petroleum paranoia

i have an interesting perspective on the "gasoline crisis". i am slightly biased, however, as i ride a motorcycle that gets a meager 46 miles per fallon, and i commute daily in a carpool vehicle that has been converted to run on vegetable oil. oh the wonder of creativity and ingenuity! (Interesting fact, if you didnt already know: Dr. Rudolph Diesel, the Bavarian refrigerator repairman credited with creating the modern-day combustion engine, was almost killed when his original motor exploded. He was also a millionaire within a year of being granted the patent!)

in light of my bias, and strong opinion about gas-guzzling vehicles, i am baffled. baffled that i still see Hummers (12-14mpg), Escalades (12-19mpg), and even Suburbans (a modest 14-19mpg) on the highway. i truly do understand the need for 3 and 4-person families to drive vehicles with seating capacities of 7 or 8. seriously now, come on...but what saddens me the most is that we hear of the crisis, and all those whining and moaning about it, and we see the prices and pumps bagged due to shortage, yet still we do nothing out of the ordinary.

i will say that i have noticed that mass transit numbers are slightly up. buses are packed and the light rail is "flourishing" (sarcasm noted). yet there are still countless numbers of single occupancy passenger vehicles on the highway every day. can we not pull ourselves out of our own little narcissistic world, unconcerned with the plight of others, or even how our decisions may affect others, long enough to think about alternative forms of transportation.

in my defense, i at one time drove a pick-up truck that was only getting 18-25 mpg, on the high end of full size vehicles if i may say so, but parked it in favor of a motorcyle. conveniently, i have wanted a motorcyle for as long as i can remember. now knowing that it helps the environment makes it an added bonus, and a little less narcissistic.

a toast...to Dr. Diesel...a pioneer!