Yesterday, I heard on the news that the average price for a gallon of gas has risen to $3.30. But the problem with giving an “average” price is that this doesn’t adequately illustrate the highs and lows. For example, here’s what gas cost yesterday at my neighborhood gas station.
I’m of two minds about this. Obviously, this is causing enormous hardship among those who don’t make a lot of money and must rely on cars to get to work absent a decent transit system. Gas prices continue to rise to record highs (and at the same time, oil companies make record profits) but Americans’ salaries don’t rise to counter it. I wonder if people who were previously skeptical are now seriously considering the Peak Oil phenomenon? Perhaps they will as all their food starts to get more and more expensive. After all, there is a lot of oil involved in growing and shipping that food. (We have already seen the rampant downsizing in consumer products, especially food — where the manufacturer quietly makes the product size slightly smaller but leaves the price the same, thus increasing the price in a way that consumers don’t notice.)
One full tank of gas in my car — and I don’t use the premium gas Audi recommends — now costs $63. Luckily, I don’t drive much on average. Back in 2004, I spent something like $10 to fill up my Prius (higher mileage, smaller tank) every two weeks or so.
On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder if we will rally and begin to rethink our relationship with oil. Will we embrace solar and the electric car, giving up high speed, high power behemoths? Probably not. At least, not until George Bush is out of office and the oil-soaked bought-and-sold politicians of both parties are kicked out of Congress.
Looking back on the Bush presidency, I think he will be remembered for his dangerous personal wars and his suspension of Constitutional protections. But I think that his longest-lasting legacy will be his complete lack of action in the face of a growing energy crisis, one that has the potential to reduce civilization to Middle Ages levels. Imagine if we’d spent the billions of dollars we’ve wasted on a war on alternative energy sources instead. It’s so maddeningly disappointing to realize that we might be far less dependent on oil by now… and would not have to worry about fighting wars for it.
Yup. I’m reminded of Friedman’s piece in yesterday’s Times: “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.” On a tangent, also interesting is one of Surowiecki’s New Yorker columns about how aside from oil, American prices are pretty much insulated from the rest of the world despite our weak currency, and we could be in for a rude awakening someday: “Greenback Blues.”