Why We Can’t Afford Cheap Gas

We can’t let the talk about alternative energy rise and fall with the cost of gas, or the environment and our economy will pay a mighty price.

With the cost of crude oil again nearing the $100-a-barrel mark (even after last week


But if history is any indication, this period of relief and a possible shift back to gas-guzzling cars must be met with cold-eyed skepticism. Sure, cheaper gas means much needed short-term financial relief. Looking past the next year or two, however, cheaper oil and a resurgence of gas-guzzling vehicles would be seriously detrimental to the United States, as similar oil crises in the past have shown that the periods immediately after a spike in oil prices — not the crises themselves — have arguably inflicted far greater damage on the country. During these relief periods, critical efforts to develop alternative energies and fuel-efficient technologies — begun under the culture of urgency that an energy crisis instills — have been squashed, allowing Americans to revert to the same old habits, tendencies and behaviors that got them into trouble in the first place.

AlterNet