Straight to the Point

Supply and Demand

As of the time I write this, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for about two months. Gas has skyrocketed, more than doubling in price in places.

The world has been reminded what an oil supply crisis looks like.

Nobody likes how it looks.

Fossil fuels don't just do damage, they are prone to disruption. When you have to move a lot of toxic flammables from point A to point B, stuff can easily go wrong in a number of ways. When someone is actively threatening to cause that scenario, supplies get choked up.

Supply plummets. Demand remains the same. Price skyrockets.

Demand Can Change

The last time the United States suffered a major oil disruption was the 1970s . This changed the way the country interacted with fossil fuels on a financial level. Gas got scarce. People tried to save money by driving less and carpooling. Sound familiar?

We also really started to look at this "Renewables" idea.

Solar Panels went up on the Whitehouse under Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan took them down. This has happened before, this will happen again.

Gas will go up and down in price. Every time gas gets expensive, we are reminded that Green is Good .

The sun shines every day. The wind blows as the earth rotates. Electric vehicles do not need a drop of gas.

Renewable energy doesn't have to float on a tanker.

Demand can change.

What We Can Do

If you have the funds to get an electric vehicle, get one. New or used doesn't matter. If you can get an electric vehicle, you can escape the fluctuations of gas prices.

If we can't do that, driving less doesn't hurt too much. Making fewer trips to the store will save you money in many ways.

If we can carpool or use public transportation, that's another way to change the demand of gas. It may take a bit longer, but it often costs a lot less.

We can fly less often. We might all need a vacation, and we might be able to wait to take one.

We can ask for better transit options from our governments. The more of us that ask, the better chance we have.

We can ask for more renewable energy in our area. The more of us that ask, the better chance we have.

We can vote with our long-term liabilities in mind, not with our short-term soundbites.

We can understand that as long as fossil fuels drive our economy, our economy is at risk.

When this crisis passes, we can remember it. The last time something approximating this happened, we doubled down on fossil fuels.

We can change demand.

We should.