Vital Technologies, Inc.

Now that gas prices are soaring through the roof with no clear end in sight, some environmentalists are secretly (and others not so clandestine) hoping that prices will continue to climb higher. Are higher gas prices good for the environment? Will people actually slow down their consumption of the Earth's natural resources? How high will prices have to go before we see any significant impact (or lack thereof in this case of our environment)?

I once heard someone say that a poor economy is actually good for the environment. If people don't have money to consume and buy products, then the environment potentially wins from less stress on her resources. Especially as we witness the deleterious effects of population explosion throughout the world due to higher standards of living, advances in medical research, and simply more people procreating; our collective impact on Earth is likely to intensify and be apparent in our day to day lives in a multitude of different ways. Perhaps if gas prices climb to $10 a gallon or even higher, we will be forced to make the transition to cleaner energy and technologies. If gas is ridiculously unaffordable for most people, then maybe we will simply consume less and have fewer carbon emissions and our ozone layer will have a chance to replenish itself.

However, many scientists believe we have periously already crossed the brink of no return and our environmental impacts (on the ozone layer for example) are nearly irreversible. Further, can society really handle such major social and political upheavals? Will we have a choice? How would we transport ourselves? Is it just a dream to live oil free or can we make it a living reality?