December 27, 2008
Prices may fall, but keep our awareness up
First off, season's greetings!
With all of this holiday cheer and flakes of snow comes what seems like another blessing: low gas prices. Sure, maybe not the first thing you think of when you think of the excitement of winter break, but according to CNN, gas prices are at a five-year low at $1.65 per gallon and that is something to be thankful for.
And while these gas prices mean families can be together this holiday season for less money, it does bring one area of concern: the environment. Lower gas prices will very well mean less incentive for automotive and fuel companies (as well as our government) to create more eco-friendly automotive solutions. People are prone to think, "Now that gas is affordable, why would I want to see hundreds of millions of American tax dollars put into finding alternative fuels?"
That thought is precisely what is so scary. When gas prices were at almost $5 a gallon, Americans were up in arms about how to save money and thus the environment was in play. People were buying hybrids, investing in ethanol and alternative fuels, and were hard pressed to find cheap and environmentally sound ways of transportation. Low gas prices mean fewer people will need to use public transportation, or will be riding their bikes to work and thus more cars will be spewing carbon into the atmosphere.
With our hurting economy, it is no wonder why people are rejoicing over $1.65 gas. That being said, the environment cannot be forgotten.
Now don't get me wrong - as a driver-to-be (if my parents will ever let me get my license), I intend to embrace the cheap gas prices. But this cheap gas should not stop anyone, including myself, from being eco-aware.
So as the new year comes closer, maybe we should all make it our resolution to make the environment our top priority.
With all of this holiday cheer and flakes of snow comes what seems like another blessing: low gas prices. Sure, maybe not the first thing you think of when you think of the excitement of winter break, but according to CNN, gas prices are at a five-year low at $1.65 per gallon and that is something to be thankful for.
And while these gas prices mean families can be together this holiday season for less money, it does bring one area of concern: the environment. Lower gas prices will very well mean less incentive for automotive and fuel companies (as well as our government) to create more eco-friendly automotive solutions. People are prone to think, "Now that gas is affordable, why would I want to see hundreds of millions of American tax dollars put into finding alternative fuels?"
That thought is precisely what is so scary. When gas prices were at almost $5 a gallon, Americans were up in arms about how to save money and thus the environment was in play. People were buying hybrids, investing in ethanol and alternative fuels, and were hard pressed to find cheap and environmentally sound ways of transportation. Low gas prices mean fewer people will need to use public transportation, or will be riding their bikes to work and thus more cars will be spewing carbon into the atmosphere.
With our hurting economy, it is no wonder why people are rejoicing over $1.65 gas. That being said, the environment cannot be forgotten.
Now don't get me wrong - as a driver-to-be (if my parents will ever let me get my license), I intend to embrace the cheap gas prices. But this cheap gas should not stop anyone, including myself, from being eco-aware.
So as the new year comes closer, maybe we should all make it our resolution to make the environment our top priority.
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1. Providing a crutch and excuse for Saudi Arabia for not diversifying their oil-dependent economy and funding an un-democractic nation (worldwide democracy has been a supposed mission for the US, seen most famously during the Korean war, more broadly the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and recent involvement in Iraq, where pursuit of democracy has been inexhaustibily used as justification for US entanglement)
2. Necessarily forcing Americans to support alternatve-energy development and research. The US cannot particularly afford mainly developments on this frontier. Results would also not be immediate. The US does however, need to educate Americans on how to reduce energy consumption. We don't need more energy. We just need to know how to use that energy more wisely. Our behaviors need to change, the focus shouldn't completely be on replacing the means of energy, but how that energy is harnessed. The number of alternative energy plants in the US (especially considering the Baltimore-based energy plant Constellation has been bought up a French electronic company that plans on building more nuclear plants in the US Midwest) can sustain us comfortably if we are wise. Wasting resources and energy to build more plants would almost be silly. The US needs to implement more efficient energy practices ASAP.