Everyone in America – and really in most developed countries around the world — is feeling the affects of the continuing fuel crisis.Since February, when the national average for a gallon of gas was around $3, that number has climbed to more than $4, and many in the energy industry expect that trend to continue, at least through summer.
Some are even warning that higher fuel prices are here to stay.
And the numbers don’t stop at the pump – higher fuel prices increase the cost of just about all goods sold in the United States while decreasing how much money people have to spend in stores and other businesses.
While it all sounds like the perfect storm for national economic trouble, there is also a lesson to be learned from the energy crisis – one that everyone needs to remember even if gas prices do begin to fall back to more reasonable levels.
As a nation, it is absolutely imperative that we change how we use our natural resources – especially oil. We are far too dependent on foreign countries – many of which, like Iran and Venezuela, are openly hostile to the United States. Libya was able to make oil prices jump in the past week just by saying it was considering cutting production.
For years, critics and analysts have been warning that exactly this situation was inevitable, that we needed to look to more fuel-efficient cars and develop reliable public transportation.
The major U.S. auto manufacturers were likewise warned that they were focusing too much energy on producing wildly fuel inefficient SUVs and trucks. Now, faced with stagnant inventories of such vehicles and insufficient supplies of smaller cars, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are laying off workers and shutting down plants across the country.
They had plenty of warning about what was coming and still did nothing.
On the other side of the argument, the government and oil companies are pushing for increased drilling rights as the only real solution to the problem. But that’s a half-truth at best. The energy industry stands to benefit from such measures – but don’t expect that to do the average American motorist any good, at least in the near future.
Most experts say such drilling may result in an increased supply, but nothing is certain. And even if there is enough oil there to make a difference at the pumps, it will be a decade or longer before drivers see any benefit.
The simple reality of the situation is that Americans need to do a better job of conserving fuel. That means government incentives to wean our country off its dependence on oil – especially foreign oil. But it also means a fundamental change in attitude – more fuel-efficient vehicles, better public transportation, carpooling – the list of ways we can improve our situation is almost endless.
But the American people will have to take the initiative to make the change – the government is not going to be able to offer any quick fix here, and don’t expect any sort of real help from profit-bloated oil companies either.
