Time is money, as the adage goes, but gas prices now may cost more than time.
The Kansas Energy Council is considering a proposal to decrease maximum Kansas highway speeds from 70 to 65 mph in order to conserve gas. Not only does 65 sound pretty slow, it also grinds against core American values of progress, freedom and individuality.
But before grabbing your pitchfork and doing 100 all the way to Topeka, consider a forgotten American value — sacrifice.
During World War II, thousands of men accepted conscription, women took up factory jobs and volunteer posts, taxes spiked, unions signed no-strike pledges, and food and other items were rationed. During the 1973 oil crisis, the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act reduced the national speed limit to 55 mph, and gas was available only on an alternate day basis. A national conservation campaign used the slogan “Don’t Be Fuelish.”
Sacrifice: the government used to require it, and Americans used to wholeheartedly accept it for legitimate crises. Today we aren’t asked to sacrifice anything for country. Throughout the War on Terror, rhetoric of sacrifice has been replaced by President Bush telling us to fly and take vacations, go shopping and feel warm and fuzzy when you receive your stimulus check in the mail.
Despite acceptance that peak oil is nearing, the notion of curtailing our gaudy lifestyle seems as foreign as the Middle East.
A reduced speed limit isn’t a long-term solution to our energy problems. We must continue to work toward alternative energy and improve intrastate mass transportation.
In the mean time, however, if having to slow down on highways doesn’t seem worth conserving a couple year’s worth of oil, consider the notion that the idea behind the cut may be more important in the long run than the cut itself.
In a world with scarce resources, the current American mindset of endless consumption without real consequence is frightening. Americans need to relearn sacrifice, and accepting that it will take 10 extra minutes to drive to back to Johnson County is an encouraging, albeit small, start.
Discussion
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I'm all for people slowing down and driving more efficiently, however I don't think the government should be the one doing it. People's pocketbooks are already slowing them down, with many people driving under the speed limit on the interstate in an effort to save gas money. Please, don't limit my freedom to make foolish decisions with my money. If I want to drive my honda at 80 MPH down the interstate, I should be allowed to. You are more than welcome to drive however slow you want to, why shouldn't I still have the freedom to spend less time driving. Who knows...maybe I'll slow down eventually, but untill then- I'm going to go as fast as I can get away with
The problem is that your freedom limits the rest of our freedoms in the long term. I reluctantly have to support this. Peak oil is going to be reached any year now, if it hasn't been reached already (I personally think it has been reached), and life is already starting to get a little harder. This will only continue in the next few years.
My freedom does not affect anyone elses freedoms. The fact is, that in the peak of the 55 mph speed limit enforcement, fatality rates actually rose and the effect on fuel consumption was NIL. Check out this chart of real world fuel economy from 1950 to 2006. Fuel economy only began to rise in 1980, after enough fuel efficient cars were on the road to make a difference. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0208.html
It should be noted that fleet fuel economy has continued to rise even after the speed limit was increased in 1987 and up to today when many states are posting speed limits of 70 mph or better.
I agree with sacrificing, but it should be done willfully, without coercion. Fuel demand this year is down about 3 percent below 2007 levels as people are cutting back on travel and modifying their driving habits. This far exceeds the supposed savings that occurred in the 1970s when the speed limit was cut to 55 mph.
If it is true that we have already reached peak oil, then we are in trouble regardless of the posted speed limit. In the meantime, lets leave people alone to make their own decision.
A national speed limit is a worthless sacrifice that costs time, money and freedom. Congress will post one over my dead body.
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