Why High Gas Prices Are Good for Us

Today, the US national average for gasoline at the pump is $3.16 a gallon. This is up 3.2 cents from last week and 65.7 cents from last year (Source: Energy Information Administration, US Government). With declining oil production expected in the near future, this price will probably go much higher. Many products will be affected, from tires and plastic jugs to diesel fuel and food (due to shipping costs). This will make everyday life much harder for people all around the world, including Americans. Yesterday night, however, I caught a different perspective from a report on the news about rising energy costs. It's a viewpoint that I think more and more people are coming to talk about, considering the latest indications that humanity's demand for oil is rapidly outstripping the supply.

This alternative viewpoint is that the coming price hike might be a good thing. Despite all the whining and complaining people will be doing (myself as one of them, guaranteed), the increase in prices will put a cap on the demand. Once gas hits 4$ a gallon, a lot of people won't go for that extra Sunday drive. Businesses will be forced to look at alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to provide power at reasonable costs. Sales of hybrid cars will grow exponentially (they already are), and engineers will set their sights on developing cleaner, greener technologies.

Because of the increased price of oil, the negative impact of human activity on the environment will start to decline. As more people start driving cleaner cars and as renewable energy takes a hold, the amount of pollutants and greenhouse gases dumped into the atmosphere will slowly decline (although acceptable levels probably won't be reached for a long time). The dependence on oil will also decrease, but probably not fast enough to compensate for the rate at which the Earth's oil reserves are being depleted. Eventually, supply will be nowhere close to meeting demand and prices will rocket to ridiculous heights. Still, because of the previous ramp up in prices, there will be more of an alternative energy infrastructure in place than there normally would be if prices stayed at current levels until the oil runs out. This will mean that humanity's transition to alternative energies won't be quite as bad as it would be if the oil suddenly evaporated right now, although the switch will likely still be devastating.