The oil problem (blessing in disguise?)
I, like every other American, am infuriated with the astounding gas prices that only continue to rise. I especially hate the greedy oil companies who are manipulating the American economy by overcharging us and making us broke. However, there may be an interestingly positive consequence of this: speaking from an environmental point of view, this may be the smoking gun that finally forces Americans to change their ways and to live more conservatively. For example, Los Angeles and surrounding areas have some of the worst pollution and smog problems in the entire country. Of course, if you are FROM La, you probably dont see the magnitude of the problem unless you are from somewhere else. However, this is becuase of the pathetic lack of public transportation in a city of over 20 million. People are forced to drive EVERYWHERE, thus clogging freeways up everyday, adding hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide and other poisonous substances in the air, only to circulate and accumulate, so we end up trapped in our bubble of smog. I truly believe that if LA comes up with a revolutionary public system (and do IT NOW!!! before the population keeps increasing and it becomes more difficult) like most other major cities. I mean, take SF for example. We are one of the cleanest cities in the country, because we have great transportation, and most people do not have to drive. Even DC is a great example. You walk everywhere and there are not that many cars because the metro is amazing. Or take Europe, and their amazing train/public transportation. The same could be for LA. While it might mean a few extra tax dollars and years of construction, the long term benefits will be astounding. Maybe then, people can STOP driving so much, force themselves to walk more often, and allow the smog to reduce. I mean, its embarrasing to think that CA is considered to be one of the most environmentally progressive states in the US, and yet LA basically contradicts this. Now, this post is not another rant against socal, my point is (going back to the oil problem) is that maybe the ridiculous gas prices and the economy strain is actually a blessing in disguise. We know oil is only going to be more scarce, China is going to continue to grow and exploit the world market with subsidized prices, and our international relations with the Middle East are going to continue to worsen, thus hurting our dependency. So, gas is only going to increase. Its not going down, and it may never go back down (at least to $1.30, like it was 5 years ago). We have to deal with it. But instead of falling prey into the greedy hands of the oil tycoons, and allowing ourselves to become broke, we can fight against this if we would STOP BEING SO STUBBORN and start using alternatives. The public transit is one revolutionary possibility that will help us significantly when we can no longer afford gas; hybrid cars are all the rave. GET ONE!!! Even the electric car is making its way back, after its death from the economy years back. Or carpool more. Make more friends and work together on that. I guarantee you that this could be a great thing for the American economy, specifically for LA. Everyone is flipping out over gas because we just realized how fucking dependent we are on driving, and now that our very dependence is being threatened, we dont want to think of alternatives. I, for one, am mad that it takes this kind of extremity (high gas prices) to get the dumbass American population to finally realize that, "oh, we are lazy idiots who rely on everyone else except ourselves, and when that goes haywire, we're all screwed!" Give me a break. I am sorry for all of us suffering with the oil problems, but there are alternatives, and we environmentalists have been SCREAMING at you for years, and all you did was ignore us. So either deal with the consequences, or fucking listen to us. We dont need to rely on oil so much, we can work together to not only financially help ourselves, but also help our environment. And maybe the gas will become so expensive (like $10/gallon) and we are forced into alternatives, then maybe smog will be reduced, traffic will decrease, and everything might actually improve. So, I really do believe this is a blessing in disguise, even if it means we all have to suffer initially. All I can say is thank god I am moving to SF, because I will NOT be driving for a while, and I have BART and other means of travel so my bills will not be as high as fellow so-calis. But follow suit, and you will overcome this future economical problems.