Benefits of Surging Fuel Prices

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crossposted to Real Hartford

Time has a cute piece (”Ten Things You Can Like About $4 Gas”) in the July 14, 2008 edition. You can read the reasons (follow the link) at length, but in short, they are:

1. globalized jobs return home
2. sprawl stalls
3. four-day workweeks
4. less pollution
5. more frugality
6. fewer traffic deaths
7. cheaper insurance
8. less traffic
9. more cops on the beat
10. less obesity

Those are all solid reasons which I’d like to add to.

1. Drivers of SUVs, Hummers, and other recklessly inefficient vehicles: I derive a bit of joy from knowing that people who have for so long been bullies on the road are paying something like my whole week’s paycheck every time they fill up now. Am I sadistic? Just a little.
2. Safety in Numbers: With more people biking and walking, I see an increasing number of other women out at the same time. I don’t know that this is necessarily safer, but I do feel better when there is someone else in earshot should I have to yell or take off running.
3. More Attention to Sidewalk and Bike Lane Conditions: I don’t know that this will happen; I’m hoping. My walk to work involves sneakers because there is consistently broken glass on the sidewalks, and for a few months, a bundle of busted fencing obstructing most of a sidewalk that goes under a bridge. There’s uneven concrete to contend with too. As for bike lanes, snow and leaves routinely get dumped into them, and cars park in them. Maybe the cars get tickets, I don’t know. Somehow I doubt it.
4. Increased Consumption of Local Food: Yes, the article sort of alludes to this. I want to actually name it. It’s kind of bizarre that so much produce that can be (and is) grown right here in Connecticut tends to be grown thousands of miles away and shipped in. We can grow plenty during the regular growing season, and hothouse/greenhouses can cover the rest. No need to waste loads of energy on peppers from Mexico when they can be grown in town.
5. Eating Out More: Not exactly. The Time article says that people “eat out less when gas is pricey,” which I don’t doubt; however, when I need to slash my budget, I cut down on fuel spending long before I cut out dining. The solution: I try to walk (as transportation, rather than as exercise) as often as possible to ensure that I’ll have money for falafel and pizza. And then I walk to get my falafel and pizza.
6. Finally Having Some People Jealous of Where I Live: Commuting up from Portland and Burlington doesn’t seem so fun anymore, does it? Lately, instead of being asked if I hear gunfire at night, I’ve been getting asked how long it takes me to walk to work. Quite a refreshing change. Wonder how long that will last.
7. Developing Wicked Leg Muscles: For those of us who cringe at the thought of joining a gym, being motivated to walk out of cheapness (”frugality” for the snobs around here) helps us to realize our bodybuilding potential. Either that, or we wonder what affliction we’ve come down with when our normally jiggly calves suddenly are rock hard.
8. Opens Up More Possibilities for Being Late to Work: People can and always will use vehicle-related excuses for why they are late (true or not)– like “stuck in traffic” or “car wouldn’t start,” but for those of us who are walking or biking, we get to indulge in creative excuse-making. Here are a few examples, which you are always welcome to borrow: “the pedestrian crossing light on the corner of [insert busy intersection here. I suggest Capitol and Broad or Broad and Farmington] malfunctioned and it took me fifteen minutes just to cross the street,” “I passed a lemonade stand/coffee shop/t-shirt stand/knock-off purse table on the way in and accidentally made eye contact, and that’s how I wound up listening to this person’s life story with no decent way to make an exit,” or “I tripped over that f$%#&*ing [insert debris here, such as tree/fence/light post/hubcap/fender] that blocks the sidewalk over on [insert street name here], and fell into a puddle of smegma, which smelled like oil and raw sewage, so I had to walk back home to change my clothes, which is why I’m three hours late.”
9. More Mellow People: Not driving means not experiencing road rage. Blood pressure decreases. Likewise, increased exposure to sunlight means that people will have better attitudes.
10. Less Sound Pollution: People will have to figure out how to ring doorbells again insted of blowing horns. Fewer subwoofers on wheels.
11. More Use of Cool Public Transportation: Hartford does not have a subway, but we’ve got a trolley and hydrogen bus.

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