ethics
09-27-2005, 04:29 PM
Gasoline purchases are, in fact, the kind of buying affected least by price changes because they are so closely tied up with other things we already own. When you buy a $1,000 digital camcorder that uses a specific brand of tape, you lock yourself in. If the cartridges get expensive, you have to eat the increased cost until you buy a new camcorder. Gasoline follows the same pattern. In the last two decades when gasoline was cheap, Americans switched from cars to minivans and SUVs, seriously reducing their gas mileage. Also, many moved farther from their places of work*, to suburbs and then ex-urbs. In the 1990s, the average commute time rose about 15 percent, and the share of people commuting alone rose dramatically to more than three out of every four American workers, according to the 2000 census. As jobs moved out of central cities and into suburbs, car-pooling became more difficult and public transportation often unavailable. Less than 5 percent of the population regularly uses public transportation to get to work now (and even that number includes people taking taxis). In Europe and Japan, people drive less when the cost of gas goes up because they still can. On average, they live closer to their jobs. About 20 percent of Europeans walk or ride their bike to work (more than five times the share in the United States).
Practically speaking, the only hope of changing America's driving habits is a hefty price increase that lasts. For, oh, five years. The data show that after that long, even the response of American drivers to higher prices can be pretty sizable. Five years gives people the time to come up with substitutes. Higher commuting costs over that many years could induce you to buy a smaller car, move closer to work, find a car pool for your kids. Of course, that's why Hurricane Katrina is not likely to have a lasting impact on gasoline use. It's a big blip, but only a transitory one. Which means it's exactly what consumers don't change their behavior for.
You've know me for cheering higher gas prices (although not at expense of disaster and lost lives. But the above is a good summary from this article (http://slate.msn.com/toolbar.aspx?action=read&id=2126981) on why the Katrina effect will not last and we will be back doing what we have been.
Which really stunts the demand for alternative energy, hybrid cars, incentive for building better mass transportation.
Practically speaking, the only hope of changing America's driving habits is a hefty price increase that lasts. For, oh, five years. The data show that after that long, even the response of American drivers to higher prices can be pretty sizable. Five years gives people the time to come up with substitutes. Higher commuting costs over that many years could induce you to buy a smaller car, move closer to work, find a car pool for your kids. Of course, that's why Hurricane Katrina is not likely to have a lasting impact on gasoline use. It's a big blip, but only a transitory one. Which means it's exactly what consumers don't change their behavior for.
You've know me for cheering higher gas prices (although not at expense of disaster and lost lives. But the above is a good summary from this article (http://slate.msn.com/toolbar.aspx?action=read&id=2126981) on why the Katrina effect will not last and we will be back doing what we have been.
Which really stunts the demand for alternative energy, hybrid cars, incentive for building better mass transportation.