Can we Learn to Live within our Means?

So, this morning, front page of the New York Times is this article.

I was struck by this quote:

Clearly the market does not need the oil because demand has collapsed,” said Francisco Blanch, a commodity strategist at Merrill Lynch. “Just look at new car sales. That gives you a sense of the magnitude of this crisis.”

So, apparently people have continued to NOT use their cars, and therefore, among other things, there is less need for oil, which becomes gas. This is all contrary to this article which claims:

The sharp decline in gasoline use earlier this year — with volume down nearly 10 percent in some weeks — suggested to many people, including the automobile companies, that a permanent change in American habits might be at hand. But with gasoline prices falling drastically in recent weeks, some American drivers are returning to their old ways.

The October 29th article goes on to say that historically, after times when gas is expensive, such as the seventies oil crisis, Americans have returned to burning gas with wanton disregard.

But in the late 1980s, as prices eased, people switched back to larger cars. With prices low through the 1990s and early 2000s, sport utility vehicles became the vehicle of choice for many Americans. Those vehicles, because they were technically light trucks, were subject to lower efficiency requirements.

And, this is all evident on the streets everyday, filled curb-to-curb with Tahoes, Escalades and other massive idiot-boxes.

The reality is that Americans will never get rid of their cars. We've built a society that is dependent on them. As an aspirational society, where consumption equals social standing, big fancy cars aren't going away either.

But the recent fall in consumption is heartening to me.

If people can make small changes in their lives that can have such a dramatic effect in the aggregate, then there is hope for the future. The problem is getting people to stick with it.

Willy Lewis, a nurse’s aide, said he just started mowing his lawn every week again after mowing it every third week this summer to save gasoline. Katina Sneed, a housewife who would like to work as a secretary, complained that higher gasoline prices had impeded her ability to find employment.
“I didn’t have enough money to put in the car to look for a job” until the last few weeks, she said. “I can do a little more searching now.”

I mean, Mr. Lewis, really... do you need to mow your lawn so often? Couldn't you do a trim with a manual lawnmower? And Ms. Sneed... have you heard of the internet? Where do you have to go to look for work? Do they still have hiring halls in Louisiana?

Here's hoping that everyone goes to manual power for at least a little bit. We live beyond our means when it comes to credit, and when it comes to energy. When you are the power source, you are living within your means, any more is credit at the expense of economic and ecological factors. If you ride your bike to get around, you've done a huge bit, keep doing it, and lets all do it together so we can be safer...

I mean bike commuting.