They’ve Got You Over a Barrel

The price of gas has my neighbours, friends, family and even the neighbourhood pets in an uproar. Being a person who doesn’t own a car, want to own a gas guzzling metal monster, and who works out of their home, I sometimes find it hard to relate to the five stages of gas price withdrawal that I see every day in gas purchasers; denial, anger, bargaining, grief, depression, before final acceptance of their fate.

Realisation only appears before me when a comparison of past prices to current gas prices is made, then an understanding of customer belief in a price gouging conspiracy becomes a little more understandable, and certainly a company taking advantage of a situation to pump up prices is almost a common thing in the history of business practices. Talk of gas gouging by the big oil companies highlights most morning gas pumping sessions in the Prince George area, as I’m sure it does at most Canadian gas stations lately, but talking about Big Oil is about as effective as asking the wind not to blow.

The first signs that made me pay attention were actually the appearance of never before seen electric vehicles on the roads of Prince George, scooters, small, ergonomic cars; even home made versions adapted for local use have appeared in the last year. More people are making use of public transportation, catching a ride when possible, and walking when destinations are within reach, although reluctantly and often with a frown at first. The signs of a decrease in use of larger vehicles as compared to small family models have been noted in the area, this is a sign of real change in thinking in regards to gas consumption and that the changing economic times are hitting the area hard.

Gas prices of the future will probably be higher overall, not lower, as it will for all commodities of limited number and increasing customers. Here in Prince George well have to get use to paying more for the privilege of driving, or pull our bike out of storage, dust off our walking shoes or invest in a new green age vehicle to take away the morning gas price blues.

Stop by any North American city like Prince George and you’ll find people at the gas pumps in the morning talking about the increase in gas prices and Big Oil and cursing the blowing wind.

Real action to combat Big Oil comes when we make the choice to pay the one time costs of changing our lives and choices, instead of constantly paying a crooked piper to whistle a sour tune.

How do you do this? By making the choices, spending the time, and altering those things that we know must change in order for our lifestyle to continue for the generations to come, a good beginning would be to slowly phase out gas powered engines and machinery.

One step at a time, one slow deliberate step at a time will get us quicker to our goal than attempting to go cold turkey. Change must be slow for it to take hold in the majority of humans, and understanding we must rid the planet of gas powered machinery is a good first step.