I had to laugh out loud at this article today. Rocky Twiman of Washington has founded a new prayer movement: Prayer at the Pump. He's taking his complaint about high gas prices straight to the top--over the head of the president, whom he blames for not having done something about it already. Exactly what the president--or for that matter, God--is supposed to do, he doesn't say.
Meanwhile, presidential candidates are offering to give drivers a summer holiday from the gas tax. They don't bother to mention the fact that not a single economist supports the idea. Economists, unlike presidential candidates, realize that a short-term cut in prices could actually make prices even worse in the long run, and the money they'd save consumers even in the short term is negligible at best.
The truth is, the high price of gasoline has nothing to do with the tax on gas, which in the U.S. is insignificantly small compared to most countries. Nor does it have to do with the evil oil companies trying to make record profits. Gas prices are driven by the same fundamental relationship that drives every price in a free market: the relationship of supply and demand. Supply is the problem: oil production worldwide has essentially been in a plateau since November of 2005, and many geologists believe that it will only go down from here. World oil production has peaked, my friends, and we have reached the limits of cheap energy.
In a way, Rocky Twiman has it right. God is the only one who could do anything about it--He could, if He chose, create more oil in the ground for us to use up. But something tells me He probably won't. No, I hate to break it to you, Rocky. But you're the one praying for God to "intervene in the lives of those selfish, greedy people who are keeping those prices high." I wonder if God will answer your prayer and inform you that the person keeping prices high is you?
Monday, May 5, 2008
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4 comments:
I just popped over from The Evangelical Environmentalist.
I 've been thinking the same way about gas prices. I don't actually want the moratorium on the taxes, because I think we need to learn to change our habits and dependence on oil, and I would agree that prodction has peaked. I do have great sympathy for my son, who, as an electician, has to drive to work sites that can be fairly far from his home. He doesn't have the option of moving close to work, since the work moves around, and he needs to carry his tools, too. People in those kinds of jobs are really going to have a rough time, and will have to pass their costs on to consumers, unfortunately. It's a dilema.
Yeah, I know what you mean...I feel sorry for a lot of friends and relatives I know whose jobs involve driving to different sites. But the problem is systemic. We have to create other ways of moving people and things around. We need public transit, railroads, walkable communities, and local economies...if everyone could walk to the grocery store, it wouldn't be as much of a hardship in those instances when driving is necessary. Our dependence on oil isn't an individual choice; it's a necessity that's been created by the way we've built our cities and communities.
In the meantime, a lot of people are going to have a very rough time. But nowhere near as rough as the people in the third world who can't buy rice or corn because our demand for ethanol has driven the price of grains up so high.
Amen. What is it about supply and demand that is hard to understand...or just easy to ignore?
Based on the wisdom of your post, I have an alternative idea: We could reduce the price of gas by driving less! Just an idea.
Latter-Day Sustainablist:
In my opinion, yes, that is the answer!
The problem comes for those who CAN'T drive less thanks to the inane design of our communities. Can you walk to the grocery store? To work? To any social activities? Sadly, I live in the middle of the city, and I can't even walk to the grocery store. Although I think they're building one close by. I used to be able to bike, but I can't do that now with a baby...
Long-term, I know we WILL be driving less, because we won't have any choice, but I don't think the transition is going to be easy. Also long-term, gas prices will continue to go up no matter how much less we drive, because supply is going to go down faster than we can possibly reduce demand. At least that's my prediction.
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