Oil prices/life will never be the same

I am sorry to say, sooner or later we will have to change our bad habits. I knew we would not do it on our own volition. We would have to be forced to do it and here we are. Gas prices at $120 dollars a barrel and rising, we are beginning to change our ways. At least I am.

I have always said Houston was built for cars, not pedestrians. We are after all, the energy capital of the world. We diversified our economy in the past two decades but we may have to be as agressive in the near future in diversifying our sources of energy. We may have to lead, as we have in the past in many areas in alternative sources of energy. We are number one in wind power in Texas and because we are a "can do" entrepeneurial society, we may be able to lead in other areas as well. Rice University has one of the top nanotechnology teams in the nation. We also have a pro active environmental mayor who may be leaving office soon but is leaving a legacy we can't deny.



The only way we can cease our addiction to oil is to stop consuming it. In Houston, we almost can't live without cars and lack of political will and vision on the part of our leaders in the past 50 years has created more freeways, bigger cars and homes and little in public transportation, bike trails or sidewalks for pedestrians. In my view those days are over. We will change our ways because we have to change.



The fact is the USA has some of the cheapest gas in the world. So we have not been forced like the Europeans to buys smaller cars or build an awesome public transportation system. (I lived in Europe several years without a car.)



In a recent article I read in Money magazine, it stated that out of 155 countries surveyed, U.S. gas prices were the 45th cheapest, according to a recent study from AIRINC, a research firm that tracks cost of living data.


The difference is staggering. As of late March, U.S. gas prices averaged $3.45 a gallon. That compares to over $8 a gallon across much of Europe, $12.03 in Aruba and $18.42 in Sierra Leone.



No one is feeling sorry for us I presume, because we have been living the myth that cheap oil is forever. There are so many reasons they are giving us for the rise in oil prices. I have interviewed several experts and they all have different answers. The falling dollar, speculation in the market, rebels in Nigeria, storms everywhere, the ever unstable middle east, problems with refineries, greedy oil companies etc.



The bottom line is that we had a chance to change our ways with the oil embargo in the 70's but lo and behold we didn't! Instead we subsidized SUV's and Hummers just a few years ago!!!



The bottom line is that we can' be this dependent on oil forever simply because, is is a finite resource and if that is not true (some disagree with me) global warming begs us to look into alternative sources of energy that won't contaminate the air.



This is what I plan to do in the next few years. I plan to buy a new hybrid when my car falls apart. In the mean time, I will keep my tires in shape, I will change my air filter every 3000 miles, and I will drive 55 miles an hour..not more.



Then I plan to work at home as much as I can so I don't have to drive. If I can move closer to my job I will and maybe I will move into a smaller apartment. Finally I will try to car pool and if I have the guts, ride a bycicle to work!


This way, I won't get tired of people telling me we are living in a recession, prices will keep going up and the future doesn't look good. My experience tells me there is always a silver lining in any challenge or tragedy we face. Here is the silver lining I find in this. We can't keep destroying the environment. We can't keep living a lie. We can't have more than we can afford. Now that's living Smart!
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