So I was shopping last week at my favorite store, Wild Oats, when I noticed my favorite cookies, frookwiches, were on sale?two packages for $4. Well, I’m not one to pass up a bargain (or cookies, for that matter), so I bought six packages. Why not? They don’t go bad, and I had never seen them this cheap. Seemed like a no brainer to me.
Well, guess what? Half the cookies are gone now, a solid three packages. Would this have happened if I’d bought just one or two packages? Probably not. Why? Well you can imagine, if you’ve gone through this before, that when you see that you’re running low on something you ration that goody, even just a little bit. Maybe eat three instead of four (or eight) a sitting, maybe every other day rather than daily.
Now the tendency that did me in (as well as any of you out there who have a favorite food and fickle willpower) was this: When you have more of something, even if you have all the intentions in the world to ration it, save it, make it last the winter, human tendencies take over and you’ll consume more than usual; more than you would have, that is, than if you had had less. If you don’t believe me then I encourage you to go out, buy your favorite food and then let it sit in the kitchen, as you take a nibble only once a day. Go ahead, I dare you.
Given, this experiment won’t work if you have the sort of “steadfast resolve” that President Bush is so big on. That’s OK? you’re far beyond the rest of us. The point I’m getting at is, do you believe that most people, when confronted with a plethora of their favorite whatever, have the ability to say on a daily basis, “Hey, I’m really gonna make this last for a while,” and then do it?
If the food example is any example, then the prevalence of obesity in the United States should show you that many of us have all the restraint of the Cookie Monster in a Mrs. Fields shop (I did it all for the cookie).
It all goes back to the fact that human nature is so hard to escape (possibly because we’re all human). Did you notice that the buzz about fuel efficient cars, hybrids and the like has really died down ever since gas prices have bottomed out? Where has our incentive gone to build these, and further, to buy them?
Well, we all have priorities, and many of us keep a subconscious list of them in our heads. I don’t know about you, but when I was pumping more than $20 into my tank a couple times a week, fuel efficiency was pretty high on my list. “Why aren’t they working on more of these hybrid cars?” I’d wonder, “I’m about ready to buy one if these prices keep up! At this rate, I bet it’d pay for itself in three weeks!” I’d gone as far as to test drive one, but as the severity of prices has flagged so has the urgency I’ve felt to buy one. More (cheap) gas?less incentive to save.
Discovering this about myself is all the reason I’ve grown wary of two issues that directly affect you: the building of the Legacy Highway and the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve.
The Legacy Highway worries me for three reasons. One?if it is built then where will be the motivation to get another TRAX line running? Two?who will ride that eventual TRAX line once it is built? Almost everybody’s driving!
Remember this comes back to human nature here: We have more access to driving because of the highway, so where’s the incentive to save by using mass transit? Three?if it is built isn’t pollution going to get worse? That’s an easy answer?yes it will. And considering that BYU just completed one of the biggest studies to reveal the health risks of living in polluted air areas, this should really be a serious question for you and your family.
The Arctic drilling worries me for two reasons. One?if it happens, then our incentive to turn out new energy-efficient cars takes a hit, once again, all thanks to human nature. We have more oil, so why save oil? Sure we’ll try to save, but progress will move a lot slower. Two?once we open up the Arctic, what’s next? Among other places, Utah.
If we keep working on oil supply before oil demand, we will keep drilling first, and saving second, saving less than we would have. Is this a precedent we want to set? Can you imagine some of your favorite escapes and scenic drives in Utah, turned to eyesores by huge oil fields? If you’ve driven through Texas, then you know what we’re risking here.
So your decision is simple: If you believe that you and your fellow Americans would eat the cookie, then I hope you will oppose the Legacy Highway and Arctic Drilling. If you possess the steadfast resolve that will allow you to shun the temptation of the cookie, then that’s OK too?that means more cookies for me.
Please send any unfinished cookies to the below address.
Disclaimer: The Comical is pure satire and appears at the beginning of every week on The Chronicle’s Web site. Please take the stories as jokes and don’t call your lawyer. Thanks.