A call to action

How higher fuel prices can change our lifestyles

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published July 20, 2008

Is the gas tank in your vehicle half full or half empty?

If it's half empty, you're probably agonizing over the pocketbook pain of $4 a gallon, harkening back to the good old days — think 2003 — when it cost about $1.75 a gallon.

Pared back summer vacations. Second thoughts about owning a sports utility vehicle. Sleepless nights wondering how to balance the family budget. A half-empty gas tank is a pitiful thing.

But, wait. There are a number of benefits to higher gas prices that are easy to lose sight of in this summer of gasoline discontent.

High fuel prices get people thinking about how to reduce their time behind the wheel. That translates to less traffic, which equals less air pollution from vehicle emissions, which improves people's health and slows down the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And, truth be told, gasoline prices could be worse. There are more than 100 countries where motorists pay more for a gallon of gas. We pay just a fraction more than the poor people in Bangladesh. Look at it this way. Gasoline in the United States sells today for about 20 percent more on an inflation-adjusted basis than it did in 1922, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Still not feeling any better about your next trip to the gas station? Consider this:

Less traffic

The record-setting cost of fuel is forcing folks to drive less. The state Department of Transportation estimates that traffic volumes in the first few months of 2008 dropped about 2 percent, compared with last year. That tracks closely with what's happening nationwide, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

At the same time, the use of public transit is rapidly rising. Intercity Transit has 13 percent more bus riders in 2008 compared with 2007, on pace for more than 4 million riders.

As gasoline prices climbed the past five years, bus ridership climbed at similar rates, an almost bullet-proof example of cause and effect as commuters look for more-affordable ways to get to work.