(The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, New York)
Yesterday I was in what passes out here for the big city and paid $1.29 a gallon for unleaded gas. I live in serious oil patch country and low gas prices mean a different thing out here than they probably do in most other places. Here they mean a lot of people who were doing really well are going to get laid off. As a C.A.S.A. volunteer, I know it means a lot of our roughneck dads of kids in foster care are going to stop paying their child support. It means mid-week hotel rooms are going to get cheaper and easier to come by. The boom and bust of the oil business is old news out here. The young people are devastated but those who have been around awhile are used to riding it out and are hunkering down.
I have a different reason for being ambivalent about plummeting gas prices. Let me quickly say that I don’t pay for my own gas. I have a gas card provided to me by my primary client to which I charge all my gas and for which he pays. Lest you think I don’t consider the price of gas, my primary client and his wife are two close friends of mine and I spend their money even more cautiously than I do my own. It’s not the price of gas exactly; it’s where I believe the high price of gas was taking us.
We, as a people, were driving less and walking more. We were carpooling and biking. We were carefully considering whether or not we needed to run those errands, drive around for amusement or let our engines idle for extended periods of time. We were investigating hypermiling and getting rid of our vehicles with poor gas mileage. Demand for hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles was rising. Despite the corn gas debacle, we were headed in the right direction.
What will happen now? Regardless of the current prices, oil is a non-renewable resource and its reserves are finite. There is no question that, at some point, we are going to run out. If not in our lifetime, then in the future of a not-too-distant generation. If we don’t face it and get prepared, it’s going to be a disaster. The high price of gas was forcing us to get ready. Will we now slide back into complacency? I remember the gas lines in the 70’s. We certainly didn’t make any changes following that shortage. Will we now? I’m not optimistic; hopeful, but not optimistic.
In addition to the oil patch, West Texas is a land of big vehicles and lots of driving and I don’t see that changing. I’m glad the people I know in the cattle-hauling business have a chance of a better bottom-line. In fact, I’m happy for all the people who have to drive as part of their living. One of my brothers is a short-haul trucker. All the same, I hope UPS, FedEx and other fleet businesses keep investigating and investing in fuel efficient vehicles and driving practices. I hope everyday people will still trade out of their enormous and inefficient SUVs and get something smaller. As for me, I’m going to keep walking. I’m going to keep investing in my alternative energy index funds. I’m going to continue identifying and cutting back on all of my petroleum based products. I’m going to hope that we might have learned a lesson this time and that it might actually stick.
I’m curious, have you changed your $4.50 a gallon habits now that gas is again under $2 or are you holding the line?
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10 comments:
We have made a point for a long time to drive fuel efficient cars and run errands together.
What amazed me was a news segment shortly after the gas pricing starting going downard - people on the car lot were saying that they were buying SUV's because gas prices went down. I wanted to jump through the screen and ask exactly how long they thought this was going to stick. Some people really are clueless when it comes to these things.
@DebtFree - no kidding, crazy, that is exactly my point. I felt like higher gas prices were forcing us to "get it" and now that they are down, I'm afraid we'll quickly go right back to square one! Kudos to you for doing the right thing!
I do the same type of driving weather the gas prices are low or high. I drive a fuel efficient car and group my errands toggether. That being said, last summer's high gas prices were an incentive for me to give off my tush and ride my bike the 3 miles to a library branch that's closer to my house, than drive to the branch I prefer that is a little father away but still in an area for grouped errand running.
@Condo Blues - If we can just keep the changes we made in mind, we'll fare better when gas prices rise again, which is inevitable!
Hi Mary .."Happy New Year" ..
We are bike to work now..
Holding the line. What goes down will go up - and we are trying very hard to put cash in the bank. We try and not drive excessive.
@Emilia & Eric - I'm glad we're all trying to hold the line. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments!
Long term lower oil prices will probably hurt more than they help. Alternative energy projects are being cut and states that depend on oil revenues are hurting.
@Mark - that is exactly my point and it really is the downside of lower gas prices. Thanks for the comment!
We went through the seventies gas crunch, and it changed us permanently. We don't do light decorations over Christmas, we are careful about water heating and house temps (I find I actually prefer wearing more clothes, it's cozier) and we drive small, fuel-efficient cars in small, fuel-efficient ways. Whether people choose to put this money back into the economy in some way or to save it, I think at least some will have acquired (and learned to enjoy) the fruits of their new habits.
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