Untangling the Gas Crisis Rhetoric

Confused yet?

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In the short run, few of us care why gas is approaching $5.00/gallon - we only want to know what we can do to stop it. As individuals, there isn't much you or I can do to make gas prices go down. Moreover, we tend to confuse the price of oil with the cry for alternative energies, green technology and energy independence - all different issues that converge in our consciousness when it costs $60 to fill up the tank.

Cost of Oil/Gas - As developing nations strive for economic parity with the west, they use more resources driving up demand no matter how much you or I conserve. Oil producers control supply, making sure the world has enough to grow demand without producing enough to lower prices. Petroleum reserves are finite and so this is a basic business decision. Alternative Energies - Because petroleum is a finite resource, the world needs new ways to power the technologies the world demands. Alternative doesn't mean green - it is simply a non-petroleum way to generate power. Coal, nuclear, wind, solar, hydro are all alternatives. Using these energies may run your power plant but they don't have the ability to generate the wealth at a corporate level that our petrochemical mega corporations demand. While lower energy costs could create community wealth, it doesn't generate the same kind of revenue or tax wealth that oil and gas produces. Green Technology - Those scary little smart cars are greener than your Hummer but transportation based on billions of people commuting and driving burning fossil fuels is faux green (chartreuse?). Green technologies are sustainable and carbon neutral. The science behind the need for green is definitive. Green doesn't mean giving up our vacuum cleaners - it means changing the way we manufacture and power them. Energy Independence - This particularly American concept is a security issue. As long as our nation is fueled by other countries we are vulnerable to the whims of someone else's government. Your wealth and mine is determined by people we don't vote for who have no accountability to sustain our success. For every barrel of oil we buy from Saudi Arabia we compete with China and other emerging markets. The fear is that we'll have to compromise what it means to be America to buy the resources we need.

It is critical that we understand there will be no magic bullet. We have to stop letting politicians and company spokesmen confuse the issues. Offshore drilling may eventually give us more security but it won't lower gas prices. Alternative energies may make power for homes and businesses more affordable but it won't stop drilling for petroleum. What does this mean at the gas pump? It means that you and I have no control over the cost of gas. We do have control over how much we buy and how we use it. My car only gets 18mpg. If I want to pay less than $100/month on gasoline I have to use less or get a new car. If I want to lower my electric bill, I have to turn off lights and vote for politicians that support alternative energies for my community. If my using less gas is good for the environment then I can pat myself on the back but my immediate goal is to lower my own expenses. The convergence of economic and environmental crises is going to hurt for a while. Don't let anyone pretend that we can go back to the waste of the past. This revolution could do for America what the space race did - we have the ability, desire and drive to be the world leaders when it comes to innovation of any technology. We're in the middle of a revolution. Lets make sure we win it.