That's it, I'm walking
What's wrong with this picture?
"I live fifteen miles from the grocery store. Gasoline costs $3.00 per gallon, and now I spend $6.00 just to travel to the store. Can't somebody just dig up a chunk of oil in Alaska and save our country from extraordinary gas prices?"
I just wanted to say thank g-d that average Americans have the foresight to suck it up for a couple of years while we suffer indignant gasoline prices. But how can the average person possibly afford to pay for transportation nowadays?
The answer is, what the hell are you doing living 15 miles away from the grocery store/school/garbage dump that you travel to every single day. And the question isn't necessarily how to pay for the gas. Rather than acquiesce to necessity for a car in the city, some iconoclastic Americans reason, "what's wrong with the city that we need a car?" People in England survive with paying $6 per gallon for gas, so somehow, they figure, this must be possible.
Let's look at what happens when gas prices go up. People don't want to drive too far, so things get closer together. In fact, the grocery store comes to you. That's because there's a demand for it. High fuel prices may well bring our communities back together.
posted by Teutsch @ 12:02 AM
6 Comments:
Surely they'd save money if they managed to plan their shopping well enough that they only need to go once every other day or once every 3 days or something?
That's true. But the point is that government-subsidized gasoline induces urban sprawl. We need not take our infrastructure for granted; it can conform to desirable habits.
Two words for you: PUBLIC TRANSIT.
If more people took public transit, maybe it would actually pay for itself. Duh.
If the person you speak of, Jason, has to spend $6 to drive to and from the grocery store, he or she must be driving a car that gets only 15 miles to the gallon. Perhaps that person should consider getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle.
Thanks for noticing.
Soultions central:
1) Ride a bike to the store
2) Order groceries over the internet
3) Move to England
4) Ask Raghav to shop for you
5) Reduce Reuse Recycle
6) Don't wait for George Bush. Go to Alaska and dig up some oil for yourself. Where's your American get-go?
7) Ask Raghav to dig up some oil
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