Help Lower Gas Prices

I keep getting these same emails (which must be ten years old now) which suggest that we boycott gas stations on a certain day. "If we don't buy gas on [insert special day here] that'll show 'em."

Except that it won't help. [Thanks again Snopes]

The only thing that will bring down gas prices is the global reduction of demand (or dramatic increase in supply). But with hundreds of millions of new drivers in China and India, demand is going up, not down, and that raises the price worldwide.

But if you want to do your small part to lower gas prices:

• Stop taking those 2000 mile vacations each and every year.
  
• Carpool or take public transportation. Have you ever carpooled to church?
  
• Drive a more fuel efficient car. Remember that less mass takes less energy to move, so consider taking the junk out of that trunk [interpret that however you will].
  
• Vote for politicians who will lower punitive gas taxes and allow Americans to drill for and refine more oil.
  
• Shop with a list to prevent return trips to the store.
• Use Google maps and/or GPS equipment to find the shortest route to your destination.

In my mind there are two political points to remember:

1. Some people want higher gas prices because they think it'll force us to develop an ideal alternative fuel source. That would be nice, but by the time we find anything that's remotely close to the effectiveness of gasoline we could sabotage our country's economy. We're not that close and China and India have no intentions of making the same sacrifices.

2. It's better to conserve on your own than to have your freedoms taken away. Many folks want to manipulate your behavior through taxes and new laws. Gas is $11+/gallon in Britain because of 70% gas taxes; that's what I call punitive. With increased big government socialism in our government and the global warming crazies running rampant, we're at serious risk of being punished for our "sins" of using energy and doing our own thing.