Fix
Traffic Lights
The Oil Crisis and Traffic
By Daniel Muniz
For what seemed like an eternity, the
residents of San Antonio Texas unceasingly complained to the city
about the need to synchronize its traffic lights. And many urban
areas throughout the country experience the similar agony of wasting
time and gasoline because of poor city planning that result in
needlessly waiting around for the light to turn green. And even when
the traffic light does change, the next light (and perhaps many
lights after that) could also be red thus, more time and gas is
wasted.
But did these enhancements to change the
city’s stoplight come from a public outcry? No, or at least not
directly.
Did it come from our city officials wanting to do the right
thing?
Well, if San Antonio is like many other cities, doing the right
thing is often at the bottom of all priorities.
This unprecedented move to efficiency is the
result of the eye popping crude oil price tag that results in record
gasoline prices across the country. Instead of spending years or
even decades in figuring out what the right thing to do is,
municipalities and state governments now have an incredible impetus
to do something about soaring fuel prices or face the wrath of an
unhappy public.
Necessity is often said to be the mother of
all invention but necessity is also the driving force behinds lots
of improvements and adjustments in our society.
When gasoline was cheap, only a handful of
people cared about fuel efficiency and conservation. But
skyrocketing energy prices have really changed all of that. Now
everybody is concerned and that concern has reached the ears of
government officials and the business lobby.
I in no way advocate that we need a crisis but
from time to time, a crisis is what is needed to jump-start a
cultural change or a shift in public thinking.
Too often, a crisis may result in a tragedy
for someone or for a group of people. And that is truly unfortunate.
Nobody wants to sacrifice something or someone that did not need to
forfeited in the first place even if the after effect does produce
tremendous good.
But the “after effect” is something that still
cannot be ignored.
A city will synchronize its traffic lights and
perhaps many more cities will do the same to encourage fuel savings.
People may also start to get into the habit of ensuring that the
engines of their vehicles are tuned up as well as getting that pesky
automotive work finally done. And perhaps many more people will
realize that there are a few simple things that they can do to their
car that will save them even more gasoline.
Residents of California began purchasing
energy conserving appliances in huge quantities during their last
energy crunch and perhaps the country as a whole will begin doing
the same thing if electricity prices go through the roof because of
the oil crisis.
But the actions that rouse a society out of
complacency often happen not because of want but because of need.
Desire may be a powerful force to be reckoned
with but need is greater and more urgent.
But so is truth. And even an ugly truth still needs to be
examined instead of ignoring it.
For instance, the United States has not had a new refinery
constructed in the past 30 years even though capacity is maximized
and the demand is ever growing. And there are still plenty of places
within this country to explore and extract oil and other natural
resources. And the ugliest truth has to be that technology has come
a very long way in which drilling for oil and refining it can be
done with tremendously less impact done to the environment.
Similar things can be said for nuclear power
as well as for other research and other alternatives.
Right now, we as a country are getting a good
kick in the seat of the pants because of skyrocketing oil prices.
Perhaps this is the best time to utilize this “kick” to find better
solutions for some of our most pressing problems. And to face up to
some of the ugly truths that we have been ignoring for far too long.
Some solutions are simple like synchronizing the traffic lights of a
city. Others may require the rethinking of why things have been done
this way for the past 30 years.
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