We have it better than many others

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, April 18, 2004

It is a sad commentary on our American lifestyle when we complain about the high cost of gasoline while buying new mega-horsepowered monster cars and voting against funding for more and better public transportation.

We as a nation are the gas-guzzlers of the world and seem to not know or care what other countries pay for fuel. We don’t seem interested in rapid transit and prove it every day by creeping along on clogged freeways. Isn’t it reassuring to have 300 horses under the hood while sitting still on I-5?

Did you know that gas sells for more than $4 per gallon in Europe and more than $5 in England, Hong Kong and the Netherlands? And we cry foul ball when it gets close to $2 here. How can we keep our SUVs happy under such criminal conditions?

Europeans have great transit service and drive economy cars. Are we too set in our selfish, me-first ways to learn a lesson in simple conservation? If so, be prepared for $5 per gallon gas before you know it.

Everett