Just Good Common Sense

Well, it’s finally happened. The reality of this gas shortage is starting to cut into the luxury of everyday auto travel and as the reality of our foolhardy behavior in buying so many unnecessary SUV’s, Pickup Trucks, and the entire population of monster this and monster that, we are about to be faced with the second blow of the probable triple whammy. First we lost so many of our over mortgaged homes and “flipper” houses that we were going to make a killing on. Now it looks like a lot of vehicles will end up being parked or given back before it’s over with, so what can that third leg be? I can’t be certain but if the recent decision by American Airlines is any indication, I’d say that the flying public is about to be reserved exclusively for the wealthy or their employers and it certainly looks like it’s already starting to happen.

The thing is, as I look at it all, a good deal of this comes from our willingness to be wooed into being such a consumerist lifestyle. We buy and throw away so much that it took a serious economic hit to wake us up. Now it’s time to start reclaiming the reality that we slipped away from so long ago. We don’t need to suffer needlessly, but we do need to make some basic changes in order to preserve the majority of our American way of life. It won’t be painless, but the pain can be kept to a minimum. So let’s look at the basics. If the majority of our problem is energy based, how to we limit that dependency? Oh sure, we can go to renewal energy sources and that will help, but there are more basic things.

Plastic. Since petroleum is a key ingredient, let’s limit the use of plastics as much as possible. No more plastic bottles of any kind and make recycling of glass bottles mandatory, like it once was. No more plastic trash or shopping bags or anything of the like. Think about it, is there any reason you can’t get used to using glass and tin again?

Buses & Trains. Used to see a LOT of them so why not encourage them again? Yes, you won’t be able to do those quickie turn around business trips but you will be stimulating the economy by saying overnight more often at a hotel You’ll slow your pace a bit, have time to think and prepare for those big presentations, and because of sheer size, you’ll be encouraged to converse more with your fellow passengers. A nice touch!

Dracula Circuits. Legally ban the use of digital clocks, monitors, etc. in devices that do not absolutely need them. After all, now many clocks do you really need? You carry around a cell phone with a clock in it so why burn energy for devices that are rarely ever looked at?!?

30 MPG Minimum Requirement. We were very close to this back in the 70’s and the car makers proved they could do it. Simply make it mandatory for any car made or sold in this country. The only exception are large trucks and those must be owned and operated by businesses. Eliminate loopholes for SUV’s and non-farm vehicles.

Now, if you study the above, there is no real hardship in any of this. Oh sure, you’ll have to make a few life style changes, but it’s all been done before and the human race has survived quite nicely, in fact we were better off. Just think of it as that old advice my father gave me many years ago. He told me that the way to being a wealthy man wasn’t found in how much money you could make, but in how little you could spend. It’s all relative and when it comes to how much we should use, I’m reminded of a quote by that famous film director, Alfred Hitchcock who said “The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder”. Both funny and very sensible ….