Higher gas prices could mean higher quality of living

 

By Jeff Hammersmark

recently paid a visit to the gas pump,

forked over a solid two or three
hours of wages, and marvelled at how
little it nudged your fuel gauge towards
the F. I’m only 27 and even I remember
the days when twenty bucks would fill
up the tank of even a larger vehicle, all
the way from empty. Gone are those
days, never again to return. Gas prices
have hit nearly $1.30 per litre, and while
prices keep bouncing up and down, the
overall trend is clear, and it’s up, up, up.
I'd like to suggest that this is a cause for
celebration, not anger, and we should all
be happy to pay more for gasoline.

To all the readers that didn’t
immediately turn the page after reading
that, thanks for giving me a chance.

To understand how paying more for
gas could possibly be a good thing,

we have to follow the gas in your

tank back all the way to the crude oil
deposits from which it was extracted.
Most of us understand that gas comes
from oil, and that oil is a very valuable,
energy dense resource required by all

|: you’re anything like me, you’ ve

developed nations for economic survival.

We need it for gasoline, diesel, and jet
fuel. We need it for plastic, lubricants,
asphalt and wax. There’s no question
that modern civilization runs on oil and
its derivatives. Without it, we would

not have seen practically any of the
industrial and technological progress
we've experienced over the last century,
and in this way, oil is and has been a very
good thing. It is easily the most versatile
energy dense substance available to us,
and because so much can be done with
oil, the world used 4,989,450,739,710
litres of it in 2009, according to The
‘World Factbook, published by the
Central Intelligence Agency. .

The major issue here is that it
takes the earth a very long time to create
oil. Oil is literally made up of the dead.
Over millions and millions of years,

decomposing biomass has accumulated
in certain sweet spots that allow for the
underground temperature and pressure of
the earth to cook it and store it. Suffice
it to say, oil is created extremely slowly,
and for all intents and purposes, it is a
completely non-renewable resource. The
bottom line is that the world’s oil supply
is finite, and no matter how much we
ignore the problem, we will run out of
it. There’s simply no avoiding it. One
day, there will be no oil available left to
consume. The problems with our over-
consumption of oil start well before that
day, however.

The day that oil reserves run
dry is likely hundreds of years away.
There is an ominous day coming much
sooner though. Some experts say we’ve
actually already passed it, while others
say it’s coming any day now. This is the
day that we reach “peak oil”. Peak oil is
not a theory, it is mathematics. Simply
put, peak oil is the day that our global oil
production peaks, which is an inevitable
moment with any highly consumed,
finite resource.

It is the day that the greatest number
of barrels of oil, ever, will be pulled out
of the ground. After peak oil, global
oil production will slowly, but surely,
decline. Add to that the fact that global
oil consumption is increasing, and it’s
easy to identify the problem. We all
understand that when there is less and
less of something, and more and more
people want it, things get complicated.
Cabbage Patch Dolls any one? There is
another issue as well, the fact that the
oil we have already extracted and used
was the “easy to get” oil. Obviously, we
are always going to extract the oil that is
easiest and cheapest to get at any given
time.

If you need any convincing that
we’re almost out of “easy” oil, take a
look at the Alberta Oil Sands. This oil is
not the goopy, flowing oil of old. It is oil
locked within rock—some experts have
calculated that it takes at least one barrel

 

of oil’s worth of energy in order to extract
a barrel of oil from the tar sands. All that
environmental damage and zero net gain
in energy. We’re extracting oil from the tar
sands because we have to keep oil flowing,
not because it is a convenient source.
So how does this all mean that

we should be happy to pay an arm and a
leg for gas? Easy. As people are forced
to use less and less gas (an inevitable
outcome as prices increase), they seek out,
and consequently invest, in alternatives. A
greater investment in alternatives will make
it easier for society to cope when peak oil
hits, and prices steadily increase due to
soaring demand and dwindling supply. I
can afford a car, but I made a conscious
effort to find a home close to where I go
to school and work. My transportation
dollars don’t subsidize oil production; they
subsidize the bus and the Skytrain.

The consumer who chooses a Toyota
Yaris over a Dodge Ram is sending a
message to vehicle manufacturers: “I like

Bivaio

fuel efficient vehicles”. The increasing
price of gas is having, and will continue
to have, a very real, very significant
effect on society and the decisions people
make. Most will drive less; many will buy
smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Some
will look for new jobs closer to home, or
move to neighbourhoods where they can
get everything they need within walking
distance. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s
going to be for the good, and that’s one
mantra I’ll come back to time and time
again with this column: I’m not.going to
blow smoke up your behinds and tell you ,
that doing the right thing is going to be
easier than ignoring the problem. I can,
however, assure you that if we all work
together, it won’t be that difficult. So next
time you see the price going up at your
gas station, try to look at it as a good
thing— Another force pushing us towards
a less oil-dependent, sustainable, healthier
society.

 

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