The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

I think people go too far when they say high gas prices is good for the environment, as it will persuade everyone to seek out alternatives other than gasoline and thus do Mother Nature good.

Well, there is a bit of truth there, but for the moment, these environmentally-friendly alternatives aren't as readily available as we all would want.

It is completely unrealistic to think a family can get by without a vehicle. Yes, you can car pool (using another person's car, that uses gas) or take public transportation (a bus, that yes, also uses gas) to get to work, but to visit friends, family, go grocery shopping, drive little Kevin to soccer practice, pick up little Finn from daycare, etc, you need a car. And that's the thing...cities are getting larger and larger every day and to get to where we need, society has created a place requiring fast transportation.

Everything we consume is tied into oil in some way. Whether we actually burn it up after we fill up our gas tank, buy tickets for the right to be a passenger in a jet-fueled 747, or purchase clothes that were transported by large truck, we are dependent on fossil fuels every day. I don't think we like the idea that we are, but that's the way it is. And I feel rather powerless in a lot of these aspects, I mean, should I feel guilty that I bought plane tickets knowing full well my vacation is doing harm to the environment? If there was a non-fossil fueled plane available, I'd be glad to take it. But there isn't, and I don't really have another choice.

So, I personally believe the oil companies don't mind the "high price is good for the environment" rhetoric because they know no one is switching to any other alternatives anytime soon because there are none readily available. These companies are raking in BILLIONS of dollars IN PROFIT each year. Not revenues...profit. The oil market reacts to so-called "fears", whether some Sultan in some country we've never heard of kicks the bucket, or because some oil refinery shuts down for a whopping three days for repairs, by raising oil prices non-stop. It's crazy, and in my opinion completely artificial, but it still drives the costs up, and there's nothing we can do about it. We've read countless articles about how the prices of commodities such as wheat & rice are skyrocketing, and a lot of it is tied into the price of oil.

If I had a choice, I'd like to buy an electric car. I've seen prototypes of electric vehicles (the above is the Chevy Volt) but none seem forthcoming to purchase anytime soon. I've read they're "years" away. For me, they can't come soon enough.

Urban planners should make efforts to create communities that do not require an abundance of vehicle transportation, and instead make it more "green" with more sidewalks, bicycle paths and close access to places such as grocery stores and parks so we can regularly leave our car in the driveway. Again though, we are powerless here. How can I influence creating more eco-friendly communities? I have no formal education in this field, no contacts and for the most part, the majority of us live in communities that are decades old. Are we suppose to knock down our homes and start from scratch?

I'm going off on tangents I suppose, but I guess what I'd like to see is the government step in and mandate that corporations & the like do things such as sell only Energy Star compliant goods and appliances, have electric, hybrid and/or hydrogen-fueled cars make up the majority of new vehicles manufactured, and designate new communities to be built as eco-friendly. Corporations won't do these things voluntarily, and I think government is the only real power that can force these changes to happen.

Is this unreasonable?