Article 1.
Think Outside the Box:
a different kind of boycott
In recent weeks, I have received over 5 emails describing ways to
force the gas prices down, by boycotting one fuel company or
another. I just have to add my two cents to this. While I
understand that gas prices are a reflection of greed and price-fixing
by gas and oil companies, they also reflect demand. The higher our
demand for gas, the higher the price; a simple function of basic
economic principles of supply and demand.
What if instead of simply boycotting one company, for a day, a week
or even a month, we simply refused to buy gas, period! Now that
would be a radical shift.
Most of us think that we are "dependent on our cars" and for those
who work out of town, that may be the case. Others may need their
cars because they have health issues making it difficult to get
around using alternative transportation. However, for those of us
healthy and able-bodied people who live (and work) in the city, there
are alternative methods of transportation available: bicycles, taxis,
walking, car-pooling and public transit.
If we really choose to examine our sacred cow, the Automobile, and
were willing to explore this type of "boycott" action by leaving our
cars in our driveway, what an impact we could make! For some of us,
this would be a radical departure from the way we have been living.
Yes, it might slow us down a little, but that could be a good thing!
I challenge people to leave their cars at home for a month. Just one
month. Or even one week every month. Use your legs, a bicycle or
car-pool with co-workers into work. The increased exercise would be
not only good for you but good for the environment. The number of
smog days in Southwestern Ontario has increased dramatically already
this year (16 days so far), and it's only the beginning of June!
Buy things in your local area, if you can, instead of giving your
money to Big Box retailers who are usually located on the outskirts
of cities where they have had to clear precious farmland to
accommodate their size, the increased traffic and parking lots.
When you buy groceries, buy local produce instead of reaching for
those apples from New Zealand, or the strawberries from California,
for example. This will also cut down on the gas and carbon emissions
that go into bringing our food to our tables.
Imagine the impact that this type of action would have on the gas
companies, and our wallets, not to mention the positive impact this
would have on a reduction in carbon emissions that we emit every
single time we take a 10 or 20-minute drive to a store, work, a
mall. It may mean that we don't drive all the way to the outskirts
of our cities to browse through a mall, WalMart or some other big-box
retailer.
My challenge is on! Send this to as many people as you can. If
you're interested, and want to check the carbon emissions of your
car, go to
www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/carbon_calculators/
If even one more person who read this letter were to try this
experiment, the impact would be significant.
Happy trails!
Candice
Back to top of page
|
