The residents of Bald Head Island, NC, will not have to worry about the high price of fueling their cars; there aren't any cars on Bald Head. But all groceries must be ferried in, or residents have to leave the island, start up their cars on the mainland to drive to the supermarket in Southport, and then tote their groceries back home on the ferry. Now that takes a lot of energy!
I was listening to President Bush's press conference Thursday. He was asked what he thought about reports that the price at the pump for a gallon of gasoline could reach $4 soon. He said he hadn't heard that.
Well, many of the rest of us have. And as if the economy is not bad enough, the $4 a gallon prediction may actually be
Higher energy prices will have a profound effect on everyone here in the U.S. Those of us contemplating a move to one of those lovely but remote southern communities 25 minutes from the nearest supermarket had best think twice about our choice or at least prepare to amend our shopping habits. (Might be a good hedge to buy stock in a company that makes solar-powered food freezers, if there are such things.) We are going to have to be a lot better organized to make one trip a week or fewer; each round trip will amount to about four gallons of gas, or a $20 "surtax" on our groceries.
But that is only the tip of the iceberg lettuce. The trucks that bring the produce to the supermarket run on gasoline, and their own dramatically higher costs will get passed along to the rest of us, a double whammy. And of course there will be the costs of keeping our homes warm in winter and cool in summer. Solar panels are starting to look more attractive to this correspondent, even though the architectural review boards in many communities chafe at the thought of reflective roof panels versus, say, slate or terra cotta tiles. They had better start rethinking their opposition.
A few days ago, I wrote here about residential developers and builders being slow to catch up with the move toward green. You can count on that changing, and quickly, in proportion to the rise in energy costs.
Of course, there is one way to avoid the impending energy crisis. You could move to Caracas, Venezuela where a gallon of gas sells for less than 20 cents.
I didn't think so.