Could higher oil prices be a good thing?

Op-Ed by Haresh Daswani

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I know this article will generate a lot of comments. But it has to be said.

I think oil prices going up is going to be a very good thing in the next five years.

We have all found that the previous cost of oil was so affordable that we could all afford to buy large vehicles when the only one driving them would be one person. We waste a lot of resources for the sake of satisfying that image we are trying to portray. We live on inefficiency because resources feel unlimited. We are now reading so many more media reports on global warming and resource limitation that we have to stop and think, “Have we taken our planet for granted?”

By increasing the price of oil, we are now more encouraged than ever to rush into renewable and nonpolluting energy sources. We now buy smaller vehicles, use environmental friendly products, and now actually go to a larger extent of creating a lesser impact on the environment. Money talks, always, and it was when alternatives are now more economically feasible that we realize it would be a right time to move.

We have all been looking at our own pockets all along, and we had it coming, but don’t blame us, it is our nature, after all, to want better things, and there is no sin in that. The biggest sin, in its truest form, would be the utter disregard of the need to use better alternatives when they do exist. There has to be more focus set on shifting away from fossil energy and engines, to quieter and cleaner systems.

I have had the opportunity to go to places with more greenery and less vehicles. The air quality is noticeably different, and refreshing as well. Surprisingly, many of us have already forgotten what good quality air is, given that we are too engrossed in our own cities.

It is time that cities reform, and move into correcting these main issues. It is still not too late, and many issues are reparable. Let the oil price go up if they want. Bottom line, I am actually walking more now, and am feeling a lot better about it.

Haresh Daswani resides in Paranaque, Philippines.