Why You Shouldn't Jump For Joy Over Low Gas Prices

Prices at the gas pump dropped significantly in 2014, and it appears that prices will remain low for some time. This should put more money in our pockets and more money back into the economy, so it seems like a win-win situation in many ways. Unfortunately, the benefits begin to dwindle to nothing in light of the reasons for the lower gas prices and other repercussions from our dependence on non-renewable energy sources.
Several factors influenced the lower price of gasoline, including the financial difficulties of other countries and a drop in global demand that caused Saudi Arabia to lower their prices. Most importantly, the United States made good on its efforts to come up with its own crude oil. This means they have begun new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and that fracking is becoming an ever more popular means of getting crude oil right here on our own soil.
The United States increased our own supply of oil enough to cut imports of crude oil by half. In 2007, we imported over 1 million barrels of oil a day. Right now, we import only 500,000 barrels a day, but it isn’t because demand has dropped. It is because we increased our own oil production with more drilling.
At the same time that we are producing more crude oil, the United States is also closing coal plants that supply the electricity we use. The EPA began closing procedures on 381 coal generators because they violated new clean air regulations. This should be good, because it means we are making attempts to protect the environment from air pollution and greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The bad news is that every coal plant that closes causes our home electricity costs to rise. We may find that the money we are saving at the fuel pump isn’t going to pay for extra things we need, but is all going directly to our rising electric bills.
It appears that a cycle has begun where individual citizens are not financially better off, the economy is not better off, and the damages to the environment are simply being shifted from one problem to another. The solutions to our environmental and financial problems at this point have failed so far. We need to think outside the box. As long as the United States is dependent on gasoline for their vehicles and coal-powered electricity for their homes, we are doomed to this cycle of pluses and minuses that always equal zero.