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Re: gas out


This is my very own personal soapbox issue.  This is also the
third time I've gotten this e-mail, and I know the people sending
it mean well, but it kills me that people are so short-sighted.

Point one:  (North) Americans have absolutely nothing to whine
about when it comes to gas prices, with the possible exception
of the people in California who are having refinery problems.
The United States is the only country I know of whose government
controls the price of gasoline.  To the best of my knowledge,
right across the Lakes in Canada, they pay as much for a liter of
gasoline as we pay for a gallon (about 4 liters) over here.  Yet,
when a gallon of gas starts to cost more than a 2-liter of soda,
we get upset.  How insane is that?!

Point two:  The U.S. supposedly functions as a "supply-and-demand"
economy.  If we all pay the higher price, they're certainly going
to keep charging it.  If you don't buy gas for a day, it'll probably
hurt your local gas station for a week or so, but they'll get over
it because you'll eventually buy that gas from them one way or the
other.  If you really want to see the price go down, reduce your
demand.  Hmm, yeah, *that's* going to happen real soon.  Really,
that's a fundamental problem with how we, as Americans, live.  We
want it all, but we don't want to pay for it, and the waste had
better not end up in our backyards, even though we were the ones who
created it.

If you want to make a difference, change the way you think.

I won't even get into what our demand for cheap gas has done and
is doing and will continue to do to our environment.  Then I would
have to tell you about how they're going to start drilling on the
shores of the Great Lakes.  Why yes, the Great Lakes *are* one of
the largest freshwater systems on earth.  Yes, they *are* an
extremely valuable resource, and yes, that ecosystem is already in
peril...but we've got to have our fast cars and our cheap gas, and
damn the planet if it gets in our way.

I'm almost sorry for smacking you all with this on a Wednesday
morning...almost.  Now, I'm going to go get some coffee and my
flame-resistant armor.

See you on the 'net,
Raven-amy
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