Follow me into crazy land... the writer of this article is, in my book, Queen Coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. The article is in italics, regular font is my response.
This post is by Lynn Mucken of MSN Money.
As you pump 13 gallons into your Honda CR-V -- American's best-selling SUV with 28 mpg on the highway and 21 in town -- it's nearly impossible to view the $50 you're spending with a positive attitude.Now, I'll be the first to complain as gas prices soar... I drive 60 miles round trip for one of my 3 jobs. My husband drives 100 miles round trip. Believe me, we feel it at the pump, but it's not just gas prices that are rising. But wait for the crazy liberal agenda to pop thru...
With the national average for regular at $3.81, it's easy to label oil executives as pond scum, but try to remain open-minded. Think of the big picture: Though that promised road trip to Disney World has gone up in carbon monoxide, high gas prices may actually have an upside. Not for you and your family personally, maybe, but perhaps for the United States as a whole.Wait for it...
What if gas hit $5 a gallon? Here are some benefits (and we're serious about most of them): Mmm-k. So, we're gonna discuss the benefits of high gas prices. rrrriiiggghhhttt. And where were these glowing reviews when Bush was in office? Just askin'.
Fewer people would die on the road. The less you drive, the more likely you will survive, if the events of 2008, the year of the most recent gas price surge, are correct. In 2007, 30,527 died in vehicle accidents in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2008, that number dropped 12%, to 26,791. Wow! What if we just stayed at home all the time. We would certainly be much safer! Oh, but wait. Home accidents are pretty common too. Maybe we should all just stay in bed, just to be safe.
This mainly was attributed to a decrease in highway speeds. Also contributing was a 2% drop in miles driven, from 3.03 trillion to 2.97 trillion, despite a 1.7% increase in the number of registered vehicles. On the negative side, with many turning to more economical modes of transportation, motorcycle deaths rose 2.6% in 2008 and bicycle deaths 1%.Demand for high-mileage cars could grow. The key word here is "could." Hybrid sales rose quickly in 2007 as gas prices climbed, then dropped noticeably in the second half of 2008 as gas prices plummeted from over $4 to $1.60. This time around, despite gas prices climbing steadily over the past year, hybrid cars shrunk from 2.9% of new vehicle sales in 2009 to 2.4% in 2010, according to Ward's Auto. Meanwhile, sales of trucks, SUVs, crossovers and minivans rose from 48% of the market to 51% from 2009 to 2010. In addition, the average fuel economy rating of new vehicles sold in 2010 was 22.2 mpg, down from 22.3 mpg in 2009.22.3 to 22.2 mpg! The horror!
That proves, of course, that Americans love their big vehicles. It could turn out to be different this time around. For one thing, there will be far more gas-efficient options available, plus all-electrics like the Chevrolet Volt and the soon-to-be-launched Ford Focus Electric. Yeah, let's drive our electric cars thru all the flood waters of Montana right now. No, seriously, please drive your electric cars... thru... the flood waters... hippies.
Shorter security lines. Airlines fares are extremely fuel-price reactive. Soon, hardly anyone will be able to afford to fly willy-nilly around the country or globe. You will breeze through the maze of airport checkpoints. Did she say "willy-nilly"?! Um, has she been to an airport recently? Dream on lady!
Less pollution. Less driving means cleaner air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "pollution from vehicles causes two of our worst air pollution problems, smog and carbon monoxide." There are no solid figures on how many Americans die annually from car-produced pollution, but a 2008 study by Great Britain's University of Birmingham linked pneumonia deaths to pollution from motor vehicles.Oh, yes! Let's bring in the EPA on this conversation. Talk about a crack-pot institute. I want to see the obituary that starts out "Uncle Erv passed away from pneumonia caused by motor vehicle pollution". And again, the study is from the wonderful nanny state, Great Britain. (They tax your window shades there, among other things!)
Less congestion. Ever notice how well rush-hour freeway traffic flows on the minor holidays when most of the rest of us are working? A 2% drop in miles driven can make a big difference, allowing you to drive faster, although you now won't want to. According to the Department of Energy, on average every 5 mph you drive over 60 is like paying an extra 24 cents per gallon (based on a $3.79 price).Oh, she does NOT want to be in a vehicle with me in north central Montana! I'm probably paying like an extra $2 per gallon according to her figures!
