He acknowledges $8 a gallon gasoline would create an "economic squeeze" but believes it would be "the pain before the gain" which I suppose could range from some sort of a Mad Max scenario to the happy world he envisions where we do away with internal combustion engines, sprawl, our dependence on oil - all by some sort of to-be-determined miracle brought about by the fact that gasoline will be prohibitively expensive for many people which then drives business to invent and invest in cheaper sources of fuel.
If we are talking about discretionary items (televisions, computers, cell phones) or necessities of life (food, clothing shelter) where there are already multiple options that "let the market decide" idea makes sense. The problem is farmers, truckers, commuters, the military, airlines, fire and police departments don't have much, if any, discretion when it comes to fuel right now. What happens while we figure out those alternative energy sources is anyone's guess.
The bottom line is we hope that fuel prices drive private sector innovation and government action, without starting food wars and the hijacking of tanker trucks.
You get what you bargained for. We had a wake up call in the 70's and a government that was working on a viable energy policy, but that ended when Ronald Reagan became president and no president or Congress since then has had the vision or the fortitude to tackle the issue. It is, or will be, obvious that leaving energy policy to the private sector was not and will not be a good idea. There are too many fractured interests and good capitalists that will put profit above what is best for us as a nation and we can't blame them - a corporation's purpose is to make money. But somebody has to be looking out for what is best for the people - that's what government is for.
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Postscript - I didn't really want to close this on a negative note, because I'm very optimistic in the power of people to work together to find solutions. We will find alternative sources of energy and in the mean time we can make allowances to reduce our use of energy to ensure we have enough to provide the basic necessities.
It's best to view things with a sense of equanimity that gives us some perspective. Putting the price of energy into perspective requires we think about what it is we truly value. If asked most of us would say we value family, friends, loving others, and being loved.
All the rest of it really doesn't matter.
Postscript - I didn't really want to close this on a negative note, because I'm very optimistic in the power of people to work together to find solutions. We will find alternative sources of energy and in the mean time we can make allowances to reduce our use of energy to ensure we have enough to provide the basic necessities.
It's best to view things with a sense of equanimity that gives us some perspective. Putting the price of energy into perspective requires we think about what it is we truly value. If asked most of us would say we value family, friends, loving others, and being loved.
All the rest of it really doesn't matter.
