Gas on the rise: One of the areas legislators should look at is conservation

There is not much good that has come from the ever-increasing price of gasoline this spring and summer.

In fact, some of us are wondering if there really is a point where the price just can’t go any higher. When filling a Honda Civic costs more than $40, you know it is time to panic, just a little.

Forget the damage this is going to do to the 2008 summer travel season — or that Americans might decide to eat out less this year.

What is really scary about the increasing prices is that for some families, the result has been devastating. Higher gas prices are eating up money that they would have used for groceries and other expenses, so more and more of them are really struggling to make ends meet.

There will be a myriad of solutions proposed to curb gas prices. Some will be worth listening to and others won’t.

But one aspect of this issue that has been positive — and one that should be explored further — is that Americans are thinking before they turn on an engine.

Still not enough people are conserving fuel — thinking about ways to combine trips or forming carpools — but enough are that there might be a change in the way Americans decide to get around. More and more of us seem to be staying home more — and we all know the benefits of slowing down, cutting back on unnecessary obligations and focusing more on what we can do at home with our children.

The gas issue will continue to plague American families.

But maybe we ought to consider, also, what we can learn from it.

Published in Editorials on May 23, 2008 11:25 AM