were side-tracked to make room for more cars with some pressure from tire companies. Mayor Bloomberg could not get state support his congestion driving plan to restrict car use in Manhattan. He lost $345 million in federal grant money. In Mexico City, cars with even and odd numbered plates alternate days driving into the city because of the air pollution, one of the worst in the world. Environmentalist showcase this and other steps Mexico City has taken, but they forgot to factor in bribery and the creativity drivers show by buying a second and third car, and by buying plates on the black market so they can continue to drive the way they want, when they want.
The chicken littles almost got it right in the 1970s, a worse gas problem than what we are witnessing now. We haven’t seen long lines at the pumps or gas stations closing as they did in 1973. But changes in a variety of practices did come about as a result, some good, some bad. And we live with that legacy, and the car thrived. Here is an easy-to-read history for a broader context of this discussion.
What are car companies doing about the gas problem? Chrysler has decided to bundle other consumer products and services with buying a jeep. They have a big ad campaign behind the idea, probably in the vicinity of 80 or million big ones. Here is their website, under the seductive name of join planet jeep. (None of the links worked for me, but there it is.) Of course, if you buy a jeep, your gas worries are over for at least three years: you only pay $2.99 a gallon.
One of America’s biggest inventions is the loophole, and while some of the people are making changes some of the time, most of the people are not making any changes any of the time. We are talking about an problem that we behaved ourselves into: we will not be able to talk our way out of it. One new organization that wants to solve the global climate change is Al Gore’s new group, wecansolveit.org. Of all the suggestions they have, there is NOT ONE mention of driving slower. No one. Car pools and take public transportation, yes. Drive slower, no. There you have it.
Posted: July 1st, 2008 under Best of the Blogs.
Comments: 4
Comments
Comment from Sandy
Time: July 2, 2008, 6:45 am
I heartily agree , Josh.
One behavior each of us can take part in is what I call
“the 5% step”
What it is is quite simple: Reduce you personal contribution to the world’s rising energy demand and rising CO2 levels, across the board, by 5% .
This means more that gasoline you use: it means home temperature you demand for “comfort” , the electricity you use, the food you eat that’s not local, the gabage you create, the goods you buy, the fertilizers and pesticides you use.
Each of these changes is not in and of itself painful for any but the poor.
Imagine the effect if only 1/2 of us did it.
My challenge to those of you who post here:
Are you willing to take the 5% step????
Comment from timr
Time: July 2, 2008, 9:14 am
Boy do I remember 1973. If I had not gotten my car repaired at a garage/gas station, I would have been like most other people, out of gas-as it was the station owner did have gas, but only sold it to customers like me, who had their cars fixed there. Now 1978 was a whole nother story. I was stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Al at that time. Gas got very short, grocery store shelves were almost empty, I had to wait in line for gas, sometimes for hours. If someone saw a gas truck come to a station in the middle of the night calls went out and a line started to form. We all took time off from work to get gas. Line ups blocks long, pushing the car rather than starting it. Bad Bad time. I much prefer high prices, with gas, than high prices without gas.
Comment from timr
Time: July 2, 2008, 9:25 am
Josh, a further thought. If we had not gotten hooked on truck transporation of most of our goods, even coast to coast, we would not have the problem of higher prices for food and goods. Why we as a country let the trucking industry take over from the trains is something I will never understand. Why we don’t just use trains to get stuff from hub to hub, then use trucks for local delivery is beyond me. Put the goods in a shipping container, truck it to a hub, put it on a train, take that train to a hub-like Chicago, Atlanta, LA, etc.- Then truck it to places within say 500 miles of that hub. Its a dream that will never happen because if the trucking industry and the railroads ever got together to solve the problem, that would get the govt involved because they would consider it as a monopoly being formed. Can’t have that. Have to have “competition” don’t you know. Let the “market” sort it out, after all the “market” is oh so efficient
Comment from Josh Hammond
Time: July 2, 2008, 1:51 pm
Timr, its call Jimmy Hoffa, which is why he is burried behind second base in Yankee stadium, the old one. There is no train union, to speak of, if one at all.
Sandy, count me in on the 5% Club.
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