Culture

If you want gas prices to go down, use less gas

I’m both amused and annoyed by the various schemes going around by email to lower gas prices. I got two today: one that’s calling for a don’t-buy-gas day and one that’s calling for a boycott of a specific chain.

Clearly people don’t really get the whole supply-and-demand thing. Demand is still demand, regardless of what day it is or where you do your demanding. The market is not going to reduce costs of a limited-supply commodity unless demand goes down.

Though it certainly wouldn’t be popular, I think the best long term outcome for the US would happen if gas prices continue to rise. I’d be in favor of pretty drastic measures to get people to stop using so much gas. So much of what we do use is wasteful (seriously, why do you need an Expedition for a commuter vehicle?), and maybe we could positively impact one of our other “great outrages”, the cost of health care, if people actually started walking and biking more (not to mention reducing the long term effects of city pollution).

Enough ranting for me. If you’re bored, go replace your incandescents with CFLs.

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