American pride in being part of the solution

My neighbor said an amazing thing yesterday.  He proudly declared, "I'm down to only buying 20 gallons of gas a month, about half what I used to buy.  It wasn't hard to do once I realized how much I wasted by not consolidating trips, driving above the speed limit, checking tire pressure, etc."  He told me his biggest savings, though, was his employer agreeing to a four-day work week, eliminating that fifth trip into the office.  When I asked him that since gas is down to $3 a gallon now, would he go back to his old ways, he laughed, and said, "No way.  I'm saving that money for "just in case," and I think the American people have proven we can have an impact on the price of gas if we're smart about what we use.  Plus, I really like the four-day week."

I whole-heartedly agree.  If it took ridiculous prices of $5 a gallon to slap us into the realization of how much we waste, then it was a good thing.  Here's a quote I read just today:  "The fall in demand was being driven by lower consumption in big markets like the US, with global demand having fallen by 3 million bpd, [OPEC chief Chakib Khelil] said."  So, let OPEC cut production.  I think Americans are actually taking pride in what we can do as a group, when each individual sees the worth of their contribution.  

As of this moment, oil prices hover about $71 a barrel.   If the speculators have been burned enough in our recent economic crisis, and they don't get greedy too soon before the regulators get distracted by something else, maybe we can get back to gas at $2.32 a gallon and oil at $57 a barrel where it was in January 2007 before it all started to go to hell in a hand basket.

I can only hope.