ROVIN'
AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Brought to you by Peanut.org
The past couple of springs
(1999 and 2000), we’ve been urged in forwarded e-mails, to participate in a
"gas-out," to avoid purchasing gas for one day to send a message to
Big Oil about oil prices. How effective have these campaigns been? Well, check
the price the next time you fill up… if you can afford to fill up. There were
several simple problems with the "gas-out."
Boycotts can work, or we
would not remember the name of Rosa Parks. But, boycotts must be organized,
planned, and maintained. The hit-and-miss approach of forwarded e-mails just
doesn’t get it. Also, boycotts must involve (again, think of Ms. Parks) some
real sacrifices, some strong commitment. So, if we buy extra gas on Tuesday and
Thursday, in order to stay away from the pumps on Wednesday, we haven’t given
up anything… or accomplished anything.
This year, within less
than twenty-four hours, I received forwarded e-mails about a new campaign to cut
gas prices by boycotting gas from two large companies that don’t need to be
named here. Considering that the two friends who sent me the message don’t
know each other and probably have no other mutual friends except for me, I’m
sure you got the message as well.
Wow, that idea is, as the
message says, "doable." So what? If everyone in Sylvester, say, agrees
not to purchase XYZ gas, are we really going to hurt those companies… at least
as much as we hurt our neighbors who own those local franchises? And, if we
really do start to put a squeeze on those companies, will that lower the overall
cost of gas? Or, will they just sell their reserves to other companies? For that
matter, gasoline doesn’t carry fingerprints or brand names very well, so can
we be sure that some other stations aren’t selling gas from the same
companies?
How do we bring down
gasoline prices? First, if you have friends in other countries, call, e-mail, or
write them (but, don’t travel to visit them: conserve energy), and ask them
how much they are paying for gas. The question people in most countries have
about gas prices in the United States is, why are they so low? Let’s consider
that a reality check.
The reality that we are
checking is that our society, our economy, and our lives are driven by such an
infernal consumption engine that very few of us would be willing to do what it
would take to lower gas prices—and that is, to cut our consumption
drastically. Notice, I didn’t say gasoline consumption. I said consumption.
Let’s take an obvious
example. Mother’s Day is coming up. Let’s use that as a start of our
campaign to lower gas prices. "Hey, Mike, are you saying not to visit the
old gal?" No, but how about not sending flowers? (Florist friends, don’t
crank up your e-mail programs just yet.) But, let’s all think how much
petroleum was sacrificed to bring those flowers from stems in Latin America to
the arms of our dear ol’ moms. Gee, who would ever consider how many roses per
gallon we get?
A couple of days ago, on a
television news program, I saw an interview with a family in Indiana lamenting
that this year, to conserve gas, they were going to have to fly to Florida
rather than take the family station wagon. Are airplanes carried by angels?
Probably not, but it seems that a motel somewhere between Indiana and Florida
will lose some business, as will any number of restaurants, shops,
and—yep—service stations, and from the looks of my map, Georgia businesses
stand to lose some of that largesse.
If we really want to
affect gasoline prices, we have to make some serious sacrifices, we have to
coordinate our sacrifices, and we better get busy. That doesn’t mean flying
rather than driving for the vacation. It means, staying home. Jigsaw puzzle
manufacturers may rejoice, but think how many owners and employees of motels,
restaurants, shops, importers of cheap souvenirs, theme parks, service stations,
convenience stores, and state travel agencies will be weeping.
It’s amazing just how many of our businesses are gasoline-powered, in a
manner of speaking.
Then, we finally arrive at
the pumps. In the great scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if we avoid the
pumps for one day or if we avoid the pumps bearing one brand name. One of the
friends who sent me the message about this year’s variation of the
"gas-out" lives some forty miles from where he works, in order to
enjoy the splendid isolation of his mountain-top home. The other is retired, and
she and her husband head out rovin’ (no ravin’ with them) in their spacious
RV. (For purposes of full disclosure, I live some twenty miles from where I
work, drive a clunky old SUV, and enjoy gasoline-powered recreational boating on
the weekend—but I don’t forward e-mails about gasoline boycotts.)
As I’ve said
before, if
you get an e-mail forward, start with the assumption that it is not worth
forwarding. "WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as this
e-mail message read. Yes, we can. We can avoid forwarding any message that has
more than two exclamation points. If you are serious about conserving energy,
start with the great resources of the Energy
Information Administration of the
Department of Energy. Keep your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts,
and, oh, yes, about using e-mail to lower gas prices: send an e-mail instead of
visiting. Now, about the possibility of solar powered computers….