If you have arrived at the point in your life where you think rising gas prices have affected your daily existence, I have news for you; hang on to your seat! This roller coaster is just heading up that first hill and the ride has barely begun. Yet, in much the same way that amusement park patrons either fear or anticipate the other side of the hill, Americans both fear and anticipate the rise of gasoline prices.

Those who fear the rise, know that no matter what is said and no matter what the media want us to believe, gas is a commodity just like any other. Supply and demand mean very little once we realize that if consumers will pay the price, suppliers are happy to charge it. The only way to get around that dilemma is to not buy the product, but that may not be as easy as it sounds.

The American economy is "lubricated" with oil. Even if consumers buy no gas, petroleum products still bring other products to market and keep prices low. That's a lot to fear, but there's more. When the cost of delivering goods to the market increases, do you really think that CEO's and other management are going to give up their multi-million dollar earnings to absorb those costs? Ha! They will pass the costs on to the consumers whether the consumers can afford them or not. If consumers cannot afford the prices and do not buy, workers will be laid off and businesses will close, but the CEO's will not worry because they have their "golden parachutes" to keep them warm and they know they will survive any eventuality. A CEO making 12 to 20 million dollars a year could not care less if gas were $5 a gallon or $15 a gallon. It is all the same to him and just as insignificant.

Now, I am not saying that any of this is unfair. After all, if any of us had a product we could sell at any price, we, too, would sell it at the highest price the market would bear. That is what the oil companies are doing now and will do in the future. It will never do any good at all to complain about the problem or to write about how prices affect our lives. Instead, we all need to realize that now is the reality and now we need to take steps to avoid any further crunch. That is how those who anticipate the rise see the situation.

The anticipators know that Congress cannot help us, the oil companies will not help us and our neighbors have troubles of their own, but the entrepreneurial spirit of this country will prevail. You, me and everyone else need to step up to the plate and come up with our own personal solutions that will see us through the hard times until that entrepreneurial spirit eliminates any need for gasoline at all. The motivation of this grand opportunity cannot be ignored, and, even though I am not one of the great scientific minds, I am ready to start walking, growing my own food, and making my own electricity until the new technology of the truly great minds comes to market. What else are you going to do? Sit and wait? He who hesitates is lost and anyone who waits any longer to adjust his past habits will be just as lost. Gas prices have affected the lives of every American and every World citizen, but it will get worse before it gets better. I encourage all to act now, or forever wish they did. Otherwise, it is just Reqiescot in Pace for the weak of spirit and the unwilling to move.

In 1929, there was a Great World Depression and much of the brunt was felt in the United States. The present situation has the potential to be the next Great Depression if people keep whistling in the dark, gazing through their rose colored glasses and continuing to ignore the problem. The age of petroleum, gasoline and even the internal combustion engine is coming to a close just as the age of the dinosaurs did. Fortunately for us, we have brains larger than a common walnut and the ability to use them. We have the technology, we have the means, and we have the necessity. All we have to do is realize that the past is gone and welcome the future. Electric cars will replace gasoline powered ones. People will walk, ride their bikes or take the bus. We have been spoiled too long and the adjustment will be significant, but we can do it, and, once we do, we will wonder why we ever did it any other way. Ultimately, the choice is an individual one. Will you fear what is over the hill, or will you eagerly anticipate it? The time to decide is now.