You may have noticed the higher gas prices over the last year or so. Looks like they're going to stay that way, which got me to thinking about all the bad things that'll happen if they continue to go up:
- People may consider living closer to their work
- They may start taking public transportation or other means of commuting
- People may start thinking twice about buying giant automobiles which where orginally designed for military or industrial use
- Consumers may start demanding products that are less reliant on petrolum products
- Companies may start investing heavily in development of products that are more energy efficient
- Shifting energy spending away from gas may decrease funding to groups committed to blowing us up
- Decreased consumption means we won't run out of gas for things that really need it (e.g. certain industries) quite so soon.
Yes, what an unmitigated disaster higher gas prices may turn out to be. Cleaner air, less crowded freeways, and job creation do sound like serious problems. The market hasn't always done a very good job or pricing in the costs of a gas as a polluting, non-renewable resource. I guess it couldn't last forever...