So I, like all of you, have felt the pain at the pump and curbed my driving habits accordingly. However, we had an interesting conversation at work the other day that kind of resonated with my more liberal side. While the average American struggles to put gas in their cars, we have seen time and time again where major oil companies are raking in record profits or CEOs of these corporations are retiring with packages worth more than the GDPs of many small countries combined. However, like I said, there may be an up side to all of this. That is that the average American will finally start demanding something that I have been preaching for years... alternative fuels and more economical cars. No, not ethanol, but hybrid and electric cars, which not only cut our reliance on foreign oil, but also help to protect the environment. The argument I have heard against buying a hybrid up until a few months ago was that you never make the cost back... that it's an economic decision. However, in the near future it may be a pure economic decision for Americans to invest in hybrid vehicles and demand more fuel efficient cars and trucks. I understand that the pain at the pump hurts the economy, but I think that long term there may be some benefit.
1 comment:
I agree. I hate buying gas now, so I do everything possible not to. I bike, run, walk, take public transportation--I've completely changed my habits. Because my stupid Jeep costs $80 to fill up.
And I agree, ethanol is going nowhere, esp. because it takes about 1.33 gallons of gasoline to even make a gallon of ethanol. Plus it's driving all the corn-thingie prices up.
This is always a hot topic for my students--in the four years I've been teaching, I usually get at LEAST four papers a semester on alternative fuels. Always interesting to read the different perspectives from engineers vs. finance majors.
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