I have mixed feelings about the price of gasoline at $4/gallon (and probably headed for $5). Naturally, I don't want to pay a high price any more than anyone else wants to. I will not use this space to get into a political discussion about whether the price is being manipulated by oil companies (yes, somewhat) or whether it's a function of the fact that India and China (and the remainder of the world) are consuming more gasoline (yes, definitely) or whether energy companies need more incentives to drill (no) or whether it's our own lazy habits that are driving the dependency (you bet -- big time!); however, after losing my weight -- and dealing with lots of people who are fighting addictions of their own -- I have come to believe that the ONLY way to break an addiction is through pain.
No one wakes up in the morning cheerful, happy, and go-lucky and says, "Well, what can I do now to change my life?" We only do it when we're unhappy with the way things are. When the pain of transformation is perceived to be less than the pain of stagnation, we will change.
I don' t know if $4 gasoline is enough to do that. I hope it is. On a moral and ethical level I firmly believe we must pay more attention to our planet and our environment. On a personal and health-related level, it's one more reason to get on a bicycle or strap on your sneakers and see what your neighborhood looks like from the ground up.
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