The boycotts don't work.
If everyone in America boycotted gassing up their cars for a single day, it wouldn't so much as cause a hiccup. Why? Because you still have to gas up the next day. In the end, all you do is put on a show with no real plot. But, because we live in a me-first-right-now society, we expect that short-term gains can be achieved in everything we do. Unfortunately, prices of commodities don't work that way. They skyrocket upward on speculation, but only fall back down based on proven trends of supply versus demand. There's only one sure-fire way to bring gas prices back down, and we've all heard it over and over again. We just don't practice it: reduce overall consumption. Lower demand, lower prices.
Americans are wasteful. Horribly, horribly wasteful. I'm as guilty as anyone, too. We search for instant convenience at the cost of some far-off comfort we can't fathom right now. If we had thought about — and accepted as fact — the long-term ramifications of buying gas-guzzling SUVs for no reason other than to say we had the biggest, heaviest, most luxurious vehicle, chances are we'd be driving the smallest vehicles possible while still managing to shuttle our families around. But, as it stands, we're standing in our own gasoline-soaked grave right now. Our dependence on fossil fuels has never been higher, and it's getting worse by the day.
Now, don't buy into the liberal hype that our government's domestic and foreign policy is to blame. As I said a few days ago, the war in Iraq has had, at most, about a 25-cent impact on the price of gasoline, and the highest gas taxes in the country are around 55 cents. In reality, the cause of the rapid rise in price is something we, as private citizens of the U.S., have little control over: the emergence of both China and India as major economic players. As their economies improve, their citizens' wealth increases; as people get wealthier, they desire greater luxuries, and in previously under-developed nations, the greatest bang-for-your-buck luxury is an automobile.
Granted, we in the U.S. still use three times as much oil as China, even though their population is four times what ours is. That's due partly to the established road infrastructure we've developed in over 100 years, and the spread of wealth in this country relative to other nations. But that's not an excuse; it's an indictment. We are a top-ten oil-producing nation, but we consume drastically more than we produce, and we do it with such a flippant attitude that it's no wonder we're viewed as arrogant around the world. All it takes is a little common sense, and we — the most powerful nation in the history of mankind — can begin to sway the price of oil over time.
But it will take time.
Can you cut one mile out of your average daily drive? That's seven miles per week, people. It's not asking much. At an estimated 200 million drivers in the U.S. (a low estimate, considering that statistic comes from 2004), if we cut our driving by one mile per day, we would eliminate 73 billion miles driven per year. At a rough national average of about 20 miles per gallon (+/- 1 mpg), that comes to 3.65 billion gallons of gasoline saved in a single year. At 19.2 gallons of gasoline for every 42-gallon barrel of oil, we would save over 190 million barrels of oil, or 520,834 barrels per day. That's 2.5 percent of this country's daily consumption. While that doesn't seem like a big deal, it is, and here's why: it's 0.5 percent higher than the average rate of growth in consumption in the U.S. If achieved globally rather than just domestically, it would be a mere 0.2 percent lower than the expected rate of growth in global demand through 2030. So, yes, it's a ver, very big deal.
It's beyond possible: it's very achievable. All it takes is a small amount of discipline, some forethought, and a simple understanding that the best things in life are a result of the patience you put into them and your steadfast belief that it will work.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:20 am
I learned a lot from this post, thank you.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Hey Mike, I beleave oil companys are greedy, thats ok we live in our capilist society which is fine with me. I have a different plan. First we need to drill for our own oil, build nuclear power plants, and build more refineries. Since we are the greater force, the american consumer, lets boycott exxon mobile for a summer, I think they would do whatever they could to get the prices down FASTER. We need to think bigger than not buy gas for a day. Lets slay the goliath of the gas companies. Lets get that boycott in place and see what the CEO will due now that he wont get his 400 million dollar bonus. The power is ours, so lets make our voices are to the politicians and the gas compinies.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Oh yeah, screw consumption. I am an American and want to drive a big truck. I dont wont to live in the city, I like driving to work. Obama is not very intelligent. I have a truck, I love guns, and I rely on my faith. I like to keep my house warm and I like my truck. Forget short term consumption, I refuse to live that way. I dont need TV, Internet, or my cell phone. If I gave them up I would have 200 dollars more in my pocket. There is not short term fix. Lets drill for more oil, build more refineries, and build nuclear plants. Lets give our middle finger to the oil companies and say speculate this, if you continue to make your record profit on our wallets, then we will pick one of u out and not buy from u anymore. Im sure the borad going to come up with a plan to lower prices. When it comes to the goverment all i can tell you is vote with coman sense. The goverment was never made to take care of you. Be careful listening to the person making promisses that sound great. Reality can be a hard thaing to swallow. Goverment can not fix gas prices in the short term, but they need to step up and get the ball rolling making us energy efficient. The answer is not using corn, that is actually more expensive than its worth. Those who worry about the enviroment, Nuclear is the cleanest type of energy and the cheapest. I wonder how come the oil companies and government have not built any more plants in this country in 30 years. Let the american consumer speak and lets fix these problems now so Our children wont have to suffer.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
It’s funny.. “Parish” claims that Obama isn’t very intelligent, and yet his logic is completly wrong. Boycotting an entire company will not work either. Why? Gas is what’s know as a “fungible” commodity. Meaning, if Exxon doesn’t sell all of their gasoline, they simply sell it to the other companies. This happens on a daily basis anyway. Of course, there is no way you could organize a boycott of Exxon anyway. So, there are two reasons why this is not an “intelligent” idea. And doesn’t life seem fun at the “Parish” household… no t.v., cell phone or internet… but plenty of guns, and obviously, plenty of beer. Great, a beer drinking, gun toting redneck with terrible ideas on how to fix this problem… fantastic…
May 27th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Like I said, there is no quick solutions. boycotting exxon brings bad press, they do not want that. We have the power not the government. Anyways thanks for calling me a redneck, I take that as a compliment. You forgot 4 wheel driving with my guns, beer, and love for this country. Love the debate
May 30th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Okay, let’s cut this name-calling to a minimum — even if Paish is a true redneck. Oh, by the way, Yours Truly is nothing more than a redneck with a little culture. Amazing how us backwoods hillbillies can come up with a coherent thought now and then, since we’re all drunk most of the time
Holy crap, I thought again. I’m on a roll.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
just to clarify. those comments were all Tim’s. not mine. and its PAISH not Parish. least us rednecks get names right.