Will high gas prices stop travel? Simply put, no
Clearly, energy prices are soaring. Americans are now paying a bit more than $4 a gallon for gasoline and it seems from media reports that gasoline is headed into the stratosphere. However, reports over the past few days seem to have gasoline prices dropping.
Even with dire predictions that our suburbs will become crumbling wastelands because of high gas prices, it simply won’t happen. Take a look at Britain and Europe to see that even with gasoline prices in the $8+ levels, consumers can’t wait to hit the road and travel.
Our research has shown that traveling by car in Europe can be less expensive than rail travel. And our experience over the past three months driving Europe makes it clear that traffic jams are as bad as ever and toll roads are more expensive than ever.
Neither high tolls, nor high gasoline prices, are curtailing the Europeans’ love of travel by car. And, neither will the higher prices curtail automobile travel dramatically here domestically.
Yes, Americans reduced the number of miles they drove for the sixth straight month in April, resulting in the biggest six-month decline since the oil shock of the 1979-80 Iranian revolution, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. But there is no wholesale change of habits. There will be some readjustments based on costs, but overall the population of America will change some commuting and driving routines and keep their pedal to the metal.
Unfortunately for Americans, the gasoline price bubble will last longer than necessary because our congressmen seem to always want a silver bullet that will solve the problems that they have created. In this case it is the new series of bills against oil speculators. They are simply a red herring that politicians hope will keep the spotlight off the real problem — the need for US oil drilling and alternative energy development.
The day our government allows off-shore drilling and passes a package of incentives for exploration in Alaska (ANWR) and the northern plains states, the prices of oil will begin to drop. Even the Eskimos support drilling in ANWR.
Unfortunately, Congress is married to a fundamentalist religion of “Do Not Drill in Alaska” rather than doing what is best for the American people, Alaska’s natives and our economy. Stellar legislators such as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy who talk a good game about conservation have staunchly opposed the development of wind power in their own states while being equally opposed to drilling in Alaska. Their stances are hypocritical and do nothing to help Americans or the American economy.
I’ll bet that Teddy Roosevelt, who created the National Park System, would be the first to support aggressive oil drilling and energy independence.
The USA can be energy self-sufficient, but beliefs about oil drilling as foolish as Al Qaeda’s beliefs about being met in heaven by 72 virgins, are stopping us from developing our own energy sources.
You may also be interested in these articles
- Is there life after $4-a-gallon gas? Here’s a reality check
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- Ex-American CEO: “Simply curbing speculation will not solve our long-term energy problem”
- Memo to airlines: stop whining about “high” fuel prices
- Americans are driving less for eighth straight month
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3 Responses to “Will high gas prices stop travel? Simply put, no”
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Not a very fair comparison since the destinations in Britain and Europe are considerably closer than the typical destinations in the US. Not many Europeans are driving to the UAE.
Americans like to fly, we have no rail system (to speak of) in the US and flight prices will (and should) increase and put a lot of people out of that market. With $8 a gallon fuel, is the family from Slatington, PA going to drive to Anaheim to see the Mouse? Doubtful. They are more likely to cut back and stay at home, or look to a drive vacation to a closer destination.
High gas prices won’t stop travel because there are not sufficient alternatives. People need to get to work and bring their kids to school and there isn’t always public transit available. The challenge with ANWR is that according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, any drilling will not produce oil for about a decade. Since Americans need help today, here are a couple tips: keep your tires property inflated to improve gas mileage by 3% (and save up to 20 gallons or up to $75) and decrease your speed (each five miles per hour over 60 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas). Try checking out the Drive $marter Challenge ( http://drivesmarterchallenge.org ) for additional saving tips. – Kat, Alliance to Save Energy
“The day our government allows off-shore drilling and passes a package of incentives for exploration in Alaska (ANWR) and the northern plains states, the prices of oil will begin to drop. Even the Eskimos support drilling in ANWR.”
Inherent in this statement is that:
1) exploration incentives are paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, so that gallon of gas is already subsidized by the same folks buying it
2) exploration would’t produce oil for over 10 years, so that gallon of gas will have to be adjusted for inflation and it won’t be available until 2020
and
3) the environmental costs will not get added into the overall costs, so eventually ANWR and other coastal places may have to get cleaned up and the taxpayer will of course pay for that
The planet will eventually run out of fossil fuels. Let’s move on to alternative energy and quit messin’ around with the fragile, never-to-be-returned-to-spectacular-natural-state places on the planet. There’s too few of those left.