Don’t Forget What $4/gallon Gas Felt Like

Life is back to good now. Bush is out, No-Experience is in. Personally, I have stopped listening to the news, so things are quite fine. Just remember, the media has predicted 27 out of the last 2 recessions. Screw ‘em all. Let the advertising dry up and the ‘news’ programs be cancelled. What will CNN do? Probably slip into reality programming. Or FOX? Geraldo needs more empty tombs to open.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. If you remember (internet memory is far too short), gasoline was the hot topic a couple of months ago. Much hand-wringing about energy costs, but the smart people (both of us) were excited about the prospect of new technology coming to the forefront. Surely, there was someone that had a new idea about using something besides gasoline. But, those damn oil companies did it to us again and lowered the cost of a gallon of gas to below the bitch level for mindless America, bringing the contentment factor back to the numb level. Something has to be said about ‘staying the course’ when it comes to alternative energy. And PLEASE, use your own head when it comes to deciding what makes sense. We almost let Congress (see definition under Deadbutts) talk us into making ethanol the latest saving grace. Never mind the Wall Street Journal let the story slip that it actually takes more energy (and carbon emissions) to make ethanol than normal gasoline. And, for the record, the Oil and Gas Journal said the same thing years before. But don’t listen to those folks, they actually know something about energy.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. We are on the endthebailouts site, after all. For the record, again, if the Detroit auto industry gets a blank check like Congress got, I will never buy another American car. If those bloated fatcats really wanted to be on top in auto sales, they would have marketed a car that people would have wanted to buy. The auto industry seems to run in a cycle. Cars are crappy for a few years, Japan gets ahead, Detroit management decides to bust a few heads and the quality improves, then Japan loses a few points, union gets a raise. Repeat.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. Refer to the title of this article. Today, an energy-efficient car is less than satisfying to own or drive. But, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Fast-forward a couple of decades. You know we will be driving some technology that nobody thought of today. Why not do it today?  I will tell you why. Because as long as it is cheaper to burn a barrel of oil, that is what we will do. How many of you have even thought about the price of gasoline since it dropped to less than $2? I see no hands. There are a few doing something out there, but they will crash and burn if oil stays cheap. And the rest of you will contribute to the crash and burn as long as you take the cheaper route.

OK, time to wax positive. Go to www.lincvolt.com. It is Neil Young’s website in which he is attempting to power a large car using only electricity. Now Neil Young knows nothing about technology, but he does know how to carry a cause. Just look at the anti-war stance that the ‘group in which he is mentioned last’ has historically taken. (Wonder how they view America’s involvement in the war to defeat Hitler?) They can definitely carry a cause. I have no doubt that Neil Young has the ability to champion a youngster that has a radical idea that may take us away from the path of oil. But it will take a few of us to spend a few dollars more to fill a tank with a new substance, to pay a bit more to shingle our house with solar cells, to ride in a smaller conveyance, to lower the thermostat in winter and raise it in summer, to minmize trips in the car, etc. Back to the title…

Please don’t forget what $4 dollar per gallon gasoline felt like.