Surviving the Recession. Ending an addiction.

Well, plummeting stock markets and the like have done us one favor in the past month. They helped make the price of gas almost attainable again. Here in my area its around 2.65, with some places higher and some lower. In California I don't think it has dropped below 3 dollars yet, but there has definitely been a decline in cost. Crude is down from 117 a barrel to about 66 dollars. Despite the fact that fuel cost is down, a recent poll says that demand for gas is still down as much as 6% from where it was previously at higher prices. Our economic crisis has finally done what all the begging, pleading, preaching, and cajoling of conservationists could not: Cut the demand for fossil fuels.
Here is my message to you: Don't let politicians and capitalists convince you that the only way to save our economy is to drive more and shop more. All you are doing by taking such action is helping to continue to build our national economy on a culture of waste. You're throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
We've been given a chance. Our first big break in ending our addiction to oil, and our wasteful habits concerning water and energy conservation. We need to take this break and run with it. Build momentum, don't fall back into the same old routine! Life's tough for everyone right now, but if you've been able to get by on ten dollars less in gas a week, then please, I urge you to continue to do so. Gasoline isn't something you can buy when it is on sale and stockpile like Ramen Noodles and Cola from Costco. You buy it, you burn it up, and its gone. Money down the drain, followed by acid rain. Now is the time to make an investment in yourself, your family, our economy, our country, and our world. And you don't have to do a thing. And that thing is to give in to the pressure of politicians and lobbyists who would have you believe that buying into our oil addiction is the only way to support our country.
Cutting our demand for fossil fuels is the only way to get the message across to our energy companies and government that we need new sources of clean, renewable energy. Not just energy we can live with. Energy we can live by.
I have no links, no alerts, no petitions for you to sign today. Just food for thought. Eat up.

RANT

So, gas is anywhere between 4 dollars and 5 dollars a gallon across the country now. Diesel costs more, which makes no sense. Everything is about supply and demand...the more you need it the more they make you pay. And that includes everything from gasoline to food, because hey, we need gas to plant/harvest/ship the food. I heard some dumb son of a B*&@$ on C-Span a while back (some senator from some stupid state like ohio or something {forgive me ohioans}) say that gas prices had to remain high in order to cut demand. WTF?@! That would only work if you gave people an actual ALTERNATIVE. Ethanol is still not widely available, and doesn't really cost less than gas at this point. Not all of us can afford to go out and buy a new hybrid/electric/nuclear fusion (jk) car instead of one that runs on gasoline. We can't even afford to convert our current vehicles to bio-diesel, make buddy buddy with all the fast food restaurants in town and make our own french-fry fuel. Why? Because we have JOBS TO DO. We have FOOD TO BUY. CLOTHES. And we run ourselves ragged trying to keep ourselves and our kids fed and clothed and ahead of the bills and no matter what we still have to drive 12 miles to work and 12 miles home every day and buy gas at 4.09 a gallon. Then of course you have to go to the grocery store, take the kids to the doctor, the dog to the vet, go to the bank. God forbid you should actually want to go out and do something FUN!
We need SMART, AVAILABLE and AFFORDABLE alternatives before we can start cutting the demand for gasoline. Tell congress and those ohio senators to put THAT in their big oil pipe and smoke it.

Check out Gas Saving Tips from the Sierra Club.