How to lower the cost of gasoline. It’s not rocket science.
A recent CNN poll showed that the #1 economic worry of most people in the United States is the cost of filling their gas tank. And people should be worried about it. There are some industry analysts who are predicting that a gallon of gas could cost from eight to ten dollars a gallon before the end of the year. I don’t think that is wild speculation either, citizens of most European countries are already paying eight dollars a gallon. But when I read that the president of Shell Oil said that the answer to lowering the cost of gasoline was to produce more gasoline in the United States, I couldn’t disagree more. I guess that kind of statement is to be expected from someone in the oil industry. The oil industry can’t wait to drill for oil in Alaska and elsewhere in the United States. They have little regard for the environmental impact of such drilling. Even if production of gasoline in the United States was increased, it still would not lower the price of gas. It would just encourage people to keep on buying SUV’s and other gas guzzlers. The only way to reduce the cost of gasoline is to reduce our consumption of gasoline. People need to realize that they can no longer afford to buy gas guzzling SUV’s and hemi-powered V-8 Dodge Ram trucks that get less than 20 mpg. People need to start car pooling and start using mass transit whenever possible. The auto industry needs to really get serious and start producing more hybrids and alternative fuel source vehicles. The federal government needs to get serious and stop spending billions on more interstate highways and instead spend billions on mass transit so people won’t have to drive everywhere they need to go. In Europe, where gasoline is eight dollars a gallon, they have efficient and effective mass transit already. Most Europeans don’t drive big SUV’s and V-8 trucks. We shouldn’t have to wait until gasoline reaches eight dollars a gallon before we start to emulate the Europeans. When there are more hybrid, electric, and alternative fuel source vehicles on the road than gas guzzling vehicles, the price of gasoline will not be the economic burden it is now. But how to get the oil industry, the auto industry, and the federal government with the program is the challenge. Everyone needs to take an active part in influencing the oil and auto industries and the federal government into making smart choices and enacting legislation that will move us away from our current downward spiraling path toward economic disaster.
