I heard a frightening statistic on NPR the other day. The number one campaign issue in America today is gas prices. Not the war(s), economy, education, or health care but the price of gas is the number one issue on American's minds. I think this is frightening for two reasons. The first is that is shows how collectively selfish we all are. Our fellow country men are dying, and our number one concern is how much more money we are spending on gas? Other important issues face our country such as the recession and educational issues, but it is the immediate impact gas prices have on our disposable income that warrant the most attention. That is too bad. The second reason this statistic worries me is that the there is no presumption to limit usage. If the price of water tickets doubled, would you shower or water your lawn as much? I know, we need our cars to get to work and accomplish most of our daily chores. And, if we keep doing things they way we always have, we'll be stuck in this fossil fuel rut we have dug for ourselves. The bottom line problem is to stop viewing cars as the only alternative.
What about public transport and bicycles as an alternative to cars? Yes, you can move yourself around by other means than your automobile. Is it as convenient or easy as your car, no. Will it save you money and improve your health, yes. Even if you took the bus or drove to a light rail station a few days a month, you would put $100's of dollars in your pocket by the end of the year. Go to http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Home.htm to learn more about how you can get around town via public transport.
Bikes. Yes, I am heavily biased towards using bikes. However, let me blunt. If you put panniers on an operational bike, you can accomplish 50%-70% of your transportation needs. The problem is that we all (me included) are just too damn lazy to make a change in our lifestyle to do so. In Europe gas has been near $10/gallon for a decades. Guess what. People don't drive as much. And, quite frankly, neither should Americans. We can make changes, if we wanted to. So, here is the punch line. John McCain nor Barak Obama can NOT change the price the gas. By the way, call me a cynic, but when either candidate says they can impact the price of gas, it is a unfulfillable campaign promise. Stop whining about it and looking towards our political leaders. Like any other product or service, if it is too expensive, consume less.
