I went up north for the Memorial Day weekend and gas along the way was $4.19; the most I have ever paid in my life.
This is a topic that is discussed everywhere and especially by people it impacts the most.
I have explained in a previous blog how the pricing works and I have to still keep reminding people that the oil companies do not set the price of gasoline just to be greedy as hell.
Many people are starting to see how this whole “supply and demand” thing works and that if demand is high and supply is low, prices go up because they “gotcha”!
Many prophets of oil doom have warned us for many years about what is coming but we did not want to listen. We bought bigger and bigger gas guzzlers, moved further and further away from work just to live in the countryside, etc.
Now we are stuck and need to change things pronto. We are an inventive people and I am sure we can eventually handle this dilemma but NOT without pain.
The new mantra should be LOWER DEMAND and this holiday weekend was proof that we are starting to get the message. People did not drive, they stayed home and barbequed. The gasoline market immediately recorded the drop in demand and a drop in demand is what scares the hell out of the oil producers.
Yes, we will have to change our ways. Smaller, more fuel efficient cars, sidewalks in suburbia to enable us to remain mobile through means other than auto. I feel every suburban community should rise to the challenge and start a side-walk building craze, connecting residents with places they need to go. Make them wide enough to accommodate bikes and even scooters.
Plus, a little physical exertion may just thin America down and save on all the medical costs caused by rampant obesity.
In Europe, where gas is $9-10 / gallon, you can see how they have adapted to that cost. They drive smaller, fuel efficient cars, they use their bicycles a lot and they tend to live in towns that have a shopping center easily accessible by foot, bike or scooter. Our suburbs are not towns and probably cannot be made into towns so I suggest sidewalks and corner stores, just like in the old days.
Some predict a migration back into cities and they may be correct in that thinking. Cities are big towns with public transportation – get it?
Wow – this may change the way America is developing into a developmental “contraction”. I remember a class I took many years ago in urban planning where “MEGALOPOLIS’ ” were discussed. These are heavily populated areas that extend and encompass a number of cities. One that was presented was from Detroit to Chicago; yes, that whole area in between – crazy or the way of the future – interesting.
This is a topic that is discussed everywhere and especially by people it impacts the most.
I have explained in a previous blog how the pricing works and I have to still keep reminding people that the oil companies do not set the price of gasoline just to be greedy as hell.
Many people are starting to see how this whole “supply and demand” thing works and that if demand is high and supply is low, prices go up because they “gotcha”!
Many prophets of oil doom have warned us for many years about what is coming but we did not want to listen. We bought bigger and bigger gas guzzlers, moved further and further away from work just to live in the countryside, etc.
Now we are stuck and need to change things pronto. We are an inventive people and I am sure we can eventually handle this dilemma but NOT without pain.
The new mantra should be LOWER DEMAND and this holiday weekend was proof that we are starting to get the message. People did not drive, they stayed home and barbequed. The gasoline market immediately recorded the drop in demand and a drop in demand is what scares the hell out of the oil producers.
Yes, we will have to change our ways. Smaller, more fuel efficient cars, sidewalks in suburbia to enable us to remain mobile through means other than auto. I feel every suburban community should rise to the challenge and start a side-walk building craze, connecting residents with places they need to go. Make them wide enough to accommodate bikes and even scooters.
Plus, a little physical exertion may just thin America down and save on all the medical costs caused by rampant obesity.
In Europe, where gas is $9-10 / gallon, you can see how they have adapted to that cost. They drive smaller, fuel efficient cars, they use their bicycles a lot and they tend to live in towns that have a shopping center easily accessible by foot, bike or scooter. Our suburbs are not towns and probably cannot be made into towns so I suggest sidewalks and corner stores, just like in the old days.
Some predict a migration back into cities and they may be correct in that thinking. Cities are big towns with public transportation – get it?
Wow – this may change the way America is developing into a developmental “contraction”. I remember a class I took many years ago in urban planning where “MEGALOPOLIS’ ” were discussed. These are heavily populated areas that extend and encompass a number of cities. One that was presented was from Detroit to Chicago; yes, that whole area in between – crazy or the way of the future – interesting.
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