By Jaci Schneider, Opinion Editor
Much Ado About Something
Every morning when I leave my house, I make a decision. I either take out my keys, walk over to my car and drive to school, or I leave my keys in my bag, turn the other way and walk to school. I would like to say that I only drive when it’s raining, but I don’t. I drive if I’m running late, if the wind is blowing extraordinarily hard, or if I’m lazy, which is more often than I’d like to admit.
Lately, however, as the weather turns brighter and the gas prices soar higher, I’ve been avoiding my little red car as much as possible. With the national average for the lowest grade gas at $2.28 per gallon, according to msnbc.com, I wouldn’t be surprised if more people are leaving their cars at home.
When my car reaches the end of its eventful life, I hope I can afford a hybrid, so that gas prices don’t affect my everyday life so much. With a regular gas-guzzling car I’m forced to plan my summer vacation around gas prices. Apparently some Americans share the same thought as me. According to an article on cnn.com, 8 percent of consumers thought about buying a hybrid vehicle in March, but only 4 percent considered it in February, when gas prices were considerably lower. The article also says that 77 percent of consumers would consider buying a hybrid if gas prices reach $3 a gallon.
This doesn’t make any sense to me. Gas prices have been increasing since I began to notice them at age 16, and I have no reason to believe that they won’t continue to increase. Is 69 percent of the population just naively hoping that a miracle will happen and the price of oil will spiral downward?
Even if the price of gas has finally reached a plateau, I would still like to think that consumers would be wise enough to invest in a hybrid. Although they might cost more than a traditional car, think about how much money could be saved on gas in the long run. And eventually, we will need to become less dependent on gas and oil-why not start now?
So although it might not be feasible for most of the American population to choose to walk everywhere when gas prices rise, it is feasible for us to plan ahead and prepare for what will inevitably come.
