Gah! Gas Is $3.30/Gallon!

Driving to school this morning I noticed that regular unleaded gas has finally gone to $3.30/gallon. What happens when it hits $5/gallon, as I heard might happen?

Prices are going to go up everywhere - in every product. Our entire national economy is entirely dependent on diesel and our current pricing structure depends on it being cheap; around $1/gallon. But it is over $3 today. I suspect cost of goods is going to skyrocket next week or the week after.

If these prices stay into the winter, many folks in the northeast won't be able to afford to heat their homes. Or if they can heat their homes they won't be able to afford to eat (as the price of food is also going to increase dramatically). Towns aren't going to be able to keep the roads clear - the price of diesel for the plows is now 2x what it was last year. Taxes are going to have to go up this winter or next spring just to pay for road maintenance.

The crux of the problem is our lack of good mass transit - as many people have stated before. Boston, NYC - both have a decent mass transit system used by millions of people every day. Albany NY - you are lucky CDTA picks you up, let alone that it got you somewhere anytime today. *sigh*

Good thing my car is getting around 27 mpg. Even that is going to cost me more than $33/week in gas just between home and school. I never thought I would be counting the miles each day. Now I am. CDTA's weekly bus pass is $36. Sure I have to pay for the car insurance and the car loan, but my weekly fuel costs are about the same (or slightly less) than the CDTA bus pass - and I don't have to walk 2 miles between a bus stop and my destination.