Gas And The Economy
September 9th 2006 16:19
Yesterday we got the introductions and welcome out of the way...whew... and I said today we'd delve into the very question needing answered to determine whether or not this blog should even exist. Is this world in need of fuel conservation? Is the world's fuel supply dwindling? Do we care?
As you will come to learn with me I don't always answer questions in the order that I ask them. I'm quirky that way. Recent polls suggest that most of us are concerned about the whole energy question. This apparently crosses party lines and most tend to agree irregardless as to whether we agree on other hot topic issues. Whether you're a bleeding heart liberal or staunch conservative it appears that most think we've come to a crossroads regarding the energy question.
Having established that we at least seem to be giving the question token attention one might wonder why we are? The answers here are a bit more varied and not quite as uniform. Some come at this from a strict economic view. The fact of the matter is gas and oil are much more expensive now than they ever have been. Whereas gas prices have been high in Europe for some time much of this is a result of government regulation and taxing. Most agree that the raw costs of gas producing oil is comparable and that most are paying a fairly consistent rate irregardless as to where you live.
Although the economic argument alone has merit there are other reasons folks are concerned about the energy question. Thanks in part to the work of Al Gore and his group, the question of global warming has been thrust to the forefront eschewing the relatively benign "academic" credentials the subject has historically carried. If there's one thing the Clinton/Gore era shows us clearly, they did know how to catapult certain issues into the limelight. They were gifted at bringing issues to where the people were. Whether playing an instrument on Saturday Night Live or tapping the somewhat underutilized (at the time) power of the world wide web, Clinton knew where his constiuents were and how to get them his message. Like him or hate him, he was a good politician.
Al Gore learned some of these tricks from Mr. Clinton. What better vehicle (no pun intended) to spread the word about Global Warming than a documentary movie? Movies attract all sorts of people and attention. An Inconvenient Truth is a must see film for anyone remotely interested in the fate of the very world in which we live. Although certain right wingers still tacitly argue that global warming is a product of politics, this just is not the reality. It's real and more and more are coming to the realization that we've probably long ago crossed the threshold of whether or not we can save our planet. Global Warming 101 notwithstanding, now what?
There are a number of other reasons we tend to care about the energy question but the vast majority of us fall into one or both of the aforementioned categories. We're sick and tired of spending more of our hard earned money on fuel and we're a bit concerned that the we're slowly killing the planet we now call home.
Now that we've established that the energy question is one that ought to be discussed and not dismissed, we can begin to delve into what we as consumers can do. Tomorrow I'll start to unveil some of the tips and tricks to saving money at the pump. Some of these ideas/concepts are amazingly simple, but when utilized are quite effective.
As always.......Godspeed & Good Luck!
Feel free to email me at blogtommy@gmail.com or visit blogtommy.com
As you will come to learn with me I don't always answer questions in the order that I ask them. I'm quirky that way. Recent polls suggest that most of us are concerned about the whole energy question. This apparently crosses party lines and most tend to agree irregardless as to whether we agree on other hot topic issues. Whether you're a bleeding heart liberal or staunch conservative it appears that most think we've come to a crossroads regarding the energy question.
Having established that we at least seem to be giving the question token attention one might wonder why we are? The answers here are a bit more varied and not quite as uniform. Some come at this from a strict economic view. The fact of the matter is gas and oil are much more expensive now than they ever have been. Whereas gas prices have been high in Europe for some time much of this is a result of government regulation and taxing. Most agree that the raw costs of gas producing oil is comparable and that most are paying a fairly consistent rate irregardless as to where you live.
Although the economic argument alone has merit there are other reasons folks are concerned about the energy question. Thanks in part to the work of Al Gore and his group, the question of global warming has been thrust to the forefront eschewing the relatively benign "academic" credentials the subject has historically carried. If there's one thing the Clinton/Gore era shows us clearly, they did know how to catapult certain issues into the limelight. They were gifted at bringing issues to where the people were. Whether playing an instrument on Saturday Night Live or tapping the somewhat underutilized (at the time) power of the world wide web, Clinton knew where his constiuents were and how to get them his message. Like him or hate him, he was a good politician.
Al Gore learned some of these tricks from Mr. Clinton. What better vehicle (no pun intended) to spread the word about Global Warming than a documentary movie? Movies attract all sorts of people and attention. An Inconvenient Truth is a must see film for anyone remotely interested in the fate of the very world in which we live. Although certain right wingers still tacitly argue that global warming is a product of politics, this just is not the reality. It's real and more and more are coming to the realization that we've probably long ago crossed the threshold of whether or not we can save our planet. Global Warming 101 notwithstanding, now what?
There are a number of other reasons we tend to care about the energy question but the vast majority of us fall into one or both of the aforementioned categories. We're sick and tired of spending more of our hard earned money on fuel and we're a bit concerned that the we're slowly killing the planet we now call home.
Now that we've established that the energy question is one that ought to be discussed and not dismissed, we can begin to delve into what we as consumers can do. Tomorrow I'll start to unveil some of the tips and tricks to saving money at the pump. Some of these ideas/concepts are amazingly simple, but when utilized are quite effective.
As always.......Godspeed & Good Luck!
Feel free to email me at blogtommy@gmail.com or visit blogtommy.com
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