-I was a member of the airline community, and as a member, I understand the effects of the oil market on the airline industry. I too suffered budget cuts; whether not receiving my new uniforms because the company uniform supplier was on strike from our airline or bidding fewer lines because of route elimination, my paycheck suffered along the way. My company shall remain nameless due airline global market sharks trying to indict me. This airline viewed many of their employees as expendable because of the cheap cost of training and the expensive cost of oil used to fuel the airplanes. If you were lucky enough to retain your job, you would either receive bad working shifts at all hours during the day, or bad routes to undesirable destinations than what you would normally receive. Many airlines are doing this. Employees are burdened by the airline as it forces then to accept undesirable situations such as, adding ridiculous charges to things that would normally be free on flight service in order to make up the difference in cost due to oil prices in our current economic state.
-As much as many airlines would like to complain about the lack of insufficient funds, mostly every flight has remained not only booked, but overbooked as well. In my opinion, tourism has not decreased, but remained constant. People have justified the cost and travel regardless of economic condition. New energy policies for airlines are necessary, but seeing them in the near future is improbable. An extreme event would have to occur in order to force any form of transportation industry to change the fuel source. This change would cost many airlines and our government billions, if not trillions of dollars.
-People will always travel by air. It’s simply the quickest and most effective way to travel. In addition, many people travel overseas and other than a ship, which could take weeks, this mode of transportation is not going to get you there in your desired time. Patience is a virtue not built in to most American’s.
-There is a definite oil shortage, but our lives would be completely unstable if altered in such a dramatic way. Airplanes would have to be completely reconstructed because they are not sufficient enough to rely on alternate energy sources.
-Can our country really afford to change something so enormous? America would not only have to change, but the world as well. America has a trillion dollar national debt at the moment, and changing the current economic resources, would be quite costly; something our country cannot afford. Who would fit the bill? Many people could be charged thousands in taxes. And the companies who employ millions of workers would be become obsolete leaving many jobless.
- What’s next? If our country starts changing things like gasoline in our modes of transportation, it surely will start changing the way we heat our homes or cook our food. Many changes would be implemented into our homes and our everyday lifestyle. Again, jobless people aren’t going to be able to make changes to their households, due to the extra cost.
-I think many environmentalists are strongly urging many people to start thinking “more green”. It takes time for our whole way of life to change. I think we should continue to use our fossil fuels, because our country has many other major problems that need to be solved first.
-On the other hand, changing our resources would help our planet immediately. Our fossil fuels release carbon emissions in the air whenever we burn them; thus breaking down our ozone layer. By using other means of resources for running our world, we can change a lot. Our air and oceans will become cleaner.
-Who will initiate the change? Will it be our new President? I think by electing Barack Obama, we as a country made a wise decision. I think he can start putting into place the necessary precautions needed to get our country back on track from which it has strayed over the past eight years with President George W. Bush.
