Gas prices go down in Virginia, but will motorists on the road (and greenhouse gases) go up as well

Magically, mysteriously, and not a second too soon for Virginia’s motorists to gobble up even more, gas prices in the commonwealth have declined by 6-cents over the past week. While Virginia isn’t unique in this respect, for anyone who travels the hell that is known as Interstate-95 (I-95), the decline in gas prices may not be the boon that it may at first appear to be.

According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, the national average for a gallon of ancient carbon deposits went down to $3.56 on Sunday. But the mystery behind this sudden drop in gas prices may not be so mysterious after all. AAA Mid-Atlantic also concluded that the declining gas prices reflect the new gas pricing structure that went into effect on July 1^st.

Lest we forget, however, where gas prices once stood, $3.56 for a gallon of gasoline is still not an optimal level, at least in terms of our bank accounts.

While 6-cents per gallon may not cause a tremendous jump in interstate traffic, if gas prices continue to fall, Virginia’s interstate congestion may become an even bigger nightmare, as impossible as that may sound. The irony of life is that life is…ironic. A drop in the price of gas may be a great thing for a good deal of Virginians, but for folks like me who have to travel the godless pavement that is I-95, I don’t see it quite so joyously.

But besides my own destiny with greater masses of traffic, there is also the all important issue of greenhouse gas emissions and the increase that may occur due to cheaper gasoline prices. It may be heresy to speak plainly about the consequences of decreasing gasoline prices, but for the sake of our increasingly warming planet, it must be done.

The solution isn’t to stop traveling or living our lives as we see most agreeable in order to help our planet. The solution can be found in a greater awareness of the actions we take every day and what we can do to minimize the negative consequences of those actions. It may seem like a lot of work at first, but just like anything in life that requires hard work, the payoff is all the more rewarding in the end.