I recently saw the story of a possible trucker strike on the news and then again on Treehugger. I’m not sure what the chances are of seeing a major organized strike, but if it were to happen our economy would pay dearly.

 

I knew that diesel costs have sky-rocketed lately, but I guess I figured that the costs were being passed on to consumers. From what I’ve been reading, though, it seems like truckers, especially independent drivers, are eating a lot of the extra costs. You have to feel for them; they’re just trying to make a living.

 

Just thinking about a major trucker strike illustrates how vitally important they are to our economy. Trucks are a vital key to our economic infrastructure. Without ‘em, nearly every good in the country would sit idle, unable to get to its destination. I can’t imagine what would happen in a major, prolonged strike, especially to consumer staples such as groceries and retail stores. Heck, what if the gasoline-hauling truckers refused to drive? Our country would really be shut down.

 

The thing is: everybody seems to be blaming big oil or Bush and Cheney/Halliburton. It’s the easiest way out, but I don’t think the problem lies there. World oil demand is never-relenting, but there’s only so much of the black stuff underground. The big, bad oil companies are drilling in ever-remote locations and making less and less big finds while crude now costs over $100 a barrel. How’s a strike going to fix that?

 

If the problem is that complex though, then how in the world do we fix it? That’s a tough question, and it’s going to be a big one. Sure, we commute in hybrids and develop electric cars to zip around in, but the alternatives are a lot more limited when we need to haul 14,000 gallons of milk halfway across the country.

 

I’ve read many times that railroad companies stand to gain big time in the future. They are incredibly more efficient then trucks, but at the same time a lot slower and less flexible in their routes. Plus, on the tracks that run through my hometown we probably have 50 coal trains and Amtrak stopping every day. There’s not a whole lot of room for more traffic. On top of that, it’d be hard to deliver goods to remote locations. We could eliminate a lot of long-haul trucks, but we’d still need a ton of short-haul runs. No matter what, I have a feeling our rail system is in for some big upgrades and a much larger role than it already has.

 

Yep, this is going to be a major issue for a long time to come. We’ve most likely seen the end of cheap fossil fuel energy. We are going to make big, big changes, whether we want to or not.