<Weekend Open Thread (and a link to HO v. Econbrowser)The Oil DrumA Discussion of Friedman's "Gas Pump Geopolitics">

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Ammond on April 30, 2006 - 10:36am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Perhaps the only good reason for us to conserve now is to think locally and reduce our personal expenses. To me that is good enough.
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fleam on April 30, 2006 - 4:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
You can be altruistic and selfish at the same time. This is actually fairly common in Nature.

For instance, yeah I drive a prius, but I got it because it's a great load-carrier, I can throw a bicycle or a 50 HP linear power supply into it without having to lift the article UP and hurt my back. It's small and easy to park. I don't spend much on gas but then I'd spend a lot less than a lot of people if I were driving a Crown Vic, I drive about 7k miles a year. The big banana for me is, as gas prices go up to normal, normal being what they pay in europe, my car will hold its resale value well.

Same thing with going without a car at all - ride a bike or walk! This is altruistic, sure, but has huge benefits for you. You save TONS of money. Your health improves hugely. Your life expectancy, even factoring in accidents to bikers and peds, goes up. You feel better. AND, when/if TSHTF, you're USED to doing without a car. You're more fit and physically and mentally versatile.

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OuttaControl on April 30, 2006 - 5:52pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Amen.  You took the words out of my mouth (except for the Prius stuff  - not that I wouldn't agree with that if I had a Prius).

Sometimes my wife gets frustrated with some my peak oil lifefstyle strategies and says that it would depress people to have to, for example, give up driving to work some day.  I respond by saying that I feel that I have an obligation to at least tell friends about Peak Oil and that, if she thinks they'll be depressed thinking about peak oil now, just think how depressed they'll be when they find out buying the SUV wasn't such a good strategy.

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