I was doing some thinking last week about the controversy over local water restrictions. Some Charlotte area communities loosened their rules to allow once-a-week car washing and pool filling, prompting critics to question whether the public is getting mixed messages.
One of the most interesting figures to emerge from the discussion was this: After Rock Hill enacted its drought restrictions last year, consumption dropped by 30 percent. To me, this is an astounding number. The drop says a lot about how much water we were wasting to begin with; as soon as we were pushed to think about it, we apparently realized we could do fine with less. But I think there's a larger cultural point at play, and Tom Friedman's column on Sunday in the NY Times brought it full circle for me.
Here are some excerpts:
"Traveling the country these past five months while writing a book, I’ve had my own opportunity to take the pulse, far from the campaign crowds. My own totally unscientific polling has left me feeling that if there is one overwhelming hunger in our country today it’s this: People want to do nation-building. They really do. But they want to do nation-building in America."
"... millions of Americans are dying to be enlisted — enlisted to fix education, enlisted to research renewable energy, enlisted to repair our infrastructure, enlisted to help others. Look at the kids lining up to join Teach for America. They want our country to matter again. They want it to be about building wealth and dignity — big profits and big purposes."
The point of Friedman's column, and the lesson I think we can learn from Rock Hill's response to the drought, is that people "get it." When they are asked to make sacrifices, and a reasonable explanation is offered for why, they will rise to the challenge.
Of course, there is evidence to suggest that's not always the case. For example, despite the skyrocketing price of oil, our consumption of gasoline has dropped only 1 percent in the past year. Personally, I don't think this is about an unwillingness to sacrifice. I think it has more to do with the fact that our national leaders have failed to articulate why we need to end our dependence on foreign oil. And they haven't done enough to convince us of the need to invest in new forms of energy.
I'd be interested to see how Americans would respond if challenged to change habits and break out of comfort zones. Maybe the resistance would be too great. But one thing that's for sure is this: We'll never find out if no one tries.
America Needs to Change
I agree with Matt's article. America must now realize that we are not the only ones consuming oil and must do what we can to reduce our consumption or simply pay the price. I believe that where our government has really failed us is by allowing oil companies to charge the price they do for fuel oil (diesel fuel). They have to know that when diesel fuel prices rise (they are already over $4/gallon), everything transported by truck also "rises". American's are getting hit in all directions. It is bad enough to pay higher gas prices but when you add to it, higher "everything else" it is totally unfair and irresponsible to allow this to happen. Since gasoline requires more refining, why isn't fuel oil (diesel fuel) priced less than gasoline as it was up until a few years ago ?. We have so-called "National reserves". Why are these not released for the processing of diesel fuel only in order to lower diesel fuel costs ? I fully support truckers, especially independents who are struggling to exist. They recently drove through the streets of the Capital trying to get attention to their plight. Apparently Washington dosen't seem to care much. Maybe it it because many are "oil men" or have money invested in oil and are profiting from ignoring the transportation situation.
American's are spoiled. How many people car pool ? When I watch the morning news I see the traffic patterns on I-77 live. I never see many buses in the lanes ? Buses that could elininate 50 or more cars.
Today, businesses pass along their increased fuel costs to the consumer. Who can the senior citizen or person living on a fixed income pass along all these price increases to ? The answer is no one. So their standard of living keeps going down. Ameica is aging. If you watch TV you must see that marketers are targeting this age group as almost every commerical has music from the 60's or 70's. They are trying to appeal an older age group through their choice of background music for their commercials.
What can we do at our level ? As I have stated in my "$1.75 per gallon gas" forum, we can buy cars that our more fuel efficient and abandon our use of SUV's and Trucks. We are probably one of the few countries in the world, if not the only one, that insists on driving these inefficient vehicles. I would advise whoever owns one to trade it in on something that gets better gas mileage. Send the message to the car manufacturer's that America wants "mileage" not luxury or horsepower. If the car lots are filled with SUV's and trucks they will get the message if people no longer want to buy them. How about revising those "window stickers" to tell the prospective buyer what the average yearly operating cost will be ? 20 gallons a week @ $3.50 a gallon is about $3640/yr and rising every day. That's only for 20 gallons a week ! 20 gallons @ 15 mi/gal is only 300 mi. of driving. I moved from a state where people routinely drove over 15o miles a day and more commuting
Why is there so little done to capture the energy that exists from the sun and the winds ? The oil companies probably lobby against anything that would cut into their "profits".
For decades I have heard from government officials, especially those running for office, that we need to become less dependent on foreign oil. They are all talk and no action. In the 70's the government allowed for a brief period of time, a tax deduction for energy saving expendatures for homeowners. Installing new more energy efficient doors, windows, insulation, solar panels etc. Why was it so short lived ? Why doesn't it exist today ?
How about a tax credit for buying a car that gets 30+ mpg ? Years ago they used to give you a credit of over $1,000 for buying a hybrid. Does it still exist ?
What are our strategic oil reserves for ? How much fuel is in them ? I have heard that we have more coal than the Middle East has oil. If this is true, why are we not aggressively persuing technologies to use coal more and oil less ?. Did you ever think that as we continue to draw millions of gallons or more every day out of the ground that we are somewhere underneath the earth creating a bigger and bigger "space" and that eventually that "space" may cause a major earthquake ? Just something to think about.