More Visual Bull
|
So what are you going to do when gas hits $12/gallon?
By Joseph Perce
I remember those times, shortly after 911, when I was driving around the city, seeing such ridiculously low gas prices as 70 cents a gallon. Now, all that seems like a Utopian Pipe Dream, with a bigger nightmare right around the corner.
$4/gallon gas is quickly becoming the standard, and what is next? What are we Americans going to do if gas goes up to $5/gallon? $6/gallon? $12/gallon? Yes, $12 a gallon. Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, is predicting exactly this: "(T)he prices that we're paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be 'the good old days,' because others who watch this very closely forecast that we're going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon.'
The question then becomes - What are you going to do about it? What alternatives do you have in mind when the prices continue to hit historic highs? Will you ride a bike? Will you take public transit?
It always astounds me of how the only time anything is done about a problem is when the problem is there, hitting us square in the face. It did not have to come to this; We could have made a concerted effort towards energy independence years ago. There is energy all around us; All we need is a desire to tap into this energy.
Our nation has vast resources that are well suited towards taking advantage of these alternatives. Take for example the eastern portion of Wyoming. Largely desolate and very windy, eastern Wyoming would be an ideal place for a wind turbine farm.
Luckily, there are some enterprising capitalists who are looking at alternative energy, albeit not necessarily from an entirely altruistic position. For example, a recent article on CNN wrote about Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens who is investing heavily in developing the biggest wind farm in the world in Texas. Pickens hits the nail right on the head at the end of the CNN article by stating, "You can't keep paying out $600 billion a year for oil."
It is heartening to see individuals like Pickens making an effort to get us off dependence on foreign oil. However, perhaps the single biggest wakeup call is occurring all around us at the pumps. Maybe $12/gallon gasoline is what it will take to wake up America and get Americans pissed off enough to change the status quo.
|
