I am convinced that not only is there a conspiracy as far as oil and gas prices go, but also that the transportation departments are in cahoots with the oil suppliers.
Near my work there are many train tracks. It is a highly industrial area that is relatively close to the airport, so it makes sense. HOWEVER, two of the tracks cross over THE main road between I-215 and Bangerter Highway. There are no cross arms or flashing lights for these tracks. What typically happens is an engineer steps out of the engine car and waves at traffic to stop. When traffic has stopped, the train unhooks a couple of cars IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, and leaves for a few minutes. I assume that the engine that comes back is a different one that then picks up the cars in the middle of the street and exchanges it for some other ones. Basically the process from start to finish takes 30-45 minutes. Apparently there is absolutely NO OTHER WAY to do this anywhere else. It happens at least once a week and lately it has been really awful timing. I got stuck behind this mess today because they were doing it at 5:00 p.m. when everything in the area basically shuts down. It is so irritating and inconvenient. People try to find other ways to go around, but if you try the streets directly north or south, the train is also blocking those streets. Grrrrr!
As I-80 construction has been progressing, it has been interesting to see how the crews have been making the replacement bridges off site to then transport them where they need to go. This last weekend was their first attempt at installing one of the pre-fabricated bridges. Things didn't go so well when they noticed that one of the beams was twisted. Rather than installing a possibly faulty bridge, they have elected to fix it on site. While I greatly appreciate their concern for the safety of all who will pass over or on the bridge, it was a little creepy to drive past it and have it towering over you only 10 feet away. Typically the way the commute goes is that in the morning there are 3 west-bound lanes and 2 east-bound lanes. Mid-day there is a cool machine that then moves the cement barriers so that the evening commute is 3 east-bound lanes and 2 west-bound lanes. In all the confusion over bridges someone must have forgotten that they needed to switch it today. Traffic was backed up from 1300 E and I-80 all the way to the 201 @ 900 West. I was already a little ticked at having to wait for the stupid train and then had to crawl on the freeway at 10 miles an hour because it was only 2 lanes. Meanwhile west-bound traffic is whizzing by without a care in the world.
So here is my theory; the oil companies, construction companies and railway lines are in cahoots. They are determined to get us to waste as much gas as possible idling on the freeway or at a railway crossing. Because in all honesty what can we really do? I would love to have some alternate transportation to work, but because of where I am the buses don't run that far west. Another problem with that would be the time factor. To even get to work at a decent hour I would need to leave 90 minutes before I wanted to arrive. Not to mention that I drive for work. We need to get to work and school and other places and there is not a feasible alternative. I could ride a bike to work, but that's only if there was somewhere to shower once I actually got to work. I would love to get a hybrid vehicle but I have to finish paying off this vehicle and no one is going to want to buy it from me anyway. My sister and her husband are trying to sell their SUV but no one wants to buy a gas guzzling vehicle right now (which is the reason they are trying to sell it anyway) Ultimately to survive we must purchase gas to fuel our vehicles.
So, what is the answer? I have seen groups on Facebook that promise if you join that you will help lower gas prices. How?! We have dug ourselves so deep into this hole that I don't know that gas prices will ever recover. At what point does society actually begin to shut down because no one can afford to go anywhere? Part of the problem is that some easy fixes are unpopular. I empathize with the fact that we have destroyed a great deal of our natural resources, but drill for oil in Alaska already. It seems that we keep expecting to get help from the countries who already provide us with crude oil, but they already know that we have no where else to go. We won't drill on our own land so they know they've got us by the throat. Here is another problem, people are touting ethanol as being the saving grace and as soon as we can integrate it we will be saved. Guess what? Ethanol is produced using corn. With all of the natural disasters all over the world, (flooding, earthquakes, typhoons) we are losing valuable crops and land. The existing corn we have is going to making ethanol which then increases the demand at the exact same time that supply is decreasing. So the price of corn goes up especially in third world countries that need the food and can't afford it. What are we to do? Honestly, I don't know. But I'm trying not to watch the news too often lately. It depresses and angers me a bit. Mostly because it makes me feel helpless which is never a fun feeling. I tend to stress and I have enough of my own anxiety without introducing external influences.
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