Comments on: Black Gold

By: Steve N

Steve N — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Amen, Funky. And while we're at it (i.e., not buying humongoid gas-guzzling tanks), we can also start making other life decisions that minimize energy consumption like living near to where we work and shop… a side benefit being that we'll start caring more about our communities because they'll be real communities and not just places we lay our head and watch the boob tube. I'm personally rooting for gas to reach $5/gallon.

Cheers!

By: Funky Dung

Funky Dung — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Aye, that you have.

By: terry george

terry george — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

can it be? Have I finally found some serious Catholics who are also serious about their environment?! Praise God!

couldn't help myself

Terry >

By: Jerry Nora

Jerry Nora — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Having a wife with a 1.5-hr. commute, I do not join Steve's wish for 5 dollars of gasoline, but I would like to see the SUV sunk.

The NY Times did note that SUV sales were dropping off, however, in part due to how expensive they are to sell.

Hummer fans need not fear, however, as they are coming out with the fuel-efficient H3, which I hear gets 20 mpg on the highway. (Downhill. With the wind behind it.)

By: EmilyE

EmilyE — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I am happy to say that I own a Chevy Prizm (31 city / 34.5 highway).

But I would like to see more public transportation available outside of major cities. In my city in NE Ohio, I can't go to the places I need to go without a car. That's a Catch-22 that our consumeristic culture created:
1) There is no public transportation. So one is forced to buy a car.
2) Because everyone has a car, there is no public transportation.

The bus and rail network in Russia is better than in the United States. That's rather pathetic, if you ask me.

I don't think I'd mind if gas hit $5 a gallon -- provided that the spike in prices motivated officials to develop widespread, reliable public transportation systems.

By: Jerry Nora

Jerry Nora — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I hope to post in the next day or so about some innovations within the private sector and also by private individuals on the energy front. Interesting stuff. More government help couldn't hurt, but I like seeing real people taking the initiative as well, even if D.C. drags its sorry tail.

By: Tom Smith

Tom Smith — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I wouldn't tend to consider a car at 22/30 to be a gas guzzler. What do you guys think the standard for "gaz guzzler" status should be?

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

In defense of my gas guzzler (22 city/30 hwy), the reason it's so gas hungry is that it weighs a lot which is because it has AWD, which is a safety feature in this part of the country. (And no, it's not an SUV, it's a compact wagon)

I am however not really bitching about the price of gas, because as Eric said - it's hasn't hit where it hurts.

By: Jerry Nora

Jerry Nora — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Steve, what about farmers and so forth? They feed us, so what about their paying 5 dollars a gallon? Commentators on this blog are pretty big about social justice, so what about the rural folk and working poor? It takes a while to build new mass transit insfrastructure, even after all the planning phases (assuming they ever truly end!), so what would that do to the people?

I'm for gradual change, as frustrating as it is; yeah, I'm anti-car, and want to move into a more sustainable situation for my own family as well as the rest of the country, but too many people are trapped through no fault of their own with commuting, and five dollars a gallon would be a recipe for a nasty recession or even depression (which, again, would often pinch hardest the most vulnerable in our society–heaven knows what would become of more vulnerable cities like Youngstown or the Monongahela Valley communities near Pittsburgh).

By: Steve N

Steve N — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

We need food more than we need gas… Farmers (like all producers) would merely have to pass increased energy costs onto consumers. It would result in inflation… and probably economic catastrophe… but interest rates would rise to combat this, encouraging folks to trim down and save as much as possible. The free market's a bitch. At any rate, it's going to get increasingly expensive to mine fossil fuels… eventually (not if, but when) this will be naturally reflected in costs to the economy…

But has the free market really been at work in creating the mess we're in? Not entirely on its own, IMO. Gov't policy since the 50s has been to create over sized roads for travel/commuting… when the roads become insufficient, gov't policy makes them wider or makes more. Local gov'ts are to blame for zoning laws that ultimately force a separation of homes from places of business… and thus we have unbridled development of both in increasingly different and isolated circles. And local gov'ts are falling over themselves thru-out the nation to welcome with open arms companies like Walmart, only one of which is necessary to put completely out of business the center of a small town. So you can't walk to the local h/w store, electronics/book/record/clothing shop, anymore… Just hafta drive out to the Walmart. Well, there's plenty of parking.

The lesson is to act locally, and look beyond the extra low prices to the kind of lives you'd like your grandchildren to be able to live…

OK off my soapbox.