Shades of 1973
ATLANTA (AP) — Motorists are rising before dawn so they can be at the filling station when the delivery truck arrives. Some are skipping work or telecommuting. Others are taking the extreme step—for Atlanta—of switching to public transportation.
Across a section of the South, a hurricane-induced gasoline shortage that was expected to last only a few days is dragging into its third week, and experts say it could persist into mid-October. The Atlanta area has been hit particularly hard, along with Nashville and western North Carolina.
Those lucky enough to find gas are paying more than drivers elsewhere around the country.
“I’ve used up gas just looking for gas,” said Larry Jenkins, a construction worker who pulled his red pickup truck into a Citgo station in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday. The sign said $3.99 a gallon, but the pumps were closed. Many filling stations in the area have not had gas for days.
Schools are closing down. Government agencies. People working from home to conserve gas. Some are even riding their bikes. All sorts of crazy stuff.
Not to make light of what seems to be a pretty serious situation in some parts, but it’s pretty odd to think that in Atlanta, Georgia, people are waiting in line for hours at a time to get gas and sometimes still can’t get it. I was only being born in 1973, but that’s all I can think of when I see people waiting in line for gas.
Between the hurricanes and the mystery that is ever-rising gas prices, it’s a perfect storm. There’s no better time for us to push for big changes in policy. During the ‘73 oil crisis, Congress passed the 55 MPH speed limit and CAFE standards. Thirty-five years later we haven’t made much progress on CAFE, and as far as I’m concerned, I hope auto-makers continue to get their way. Taxpayers will only put up with so many $25 billion bailouts. The electric car is a pipe dream, and I predict we’ll continue to see more bikes on the road every year as automakers continue to trot out “concept cars” at their yearly events. Keep up the good work, Detroit.
Think those fancy-shmancy electric cars from our high tech friends in Silicon Valley will save us? I got $5 that says they won’t be around in five years. Any takers?
I’m curious if the anti-car sentiment is starting to spread throughout the rest of America. Most Americans were already skeptical of big business, with polls suggesting that super-majorities of us thought that corporations had too much influence over our elections—and that’s on both sides of the aisle. Then we have the $25 billion automaker bailout. Now it looks like we’ll be giving another $700 billion to some folks because they failed, too. Then we have the rising gas prices which nobody seems to be able to explain. Lots of Americans thought invading Iraq, whether they agreed with it or not, would lower gas prices; now that it hasn’t happened, they feel duped. The recession has workers stressing more over all of their bills. People who are losing their jobs and losing their health insurance, which leads to bankruptcy, which leads to foreclosure, and further slowing of the economy and deadening of neighborhoods and towns, and increases in crime. Lots of us are barely making rent, and lots of us are losing our homes. Some people will choose to keep their cars so they can sleep in them. Others will discover the bicycle and say goodbye to their car, gas prices, the DMV, taxes, insurance, parking tickets, oil changes, fender benders, traffic jams, and a stressed-out life.
Now is the time to demand big changes. Nobody’s using that extra car lane, so take it away from cars and give it to bikes. Take away that bridge lane and give it to bikes and pedestrians. Take away that empty parking lot and set up a bike station. Take away the empty train seats and install more “bikes on board” capacity. Demand safe routes to schools for all of our kids. Jump on the bike-sharing bandwagon along with every other big institution in the U.S. Follow the lead of forward-thinking cities around the globe that have served as inspiration for those of us who are not so forward-thinking—does your town have a bike-sharing program yet? What about your workplace? Hospital? University? Church? School?
Thought about quitting your day job and pursuing a healthier lifestyle by selling bicycles? Do it. You’ll be helping yourself, your family, your community.
Now is the time.
