Gas Selling for Ten Dollars a Gallon

Gas selling for $10 a gallon is what we need. I'm serious. It seems that the only thing that gets us concerned about wasting energy and slowly boiling the planet is when the price of gasoline gets uncomfortably high. When gasoline hit over $4,50 a gallon last summer, talk of a green revolution was everywhere. Despite an administration that was deeply in the pockets of Big Oil and had no interest in environmental concerns, public debate turned towards electric cars, solar, wind and hydro power. Now that gas is about half the price of last summer, there seems to be a lessening of focus on the need to go green. This, despite an administration that is demonstrably more open to alternative energy.

If the only thing that truly gets our attention is high fuel costs, then let them skyrocket. The crisis facing us is too dire to continue to dither. The whole notion that shifting to green energy will cost slightly more is completely off point (and debatable). The issue is not whether we can afford to shift from a petroleum based economy, the issue is that we cannot afford to continue to exist under the yolk of the transnational petrochemical companies.

The growing industrialization of China and India clearly defines the magnitude of the problem. China has surpassed the U.S. as the largest emitter of CO2, and both nations, due to sheer population numbers, are on a path to add exponentially to the problem. The U.S. remains the largest offender, by far, on a per capita basis.

Rather than seeking low prices for petroleum as a means to drive the economy, the exact opposite should occur. There needs to be a floor price, below which the price is not allowed to drop, established for gasoline and other petroleum products. All revenue above costs should immediately be funneled into the development of alternative energy. By establishing a floor price consumption is discouraged and alternatives are encouraged. Yes, this costs more. Pay now or pay much, much more later.

Oil is over! Accept this fact. It is not in our interest that oil be cheap. It is only to our demise. We must immediately begin to wean ourselves before the rude awakening of withdrawal occurs as we reach the end of the supply. At that point, $10 will be a bargain.




For an excellent treatise on the future of oil, please refer to the book "Hibbert's Peak," for which the full reference can be found at the bottom of this page in the "Oil is Over," resources.

I visit many of the themes above in my last novel, The Dirt People, on Blue Throat Press (follow link on this page).