With gas prices slated to head farther north, it's no wonder this gas station is all but deserted.
CIBC has recently predicted that gas prices in the United States could hit seven dollars a gallon in four years, rumors of gas hitting $7 a gallon by the end of this year are flying, though I haven't been able to find a reputable source for this information.
But let's put this in context. The US as a collective whole is wincing at the idea (and in some places, the reality) of gas at $4 a gallon. Highway travel is at an all-time low since the late 1940's, and public transportation is up 5-10% in large cities. RV parks are seeing more empty parking spots than ever before. Hybrids like the Toyota Prius occupy prime real estate in dealerships, and MPG has become common lingo to anyone purchasing a car.
By all accounts, America's love affair with the automobile is over, but the implications go so much further.
After all, the price of food and the price of oil are linked, since almost all groceries you find in your neighborhood Kroger have spent miles towed behind a 6 MPG diesel truck. And keep in mind that diesel prices are typically 50 cents higher than regular.
An economy where the price of gas is set to almost double in four years has huge consequences, and could spell hard times and probably a recession for America. Imagine a world where minimum-wage jobs don't even cover the cost of driving to work. Or milk at $7 a gallon.
But as much as we wail and moan about current gas prices, and as hard-hitting as $7/gal. may be, how much of an issue is it, really?
Gas prices in Germany in 2007 were approximately 1.30€/L, or about $7.60/gal. Gas prices in Europe have been much higher for the last decade, and the continent hasn't sunk into the darkest abyss of hell or left millions homeless.
All this begins to highlight the difference between the US and the foreign world and begins to cast us all as hand-wringing elitists who are unwilling to change their lifestyles.
Coping with the new world does require change. Americans are used to large cars and expansive grocery stores, but are we willing, or able, to give that up?
The age of excess is over. The question is, can you cope in the new world?
| |