$4 per Gallon

I saw it, finally, yesterday. $4.15 for a gallon of diesel fuel. Granted it wasn't unleaded, but it's still put me a bit cross-eyed seeing the big 4. Actually, to be honest, I was expecting $4-plus to hit us months ago, but it didn't come until now when the markets finally closed at $100+ per barrel.

I have a few thoughts about rising gas prices, some of which may surprise folks. Let's start off with a bang: For the most part I'm a fan. No, even better: A big fan. You read right, for the most part I cheer as gas prices go up. Here's why:

We, as a nation, use too much oil. The United State's uses over 20 million barrels of gas PER DAY. That's 840 million gallons... per day... every day... just in the United States. This accounts for approximately one fourth of the entire global consumption. About half of that is for vehicles, the other half goes to a multitude of petroleum products. It's truly a phenomenal number.

So why is it bad to use that much gas? The big three:

1) Economic security: We import 65% of the oil we use. That's almost $1.5 billion dollars a day we send to other countries for a product we burn. Gone. Billions of dollars go out our collective tailpipe and into the coffers of other nations.

2) National security: We buy our oil from all over world, but some regions are more friendly to us than others. Of the Top 15 Importers many have extremist ties and funnel that money to terrorist organizations. Saudi Arabia, for example, is our second largest supplier of oil... and the largest supplier of 9/11 hijackers and nearly half the foreign fighters in Iraq. Yes, Osama does love your SUV, it pays his bills. So, we get to drive our cars in exchange for funding those that shoot at and blow up our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Great trade.

3) Environmental concerns: If you don't care about economic troubles or national security concerns, perhaps you're worried about smog and greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation in the United States accounts for nearly 1/3 of all CO2 emissions. In addition, oil extraction and transportation spills have massive environmental costs. Whether from under land, under water, or from oil shale, each method causes significant environmental degradation.

I cheer higher gas prices because it means people are more likely to walk, ride a bike, take public transportation, or share a ride. I cheer higher gas prices because it leads people to think of fuel efficiency when purchasing a new car. I cheer higher gas prices because it forces car manufacturers to develop (or re-develop as the case may be) plug-in electric cars. I cheer higher gas prices because it is the only way to get people to evaluate how they live and reduce their oil consumption. It's good for everyone... except the oil executives... and I'm okay with that.