Having seen a sizeable piece of this world and having lived in locations where gasoline was double the cost of gasoline in the US, I have somewhat of an appreciation for the impact and implication of fuel prices and comparablity. There have been economics classes I have taught where I would challenge my students to remove the paradigms of their world and assume that over night gasoline was fixed at $10 per gallon.
The looks on the faces are worth the question and then the shaking of heads and the cacaphony of the why nots begin to drown out the one or two people sitting quietly processing the real precipice I am attempting to get the minds to ascend which is the societal impact of such an inordinate price hike. They sit there quietly trying to ignore the escalating negatives, pounding of desks, clearing of the throats and the sure assurance I have finally lost my mind by asking such a question.
So, this is my blog and I am sticking to it ... how would your world and our society change should gasoline prices be set at $10 per gallon? What naturally floods and crashes against the seawall of our lives is we would drive less, smarter, then we would walk more, bicylces, buses, trains, fewer cars, more efficient and fewer factories, true and not political entrepreneurship of new ideas to move around with less to know carbon fuels and the noises turn to twinkles in the eyes.
Would establishing such a "nutcase" fuel level be, well, a nutcase outpouring or would it not begin or actually force a true shift in the way we view our society today and I believe the answer is yes and I further believe we need such a kickstart. I remember so well the OPEC embargo for it hit my wallet with gasoline at fifty cents per gallon on Friday night and was one dollar per gallon on Sunday afternoon in 1973. Talk about a significant emotional event; I thought the service station attendant was truly smoking rope or something. But that doubling of prices for me caused me to immediately move from anger to new ideas and means to transport more efficiently and for less.
America is truly addicted to many things but petrochemicals ranks up close to the top of the list for we cannot begin to imagine the food chain of petrochemicals that surround us in our every step, every bite and every interaction. It is what it is so surely it cannot be wrong or changed, right? I think ten bucks per gallon would quickly shift that paradigm, don't you?
Just thought I would jar your kickstand on your bike tonight! You jarred yet?
I somewhat remember the rise in gas back then, you would have thought the world came to an end but it didn't. I was just starting to drive.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, my life wouldn't change that much. Just tighten the belt a bit, ride my bike a little more, and wish our country had a mass transit system like Europe so you can go just about anywhere for a price of a ticket.