  Fueling Controversy Let me finish my rant on Condi Rice. Not sure if it's even relevant now, seeing as how she will testify publicly now, but... One of my other problems with the Bush Administration classifying EVERYTHING, and Rice not testifying also because of the possibility that classified material could be brought out into the public, is that the events of Sept. 11, 2001 are going to be 3 years old. To me, that means a lot can be said without blowing national security or jeopardizing the current war on terror. I had the above thought yesterday, but Damon was working on music. And when music is being made in this apartment, my mind becomes discombobulated. I require silence.
It's partly to blame for my irregular posting. But now a more current topic. So the Bush Administration and the Kerry campaign want to make rising gas prices a political issue. Could this be anything less political? Part of the reason gas prices have gone up is the new, more environmentally friendly additive being added. There's also demand.
Demand-supply is not political. There's also the open market style of buying oil. It's economics. As an environmentalist and public transit user with an interest in urban studies and planning, I am very happy gas prices are going up in today's dollars. It's still dirt cheap compared to gas prices in the United States during the early '80s, when adjusted for inflation. But our gas prices are about the cheapest in the world.
I think higher gas prices are what we need to start breaking this wasteful mentality in the United States. Maybe people will think twice before buying a Hummer or any SUV. Maybe hybrid vehicle sales will skyrocket. Maybe public transit ridership will rise. Oh the positive possibilities. Unfortunately another maybe could be greater acceptance to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
People don't understand that opening that up to drilling isn't going to cut prices now. It probably wouldn't bring much relief at all, and if it does, we're not talking about next week or this summer. The extent to which this is political is the energy policy the U.S. Government is putting together. Fortunately key parts, such as drilling in ANWR, have failed every time. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. What we need is energy conservation.
It serves 2 purposes. First, it breaks the so-called hold people say OPEC and the Middle East have over the United States, and second, it's good for the environment. Oh, and it keeps the wallet a little more full for longer. 
