An article in the current Time Magazine by Amanda Ripley looks at "10 Good Things About $4 Gas" - Below are a few highlights...
- 4 day work weeks - government and private companies are moving away from the 5 day work weeks
- Less traffic - (in Boston, turnpike use declined by 600,000 cars in May)
- Less obesity - ("A permanent $1 hike in prices may cut obesity 10%, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars a year, estimates Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.")
- Less pollution* - less driving means fewer emissions
*As a closing thought, I have noticed that my allergies have been much worse this year than ever before - less pollution may mean more pollen and perhaps my lungs are better equipped to handle pollution than pollen!
If you have any thoughts on this story or my blog, I would love to hear your opinion!
Best regards,
Jay
Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net
Jay, thanks for the post.
Although there is some good to come out of this, for many of us it is bad.
Like myself, many of us have to drive, I cannot take clients on a bike or public transportation.
Less pollution and the pollen, I can totally relate.
I think if $4 a gallon gas had approached us at a much slower pace it would have been a good thing. Wages would have been able to catch up, and behavioral/spending habits would have had to time to adjust. But because the prices spiked so suddenly it caught everyone by surprise and has negatively affected the global economy. Maybe this is good in the long run as it will push all of us to wean ourselves off fossil fuels sooner rather than later. But in the meantime it's causing a lot people a lot of pain.
Never thought of it that way, but that certainly is unique way of looking at things!
I must say that it seems in Los Angeles that there has been no decrease in traffic or pollution!
Movie voice overs? We need to talk. But like I've learned,we should try to take the good out of a bad situation. But no matter what way you look at it,this sucks. Great post.