It's everywhere - the newspaper, TV and it's apparent in that dent in your wallet. Gas prices have reached an all-time high. There are a few reasons why this could be. Maybe it's because the oil hounds are wringing us dry. Or perhaps it's because our president is using the profits to line his down-feather bed. It could be attached to the food price crisis and ethanol craze. But, most likely, they are high because they can be.
Environmentalists have made this issue a cornerstone for the "go green" campaign. I find some of the arguments pretentious, but most of them do have a good point - that gas is running out and we can't replace it.
A man from Wisconsin has chosen to bike nine miles to work, each way, in protest of the high gas prices. My roommates have adopted his plan, and most of us have opted for public transportation in lieu of the crippling costs.
On May 15, motorists were encouraged via an e-mail not to buy gas as a protest against the big oil companies. Not many people followed through, as gas is a necessity in the world. The companies know this. Why else would they milk us for every cent they can?
Let's try this: Why don't we let Shell, ExxonMobile and the Marathon Petroleum Company keep their fossil fuels. Instead, fill up at a smaller subsidiary, like British Petroleum, blocking the Big Guy's profits. Remember when BP disappeared, then returned with a vengeance? It was short-lived, but with further advancement, I know whom I'd invest my dollar in.
In a recent Lantern survey, 12 percent of respondents claimed they "would buy gas no matter the cost." I drive a gas guzzler - a 1993 Crown Victoria that struggles to get 22 miles per gallon. There is an argument for having no other option besides driving, but why not carpool?
There is too much arguing and complaining going on, and not enough doing. A few brave vigilantes have taken the big oil companies on their gambit and found an alternative route, but the rest of us whining is not going to change anything.
Just like the Facebook information fiasco, when things are blown out of proportion they get worse, then fade away from regular conversation as soon as the new "catastrophe" arises. The gas price crisis is just another one of these, but there is great potential here for change brought about by a new awareness of this urgent situation. Lifestyle or otherwise, we can make a difference. Our economy is capitalist and our government is democratic. Without us and our money, these institutions are nothing.
But, as long as we listen to them, we're no better off than the words they feed us or the prices they charge us. If a grocery store charged $6 for a gallon of milk, we would pay for it. So things are crappy. What are we going to do about it? I don't expect anyone to change the world, but we do have a chance to give them a clear message.
Amy Hoover can be reached at hoover.226@osu.edu.
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