The same sigh of relief can be heard from pump to pump across the nation. For the first time in too long, gasoline prices are going down and staying down.
“Down” is a relative term, of course. Nobody’s anywhere near the 80 cents a gallon that was once being charged in 1999, let alone the $1.50 that used to be considered highway robbery. But $2 a gallon looks a lot better than $3, and $2 is exactly where we could be by Thanksgiving if the experts are right. When prices have been ruinous, ones that are merely hideous look pretty good.
So go ahead. Cheer. Revise the family budget just a bit.
But don’t forget that, although the gas prices may have changed, the realities of the world have not.
Oil is still not an unlimited resource.
Most of it is still not in our hands, or in the hands of our most trusted friends.
And efforts to lessen our dependency on it are still in their infancy.
In other words, the hard times aren’t gone for good. However much we wish they were.
When fuel prices grew absurd, people began talking more seriously about alternatives. That conversation needs to continue. Hybrid vehicles, biodiesel fuels and similar options could be the first few steps down a new, much-needed road.
But it will remain a road not taken if all we can see is the cheaper gasoline near the off-ramp.
Scott Rochat
Senior Reporter