I have a twisted opinion that may not go over well. I'm actually OK with gas and oil prices rising for now. I say for now because I don't know how long my complacency will last.
The increase in gas prices is causing people to rethink their lifestyle choices. How far do I really need to travel to work? Why do I live in the middle of nowhere when I'm not a rancher? Why do I drive an SUV when I'm not even sporty?
When asked about how people are coping with the rising gas prices in the local newspapers, they've said things like, "I'm moving to a downtown area" and "I'm more efficient when planning my errands" and "I'm using less oil and electricity at home" and "I'm growing my own food" and "I'm buying a motorcycle."
These are all good things anyway. Things that lots of crunchy people have been trying to get us other people to return to for years. This brings out my conspiracy theorizing. Is the oil market really controlled by the Green Party?
I hear ya...in some ways.
The gasoline cost is okay for me. We live in an area where we could survive taking buses and trains if we absolutely could not afford gas. And Kristin could walk to work, my gas is paid for, so no sweat.
But the heating oil has my stomach in knots! 5 bucks a gallon? It's gonna be over a grand to fill the tank this winter! We keep our house on the chilly side as it is, but this year we might have to lower the thermostat to a max temperature of 60 degrees, down from 62 last year. Time to bundle up kiddies!
From a Safety Dude's perspective, I also get nervous that less fortunate people are going to take drastic measures to stay warm in their homes. And those measures might be dangerous. Lighting all those YELLOW BOOKS, PAGES, ETC books thrown on their front steps on fire to keep warm, go to sleep with their oven door open on a low temp, etc. Scary stuff that could lead to people getting hurt.
Fuckin oil.
Posted by: Kull | 02 July 2008 at 08:29 AM
I didn't think about poor people burning yellow books for warmth.
Yes, this winter is gonna suck ass. And I am already cranky about food prices rising because of transportation costs.
I'm sort of being tongue-in-cheek with not minding the gas prices rising. I know people are not gonna be able to keep up with their fuel and energy costs.
Fuckin' oil.
Posted by: blaugra | 02 July 2008 at 06:14 PM
Fucking oil...
Posted by: Kristin | 02 July 2008 at 08:34 PM
There's my girl with the proper pronunciation of the fuckinG, nice work.
Frackin oil! Yep, my prediction is many house fires in lesser communities from heat sources. Sad.
Posted by: Kull | 03 July 2008 at 10:53 AM