Gas prices are going to go up. It's a simple fact of life. The price of milk has gone up. The price of clothes (not made in a 3rd world country) has gone up. Car prices go up. A loaf of bread, a can of soup, soda, beer, as time passes all the prices increase. So why does everyone think that gas should be exempt from these rules. In the good ole USA we pay less for gas than Canada and Europe. Europeans have evolved and have created alternate means of transportation - say hello to high speed trains! Canada just piggybacks the USA - so do they really count anyway? Our country on the other hand, sits back and complains and thinks we are owed cheap gas by everyone out there. Sure, the oil execs are making a buttload of money. But so are the execs from every other company. Are they overpaid? Of course. Are they a bunch of crooked pieces of crap? Most likely. I am not here trying to defend them. I think only a crooked lawyer with no small degree of ethics could comfortably do so. But why do we think we should have 99 cent per gallon gas forever? If it was up to me I would increase the taxes on gasoline right now. And put the money to alternate uses to create a new and more socially responsible transportation network.
Trains are up to 3 times more energy efficient compared to airplanes
Would you take a train from Seattle to NYC if it took only 14 hours? Yes, you can take an airplane in 6 hours. Wrestle with airport security. Pray your luggage doesn't get lost. Have 6 inches of leg room and be the meat of a fat person sandwich that reeks of stale potato chips and cheap beer. Or you can stretch out on a high speed train, take a nap, watch a movie, have a warm meal, have direct access to your luggage, uninterrupted Internet and enjoy a quiet and peaceful commute while seeing the beautiful country. It's possible in many other countries in the world, why not here? London to Paris is a fairly quick trip. Japan has many high speed trains. There are many places in the world building more infrastructure - Russia and China are two prime examples. Of course the cost of this would be enormous - in the billions- but if we add a tax on the gas the average gluttonous American uses and put all the money into this endeavor it will help us in the future as gas prices inevitably rise. How about Seattle to Portland? NYC to Chicago? LA to San Francisco? Washington DC to Philly and NYC? Oops- that already exists and is hugely popular.
Will it happen before it needs to happen? Probably not. We have turned into such a reactive country as opposed to a proactive one. People do not start saving money until they don't have any. They don't exercise until they have a heart attack. They don't change their diet until their arteries are clogged. They don't change their driving habits until they are forced to pay $4.25 per gallon. What happens when it becomes $ 7 -8.00 per gallon? What will happen when we are forced to drive our Tahoes, Expeditions and the like when it costs $165.00 to fill the tank. Of course the public will cry foul. Scream about how we are being ripped off. Which may or may not be true. But the world is going to run out of oil someday, that is fact. The world is suffering horribly for the pollution of the world's oil consumption. I could forever argue this but don't have the time nor the typing skills to write as quickly as my mind emits facts (there are tons of books out there already).
The bottom line is we, as a country, need responsibility to be thrust at us. We need policy change. We need someone to hold our hand and tell us that we need to do this, or that, and that acting in a certain way just isn't the right way. We need responsible leaders that can tell us why and lay out the groundwork so idiot America can comprehend the whys and
and hows we need to change before we are forced to. There is no crystal ball to tell the exact price of oil in 5, 8 or 10 years. But we do know that we will run out. We do know prices will go up. We do know oil consumption is a huge factor to negative climate change. Let's be ready for it before it cripples us a nation.
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