Gassed

Yesterday afternoon, I was driving home, when my car engine cut out, like it was out of gas. It turned out my fuel pump was shot. And apparently, car engines do not run very well without fuel.

That’s the problem. Everyone says we need to cut back on fuel consumption, but cutting back on gas really means cutting back on driving. I took the five days my car was in the shop to find out if it is possible to do that.

I mainly use my car to drive to work. So I didn’t go for a few days. Not going to work saves a lot of gas and saves you a lot of money. But you will still have to pay money for other things, so you will eventually need to work. Even Thoreau worked for a few months a year.

I didn’t go see The Da Vinci Code. That wasn’t because I couldn’t drive to a theater. That was because I already know the big secret, I know it is all made up, and I can not support Tom Hanks’ hair.

I walked a lot. Walking four miles to work and back is okay for a day or two, but I’m not going to do it every day. I could have ridden the bus, but I don’t use public transportation.

So what did I find out? It is not possible to cut back on driving. We can't just not drive as much. America will not cut back on fuel consumption. Gas can rise to $10 a gallon and we will still drive the same amount. Drilling in ANWR will not solve anything. Bombing Iran will not solve anything. Repealing the gas tax will not solve anything. Sending everyone a $50 check will not solve anything. Making slightly smaller Hummers will not solve anything. Adding more ethanol will not solve anything.

There are only two options. A complete switch over to something like the hydrogen fuel cell, powered by new nuclear power plants. Or a massive population kill-off. Those are your choices.