Boycotting Gas Stations, The Fastest way to Accomplish Nothing Nationwide
For those of you that didn’t know, today was national boycott gas stations day, an ill-conceived plan to deal a financial blow to the oil industry for the steady increase in gas prices. Let me begin by clearly stating why this will not work:
National boycott gas stations day was a short-sighted band-aide-like attempt to solve one of our most critical national problems. I say band-aide because like many of our “solutions” if failed to adequately address the real underlying issue (like the solutions for the “property insurance crisis,” but I’ll touch on that subject at a later point), instead the boycott focused on the rising cost of oil and its effect on our economy rather than concentrating on our addiction to a limited natural resource and viable alternatives to keep our economy vibrant and people mobile.
We’re too focused on the rising cost of gas and its effect on our pocketbook to realize that we’ve dug ourselves an enormous suburban grave. Many of our neighborhoods are un-navigable to anything but vehicles, often missing sidewalks in some of the newer communities in west-Dade. Should gas prices rise sharply further beyond the affordable realm for many, the effects of our unchecked, unplanned growth will place a greater economic strain on our lives as we search for yet another quick fix to our mess…Someone better call J&J quick, because we’re going to need some more Band-aides…
4 Comments:
For short-term relief, try miamigasprices.com.
I just heard about South Florida Commuter Services. It is a ride sharing service for commuters in the tri-county area. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds like a good start to changing our oil consumption lifestyle.
Thanks Christina, I'll look further into it to see what kind of system patronage it enjoys...
Michael, I hate to say it but you may have missed the point of the post...We're not looking to lower gas prices as our relief; we're looking to change people's daily habits as a long-term relief solution...
How about using a car-share or better yet a Vespa-share program like the one Vip Vespa has? you pay a membership fee (annual) a monthly fee ($25-$35 a month) plus your usage (50% off their normal rental rates) and since you are sharing with others the tank is always full or 3/4 full. I spend $25 a month on gas and I guy premium gas when I fill up the Vespa after use. Check out their website to get more details but I am hooked!
http://vipvespa.com/Vip%20Vespa%20Green%20Program.htm
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