Recent life changes have led to my wife and me filling up the tank to our car 5-6 times a month, up from probably 3 previously. We no longer live across the street from her work and now drive to her work and our children’s day care, where I usually catch the bus. As we search for more permanent housing, a few items are vital, being (1) close to a bus line, preferably an express or limited, (2) near their daycare/preschool, as we trust them and feel good about their influence on our children, and (3) somewhat walkable. Sadly, a Walkscore only tells part of the story, but more on that at a later time.
As I mentioned earlier, we fill up the tank 5-6 times per month, or every 5-6 days. Part of this stems from driving to see family (cheaper and less overall impact than flying), but only nominally as gas prices creep back toward $4/gallon. I’ve talked about gas prices on a few occasions, but filling up this frequently definitely makes me more aware of the fiscal strain it puts on families.
I’ve equated filing up to get gas with lining up like lambs for the slaughter, but I’m not so sure that’s apropos. Lambs are raised to be slaughtered, yet we do this to ourselves. We’ve known for several decades that crude oil is finite and nonrenewable, a double whammy in the energy game. Yet, we continue to pump ourselves into oblivion. Waiting for algal oil or some other innovation is not terribly comforting. Electric cars are a wonderful idea, but only seem to skirt the issue of being dependent on fossil fuels. We have allowed ourselves to become wholly dependent on external sources of energy for just about everything. Isn’t it time we listened to Thoreau and exercise a little self reliance?
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