by Cody Hodge

Created on: August 27, 2008

Americans are not stupid. We are not dependent on gasoline as much as people claim we are. Sure we like to drive, and we used to like our gas guzzling SUV's that were big and powerful and were an indication on sight that you were to pull over and let me pass. However, lets be real for a second, as Americans we are smart enough to realize that oil will not last forever, and as little as we have done over the past few decades to actually confront the problem, when confronted with the cost of gas we adjust accordingly.

When gas prices reached a record of 147 dollars per barrel, analysts were screaming that 200 dollars a barrel was almost a lock, and that we should be ready for even higher gas prices. The cost of gas was already affecting almost every other sector in America, whether it be businesses that relied on trucks to transport gas, or the airlines, or the multitude of industry that relied on oil products. The higher costs were leading to higher costs of business, therefore accelerating labor cost cuts, and this was on top of the credit crisis and the fact that homes were losing value and so was the dollar.

However, this proved not to be the end of the world. As I said, Americans adjusted. We decided that we could do without SUV's if it meant we would have enough gas to drive to work and to take the occasional trip. We also decided that the occasional trip couldn't be across the country, but if it could get us a good day trip or a weekend vacation close by then so be it. Local economies adjusted to the fact that people were staying in town for holidays and trips, and began to exploit the fact that the very towns and cities that people lived in were full of exciting adventures.

What happened? Not an economic depression, but a nine percent drop in oil consumption, and a drop in oil prices to almost 3.65 a gallon for the national average, down from 4.11 a gallon in July. Americans adjusted to having gas supplies shortened in the 70's and we have adjusted to the rising cost of a limited resource once again. Not only have gas prices dropped, but reserves of natural gas have been raised as new technology has allowed natural gas to be taken out of shale beds that just a few years ago were unusable. Hopefully we can use these types of advances to spur the development of oil sands, such as the massive field in Canada.

Humans have always had to adjust to meet the current reality in the world. We have done it for almost two million years, so to think that something as simple as a resource being in short supply will effect us that much, well that is to defy the human element.

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