The Only Gasoline with Techron!

As I drove this morning, I passed a Chevron gas station on Burnside that boasted a gallon price of $3.89 for their unleaded gasoline, and I laughed to myself. I can remember less than two years ago when I complained about the per gallon price hitting the two-dollar mark and how I thought that was such a travesty and how I blamed the war in Iraq for the constantly increasing price of oil and how I thought we had a stupid President. Not much has changed since then. Except, of course, the price of gas.

Several days ago, we took a fun quiz at work on “green living,” and several of the questions centered on how we get around– driving vs. biking vs. using public transportation vs. carpooling. We were told that less cars on the road would not only help decrease our carbon footprint, it would also help curb our nation’s dependency on foreign oil. Apparently, when people don’t gas up as much, it could help to drive the cost of gasoline down as gasoline providers fight for whatever demand is left.

Yeah, right. Like that would happen anytime soon. Sorry to be pessimistic about it, but I just don’t see America’s passion for driving disappearing. We’re a country of convenience more than anything. Even when the gas price finally hits the six-dollar mark, we will still be complaining about it while driving our SUVs. Nothing will change. Politicians have also recently wrestled with the idea of raising our driving age to 17, keeping a slew of sixteen-year-olds off the road and, therefore, decreasing gas consumption, by one year. But isn’t that only delaying the inevitability?

However, on the off-chance that America does respond to the oil crisis in a positive way, say, by walking more versus driving– especially, distances under a couple of miles– it could only be good. It works for your average European. In Europe, people walk instead of driving, due in big part to the per gallon price soaring above the seven-dollar mark (thanks to higher gas taxes). Plus, they eat less fast food (Drive-through? What drive-through?). On my days off, I rarely use my car, and almost exclusively walk to places. Of course, it helps that I live near a vibrant urban neighborhood that allows me to be within walking distance of the necessities– coffee shops, bookstores, restaurants, pubs, stores.

I realize not everyone has this option. Another thing we have going for us here in the land of plenty is wide open spaces. Not everything can be within walking distance. Therein lies the irony.