Feeling a little gassy

Did we learn nothing from the 70’s? Anyone remember the oil embargo of the 70’s? No, I don’t specifically remember it happening (I was born in the middle of it), but I know about it. I’ve read about it. I’ve heard stories about it from my parents and other family members.

Apparently that trying time, along with the energy crisis of the late 70’s, taught us nothing. Our nation was almost shut down by an oil shortage. Shouldn’t that show us that we were a little too dependent on oil? Shouldn’t that cause us to change our consumption habits? Shouldn’t it prompt us to seek alternative energy sources? Now here we are 30 years later facing another oil crisis. This time it’s a price issue, not a supply issue. I can’t help but think that some forward thinking 30 years ago could have made a difference.

So what changed after the oil embargo? Speed limits dropped. After the embargo a federal speed limit of 55 mph was enacted. Limiting oil consumption was not the only (and perhaps not the primary) factor leading to this law, but it was a factor. The oil embargo also marked the end of the Muscle Car era. The Chevelle, Charger, Challenger, and many other gas guzzling speedsters ended their production runs during this time. Other got smaller, less powerful, and in effect lost every ounce of coolness. (See the Mustang II.) Carmakers in general began to think more about fuel consumption.
This period also saw a boom in sales of gas-sipping Japanese imports.

Most of these changes didn’t last. The federal speed limit was repealed. Now you can almost drive as fast as you dare. Muscle cars made their comeback. The Charger is back, and the Challenger and Camaro are coming this year. Carmakers began to focus on large trucks and SUVs that drink gas like Ulysses S. Grant drank bourbon.

Here we are 30 years later talking about alternative fuels, hybrid cars, and lessening our dependence on “hydrocarbons.” Apparently we learned nothing, as a nation, from the 70’s oil embargo. Granted, I was in utero when the embargo started, but I’m pretty sure the nation faced some of the same problems then as now? I don’t consider myself to be astonishingly intelligent, and I don’t claim to have the answers to the problem. But shouldn’t we have done a better job of finding some answers. This is not the first time we have faces skyrocketing energy costs. I will wager that it will not be the last.

A lack of oil or outrageous oil prices can grind our economy to a halt. The problem is much more far-reaching than just gas prices. The media loves to talk about “Pain at the Pump” as if it is some heavy weight prizefight. The pain is everywhere, not just at the gas pump. Rising fuel prices increase the cost of almost everything. Food, building materials, and clothing are all affected. I have seen the biggest impact in building materials. Prices fluctuate daily on things like copper wire, plywood, and PVC plumbing pipe. Most materials suppliers are now charging a fuel surcharge for deliveries. It hurts everywhere.

I hate to go down this road, but I’ll go anyway. It’s more than just an economic issue now. It is a social justice issue. Higher fuel prices will hurt the poor the most. Maybe not the poorest of the poor, but those on the cusp of poverty, those who struggle to make ends meet week to week will suffer. They pay the same price for gas that I pay. But that means they spend a much larger percentage of their income on gas than we in middle-class America spend. The same goes for food. As food prices go up income does not go up to match the increase. As prices go up people buy less and less.

I know there is no quick fix for our oil-based economy; we’ve had 35 years to come up with something. Are we really that dumb? Or were we just that complacent? Maybe this time the great scientific and engineering minds of our nation (and world) can step up and find some viable alternative to the internal combustion engine.