Fuel Prices

Now that the economy has slowed down and the markets have retreated, speculation on and demand for oil has dropped significantly for the short term. Gas at my local station was $1.69 per gallon the other day.

Guess what I observed? Lots of traffic. How quickly we forget. Let’s hope the importance of sustainability and conservation doesn’t track fuel prices.

This is but temporary relief. In the long term we must keep our eye on the ball of reducing oil dependence and consumption. Seventy (70%) percent of the US economy is estimated to be based on consumer spending. Hence it can be very cyclical and fluctuate greatly with consumer confidence.

We need to keep focused on the essentials and keep looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce use so as to minimize dependency on any one resource.