Transportation and decision making. Is energy a public issue or a personal issue?

As time has passed the energy “problem” has been brought to the public eye more and more frequently. It’s safe to say that most people realize that driving around an automobile for no reason but to enjoy the fresh air is not exactly helping our planet or the atmosphere. Most people do drive or at least commute on a regular basis. This includes riding a bus, driving a car to work each day, and flying for business trips or vacations. No matter what the form of transportation may be, the consumer is always using energy when commuting (unless the consumer walks or rides a bicycle every day). Conserving energy needs to be viewed as a personal issue that has an indirect impact on the public. Transportation is just one of several examples of how the public/private issue could be discussed. The bottom line is that to create a sustainable environment for us and our kids we have to make the right decision right now. This could be anything from replacing old incandescent light bulbs with new fluorescent ones, or shutting off all power sources before leaving work for the night, or carpooling to work with a friend or co-worker. Saving energy is saving money, and with the economic and the environmental impact, it’s very important to look at the conservation of energy as a public issue.