So, we HAD to quench the thirst of our [free for a legitimate reason] ‘96 Ford Winstar today. It was painful, it shattered my begrudging hopes that the economy would indeed rebound (at least for us working class folks.) For the first time in my life, I yelled to my husband, “Don’t fill it!” I knew full well, that we had to fill it, cause eventually, we would just be refilling it again and probably at a higher price! It was already $3.43/ gallon!
If it was up to me, I would never drive again! I would be perfectly happy walking kids to school, walking to the grocery store and the pharmacy- it would be GOLDEN! But, alas, we have our own Indy 500 just a block away, which is NOT conducive to a 2 week grocery order and 2 preschoolers in tow. I hate winter, especially, with all of it’s snow and ice and such. I hate driving. There are rude people on the road- old and young
But, the kids are 3 and 5, and they have little legs. Could they walk two miles to school? Sure. Could they function the rest of the day? Probably not. Really? Is this what the “Greatest Generation” bequest to us? It’s not totally their fault though. Not really their fault at all. They didn’t make the choices their legislators made.
We are in a bad place. We are dependant on oil from a place that is NOT here. It COULD be from here, but it is not. Why do we need the oil? Being dependant on someone else for our livelihood isn’t American, but it IS Global.
So, the total cost at the gas station was about sixty dollars. It doesn’t sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, especially with the prices of everything else escalating, but sixty dollars DOES matter to me and I can probably think of about sixty reasons WHY we shouldn’t be paying $3.43 for one gallon of gasoline. I am not going to delve into them all here, but I will touch on a few:
Alternative energy vehicles- There’s an inventor in the Philippines who has come up with an electric car that has solar charging capabilities: Solar Car and there have been a number of other people that have retrofitted their vehicles to run on water and used vegetable oil and such. Also check out List of Alternative Fuels that lists almost 20 different options for fuel that would work in most vehicles currently on the roads today.
More local shops!- There’s a glorious time of yore when there was a market, local beer garden and church literally down the block from every home in the United State. Back then, there was little unemployment, children and adults alike COULD safely walk where they needed to go, so the occurrence of obesity was far lower, there was no hole in the Ozone Layer, because people only really “needed” to drive for special occasions like Sunday drives or vacations to the shore during the summer. Local shops COULD easily repopulate and create a sustainable living for the owners by tapping into modern technology for some help. Grocers can create little eating areas, like counter top seating and a couple of café tables and invest in wi-fi for their establishments to encourage patrons. They easily create a Web site that would allow for access to an international customer base and send shop specific specialties far and wide.
Think trains not trucks! Much of the country is still covered in at least remnants of the glory that was rail travel and, of course, a number of trains STILL function quite well as a form of transport that’s less dependant on oil and exceptionally cost efficient. Jobs could be created in order to bring the lost tracks back to fruition. Truckers could be retrained to work trains (yes, I am proud of that alliteration there!) We COULD be as bold as to go back to steam engines, but our technology just isn’t quite there yet with an alternative energy source for vehicle as large and fierce as a train. It’s still a possibility though..
Embrace the cyber world! If we really think about it, a ridiculously absurd amount of office jobs, really anything not specifically requiring manual labor, can be done from the home of anyone with HSD, a computer and access to Skype. For the cost of a computer, a wecam/ speakers/ microphone, internet service and Skype (or any Voice Over IP service like Vonage) we could avoid the costs of commuting, as well as work fashion, as well the need for a brick and mortar office building, aside from, at MOST a customer accessible little hub of a building. Secure networks allow for a virtual office for the handling of any level of sensitive information. Online chatting allows for contact with coworkers and superiors when there’s a need for escalation of an issue and/ or customer interaction. Even old fashioned phone customer service can be done from home with a quiet room and the other aforementioned prerequisites. Imagine a world with no more traffic jams, no road rage, no need for fast food (when ya got your own kitchen a couple of yards away.) I could go on and on about the benefits. And then, guess what? We won’t need petroleum products to keep ourselves functional, well, not to anywhere near the degree of necessity that we currently have.
According to Wikipedia, the first car was produced in 1902. Human beings have lived, survived and prospered for approximately 500,000 years prior to 1902, according to NASA. Something tells me that a world without petroleum products just might still be feasible.
So, maybe we need to respond like the innovative, frugal and resourceful Americans of the past, and change our own corner of the world. Your bank account will surely thank you.
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