Rising Oil Prices - A Good Thing Perhaps?

The current oil crisis has caused much trouble throughout the world as it wrecks havoc on the financial markets. It has been vilified for causing inflation in a time where economic growth is slowing down in many countries. However, could this oil crisis actually be a good thing for all of us, especially in the long run?

A commodity that basically drives the growth of all industrial countries of the world, oil now forms the keystone which affects the world’s economy in the foreseeable future.
The price of oil has risen through the roof from US$60 per barrel in 2006 to over US$140 in late June this year. The magnitude and velocity that has accompanied oil price growth has led to widespread despair across the globe, with the middle and low-income population feeling the brunt of the pain.

This pain rises excruciatingly every time a new oil price record is set. We hear of how farmers in Indonesia are unable to work their tractors because they cannot afford the fuel. We see how entire industries in some countries ground to a halt when the transport unions go on strike. Every day we find more and more indignation against the meteoric rise of oil prices. However, looking closer, there can be a silver lining found in this dark cloud. Switching to a long term perspective, the oil crunch now may actually work out to be a needed catalyst towards Mother Nature’s recovery.

Decades of rapid global growth have led to wanton use and wastage of resources. Cars became larger and used more fuel. Energy inefficiency in economic operations became the norm. Nobody knew the significance of saving electricity. Now, our wasteful habits have come to haunt us, as gas shoots past US$4 a gallon and our electricity bills balloon. Nothing is more memorable than a lesson that hurts your wallet. What we are experiencing now, aptly, is a very good lesson on caring for our Earth.

History has shown that humans always learn best when punished. A child ignores his parents’ warnings not to touch a hot kettle. More often than not, the child goes on to touch the kettle and ends up scalding his hand. Thereafter, it is certain that the child will never ignore his parents’ warnings about touching hot objects.
The analogy shows that it takes a painful lesson for us to learn best. Thus, this oil crisis may be the much needed lesson to force us to face up to our wasteful ways of the past and to work towards correcting the harm done. The sky high oil prices can influence companies to begin adopting energy-efficient operations in order to reduce expenses. Expensive petrol can push carmakers to produce more environmentally-friendly cars which are easy on fuel and the wallet.

Recently, some noticeable changes have taken place already. People are carpooling more nowadays, and are more aware about reducing electricity usage. Consumers are also more inclined towards buying hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius in their bid to save the environment and their budgets. Thus, the gears of change have been started, thanks to the mushrooming oil prices. This oil crisis has accomplished the goal of waking people up to the perils of taking Earth’s resources for granted. Previous environmental campaigns found limited success, but none of them sparked as much change in mindsets as this oil crisis has.

So, maybe, this crisis may turn out to be a good thing indeed. Hopefully, our future generations may live in greater comfort and protect the future of Oil and Gas reserves.