A Tad Bit ‘Bout Life

As you go to the nearest petrol station to refuel your oil-thirsty car, you look at the price table, and you quickly look away, in utter shock. Petrol has reached a record $4/ gallon. Just a year back, it was $2.82 (November 2007). The current oil crisis, plus the credit crisis, has put a heavy strain on the average American, as well as global, consumer. As purchasing power (spendable $) wanes because of the credit crisis, the rising oil prices make things even worse, especially for the average family, as more money from the family budget is diverted to necessities, such as food (another crisis, as well, according to the UN), clothes, oil for the car, the thermostat in winter, and house maintenance.

This leaves less money for pleasure spending, which means less money for companies, forcing some into bankruptcy, and others to cut costs, therefore leaving some people without jobs, furthermore reducing spending power, leading the country into vicious economic decay.

Yet there is a solution to the rising oil prices. This consists of switching over to alternative sources of energy, such as biofuels, using hybrid cars, and boycotting the largest petrol places (Texaco). The latter theoretically should work, because by losing customers, Texaco is forced to reduce its prices to attract clients back. As Texaco is the largest petrol supplier, it would force other smaller petrol suppliers to reduce their prices, to make them more competitive. Of course, it all depends on the rich oil countries to be less greedy and power thirsty, and more lenient. 

It is, though, of utmost importance that we move away from fossil fuels, as they are dwindling. If we don’t start to adapt to other sources of energy, when will we? It would be less of a shock to the economy if we started to slowly change to alternative, as well as greener sources of energy. If we wait until fossil fuels actually run out, then companies will have to change radically to cope with the loss, and adopt alternatives at a much higher cost. So, hurray for alternative fuels, and boo to oil!