High prices lead to lower prices. Mackubin Thomas Owens, a professor of national-security affairs at the Naval War College and the editor of Orbis, the journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, theorizes that if gas prices rise enough, the government will open up areas now closed to oil production and oil companies will be able to invest in more-expensive methods of extracting oil. Soon we will be drowning in the stuff, and prices will drop again.Wait, what?! The thing that doesn't compute with this statement is if we actually could drill, baby, drill, our prices would be lower. We really do have so much potential in our country, even in our own great state of Montana as far as oil is concerned that we'd be set for years, decades.
More exercise. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that by 2020, three out of four Americans will be categorized as overweight or obese. So, it can't hurt to walk the three blocks to the grocery or bike to school or work. Ow! I have such a headache from my eyes rolling. Blah, we're fat, blah, and lazy, blah, and pigs. I have to agree just a smidge here: seeing a person drive to work who lives only a block away from where they work is kinda pathetic. But, so what?! If they want to shell out the cash for gas to pay to drive the vehicle to work, who cares?! It's not yours, mine or anyone else's business to tell them how to live, drive or what have you!
"When gas hits $4 a gallon, a lot of people come in looking for options," said Tim Blumenthal, the president of Bikes Belong Coalition. "Bike commuting jumped 44% between 2000 and 2010, with a big part of that in 2008. Still, more than half of all bike trips are three miles or less, so we're seeing racks and baskets (sold) for those who have multiple stops to make on the way home."Uhh... Bikes Belong Coalition? Is she making this stuff up? Who has heard of this group of stinky hippies?!
End of wars. According to National Defense Magazine, the cost of "in theater" gasoline to our troops in Afghanistan can range from $100 to $600. The Army estimated fuel can cost up to $400 a gallon if the only way to ship it is via helicopters. (Black Hawk helicopters get 0.74 mpg, while F15-E strike fighters get 0.41 mpg.) And that was last year's prices. Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya might get too expensive for America's taste.Ah yes, here we go. Alright, lady. Now it's personal. You should be so lucky people like my brother and my brother-in-law, and many friends of mine serve overseas to protect sorry asses like yourself. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing whiny, well-to-do, no good, morons like you complain about how much the military wastes money on no good wars and spends "your" money on frivolous causes that have nothing to do with us back home. So, we should just send more welfare money to (perfectly capableof working) recipients, Planned Parenthood, and the EPA and then it won't be wasteful. "At least we'll be solving life's problems at home and those brave soldiers can come home and be with their families and get a real job", right?! Meanwhile, countries that are thriving thanks to our "intrusion", countries that are not attacking us thanks to our "meddling" are better off, thanks to people like my brother, brother-in-law, many friends and more who proudly, and voluntarily serve our country. Do me a favor, quit whining and just say Thank You. It's almost Memorial Day, now's a good time to start... punk!
Local businesses could profit. If you can't afford to drive out to Wal-Mart or Home Depot, you may be buying instead at the local supermarket or neighborhood hardware store. In addition, as the cost of transporting, say, grapes from Chile, goes out of sight, you may turn to regional farmers for your produce.Okay, I try to support local business, when it's cost effective to me! If I were to buy my groceries at the local grocery store, I would need to invest in a bike as I couldn't afford to pay my car payments! It is so worth it to me to drive 50 miles away (and I usually work all day first) to buy groceries at Walmart as it makes so much more sense financially. Yeah, I know, Walmart is horrible to it's employees, blah, blah, belch! Why is Walmart the devil to so many? Low prices: good! Quality products: good! So what if they don't hire full time employees to save on health insurance costs. What would you do if you were a business owner? It's their business and they can run it however they want. Don't like it, don't work there. Don't like it, don't shop there! I dare you, but you will have to get a bike to pay for all the extra cash you dole out for your hiked up mom and pop grocery store prices.
It's all about democracy. If we let up on the gas pedal, we'll starve those oil-rich despots out of existence. Oh, we import as much from Canada as from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined.This theory is just lunacy. Did anyone else hear about that Don't Buy Gas day back in April I think it was? The stupid part about that was what do you think the people who participated in that did the day before? Loaded up their gas tanks! There was probably a doubling in gas sales the day before that No Gas for a Day event occurred! Good intentions, stupid/silly/mindless outcome.
Now again, I don't like high gas prices, esp. when there really is no good cause for it. But, I need to drive. I like to drive. There is really no good solution, no replacement for fuel/gas/oil and why is that such a bad thing? Since the industrial revolution, our country has prospered enormously and why? Because of oil. Like it or not, we thrive on the stuff. It's good for our economy and good for so many things. Let's quit demonizing oil and be thankful we have it at all. While I sometimes hate paying my fuel bill, I am glad I am able to drive to where I need to drive, others are free to do or not do the same. Just don't get so high and mighty and happy about a situation that is anything but.
