In Eugene, many neighborhoods, schools and shopping centers are within walking distance of one another. All it takes is a bicycle to attend University classes, go downtown for lunch and grocery shop at Trader Joe’s.
With gasoline prices steadily climbing to more than $3 a gallon and set to keep rising as summer approaches, many citizens across the nation who don’t have the option to walk or bike are rightly concerned about how to get around without taking out a second mortgage. For many, access to fuel is key to commuting to work and earning a living.
On Tuesday, President Bush released plans to reduce concern over gas prices. He ordered a federal investigation to determine whether U.S. oil companies are raising gasoline prices to unreasonable heights to increase profits. It is unclear whether investigators will be able to determine which price hikes are artificially gouging consumers rather than a reflection of average market inflation.
Bush also said that to keep gasoline affordable he will allow the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily change air quality laws so cheaper, low-grade gasoline can be sold for correspondingly lower prices. This means fuel additives traditionally added to gasoline to make it cleaner-burning may no longer be required. If states experience a severe fuel shortage, they may request a waiver to such EPA regulations.
Although suburbia has created a necessity for automobiles, it’s foolhardy for the president to encourage violating environmental standards. The EPA’s job is to protect the environment. For Bush to ask the agency to put transportation needs ahead of clean air sets a potentially dangerous precedent in EPA policy.
A long-term solution to our reliance on fossil fuels is clearly needed, and no one can reasonably expect this administration to change our energy consumption habits in two years. Instead, change will need to start on a small scale, such as converting vehicles’ diesel engines to burn waste oil from restaurants.
Recent activities corresponding to the Holistic Opportunities for Planet Earth Sustainability conference and the University’s various Earth Day activities last week highlighted some of the ways students can promote social and economic activities that will change our culture in favor of sustainability. Similarly, recent speaker Jonathan Levine, associate professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, told members of the Planning, Public Policy and Management Department how to reframe the debate between urban density advocates and people who favor suburban living.
To quell U.S. concern about gasoline prices for now, Bush and other federal officials should consider how to encourage alternative forms of transportation and investigate developing automobiles with higher fuel efficiency. The president has already said creating stricter federal fuel-economy requirements will not solve gasoline issues in the short term. We hope he will reconsider his fuel-economy stance for the sake of drivers in the next few years. Offering federal tax breaks not just for hybrid vehicles but for consistent bicycle riders would be a novel way to reward citizens who escape the gasoline problem altogether.
No matter what avenue we pursue, these sky-high prices at the pump signal that we need to take action.