Media Obsession with tiny changes in the cost of gas signals reckless U.S. energy policy
Here’s the headline: “Gas prices drop nearly 3 cents in last 2 weeks Survey: U.S. avarage now at $2.75 a gallon.”
And here’s the lead paragraph:
The national average price for gasoline dropped about 2.9 cents over the last two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday.
These sorts of headlines (they are common) are symptoms of a society horribly addicted to a fragile supply of a dwindling resource. Ours is a society that could be brought to its knees by the shutdown of one refinery, or the intentional sinking of one oil tanker.
We should be quickly moving to a new economy where a 1% change in the cost of an energy source causes nothing but a yawn. Unfortunately, there is no indication that any American politician “gets it” that we should be implementing any such changes.
Yes, we have a reckless energy policy. A reckless, feckless, energy policy.
Here’s the most recent example of how twitchy the media and the economy are with regard to oil. Small disruptions make for big news and significant price fluctuations. This is further indication that we have made our entire way of life far too dependent on the smooth flow of oil.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/