At the most recent peak of the gas price roller coaster, I realized something good was coming from the hard times at the gas pump. Instead of driving everywhere, selfishly polluting despite the availability of mass transit, U students started taking advantage of their Utah Transit Authority Ed-Passes. Finding a seat on buses going to and from the U has become a luck of the draw, though they seemed to always be empty when I enrolled here in January 2005.
In 2004, the National Transit Database reported more than 60 million passenger miles ridden on UTA buses, a number that nearly tripled by 2007 to more than 170 million. Gas prices have apparently been a factor in that steady increase, and we will likely see even greater ridership numbers for 2008. With gas prices having recently dropped off a cliff, U students should continue to use more efficient modes of transportation as opposed to driving. The price of gas is all the way down to its 2004 levels, but transit usage must not similarly plummet.
Some feel using alternative transportation such as bicycles, public transportation, carpooling or walking is a way to preserve the planet’s habitability for future generations by not contributing unnecessarily to greenhouse gas emissions.
Others see gas prices only impacting their wallets. I hope Utahns will not see the gas price decline as a green light to drive superfluously to and from their short-distance excursions. We can assume that the low gas prices are only temporary, but we can keep them lower for a longer time if we don’t increase the demand for gasoline.
The Utah Department of Transportation reported a 3 percent decline in the number of cars on the roads this July, when the cost of gas in Salt Lake City was at its top price around $4.18, according to www.gasbuddy.com. Fewer cars on the road means lower demand for gas, less traffic and of course, less pollution.
We must continue to do our part in Utah to shrink America’s obscene oil consumption. According to the American Almanac, the United States consumes 26 percent of the oil worldwide8212;much of it for transportation8212;even though we’re less than 5 percent of earth’s population.
A high demand for gasoline also has politicians poised to allow new drills, roads, machinery and trucks to invade several of Utah’s most beautiful wild places in search of fossil fuels.
The Bush administration, with full support from Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, has opened up 11 million acres of public land in southern Utah for leasing to natural resource extraction companies. Included in the leases are 5 million acres that would have been protected by America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. Despite his involvement in the sale, Matheson claims to support preservation.
“I treasure the land and feel strongly that we have an obligation to be careful stewards of the land to preserve it for future generations,” he wrote in an e-mail. He did not address the ARRWA bill directly, though he excused himself from living up to his previous statement by adding that Congress “argues over statistics and acreage rather than agreeing to the common goal of conservation and preservation for our children and grandchildren.”
I don’t expect him to agree with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and protect all 9 million proposed ARRWA wilderness acres8212;although seven House of Representatives Republicans and many more Democrats do8212;but it’s unclear which land Matheson does, as he claims, wish to preserve.
Apparently he’s unimpressed by the San Rafael Swell, Indian Creek, Desolation Canyon, the Book Cliffs or Fisher Towers, all of which he’s helped make available to resource extraction. If you haven’t seen these places, find photos and decide for yourself if it’s worth permanently tainting their beauty so that America can, for a short while, continue to cheaply devour so much fuel.
Overconsumption obligates lawmakers to allow reckless drilling, but by continuing to lower demand, we can tell Congress that we don’t need to rape Utah’s delicate beauty for a few drops of a finite resource.
Expensive gasoline helped Utah start going green. Although we have relief at the pump for now, let’s continue to be conscious of our larger impact in transportation, no matter which direction the prices go next.
Logan Campbell