Through the Looking Glass: Pedestrian for life
Saving at the pump costs elsewhere
By Sarah Delia, staff writer
Posted on October 12, 2006

I am a proud pedestrian and will be as long as my rent continues to rise, the meter runs when I flip on a light switch, and the monopolizing company Adelphia continues to rip me off as well as all college students with atrocious cable bills. Besides, the walks through downtown Harrisonburg are good for the lungs, along with the invigorating bike  rides to campus, and work my cardiovascular system to no end. Sure, the cold may slow my pace down a bit in the morning and the wind from the lovely mountainous area may throw my bike off balance, causing both bike and me to go flying — but at least I don’t have to pay for a parking pass. 

There are days when the rain, wind, fog or combination of the three does get me down, causing me to dial the number a faithful friend having to utter in desperation and a slight quiver of the lower lip, “Can I get a ride?” to which they reluctantly pick up my car-less body. So since I have become accustomed and learned how to sweet talk my way into bumming a ride, I, too, jumped for joy when the discouragingly high gas prices dropped down into the under-two-dollar range, for I have to donate less gas money.

But now, as I see the number of cars increasing as they blur by me while on my bike, or harassingly honk my way while I’m just trying to walk to class on time, I wonder if lowering gas prices is as beneficial as it’s made out to be. In the past months, the sky-high prices of gas have discouraged drivers from driving everywhere and have rather encouraged other means of transportation; the numbers of cars have dwindled, and thus the pollution collected in our air system has declined as well. More people have been biking, walking, carpooling, taking the Metro or train. However, in our present state, as soon as the precious pennies begin to fall from the flip-over signs gas stations broadcast their prices on, people have stopped putting on their walking shoes and started reaching for their car keys once more. I’m no economics major, but using basic sixth-grade knowledge of supply and demand, we can figure a way to drive our cars and save the environment.

Having a high demand for gas because students want to drive everywhere on this green earth, causes not only the prices of gas to rise, but also the grass to become a little less green. Suppliers of the gas know that drivers want motorized transportation and will pay great amounts to do so, yet it was only when people started finding other ways to get places that the prices went down, although the demand was still high — people just got smart about it.

I’m the first to point out when the government is in the wrong — when I think “the man” is behind overpriced books, no double punching on weekends, or certain new titles imposed on universities without a general census, but as a student body and community, I am wholly confident that we can keep and lower even further the prices of gas while preserving the environment.

Take the bus if you live off campus. Walk if you live close by. Bike if you live somewhere in between those two, but do not abuse the use of cars just because it’s there and you can.

 Picture this: we’re all back in high school and the environment are the parents. Using a car is a rebellious act equivalent to staying out past curfew. It accomplishes nothing and just ends up in the inevitable “grounding,” which would in this case be global warming. But even more so, the defiance of the environment will lead to what our biological parents had to face in the ‘70s: bad hair, tight jeans and lines wrapped around gas stations.

Sarah Delia is an English and art history major who thanks her mother for great topic ideas.