It’s an increasingly popular buzzword these days, as fuel prices are rising and are expected to rise further as a consequence of the US-Israel war in Iran, which has badly affected the production and transport of oil products in the Middle East.
Government offices have decreed energy efficiency programs, and many government agencies and local government units have implemented the 4-day workweek in an attempt to reduce fuel consumption. When fuel prices jump by 9 pesos per liter today, everyone is going to feel the crunch and face the reality of living in a world where war has become a constant threat and leaders who don’t get the Nobel Peace Prize they’ve been pining for can decide to transform into war mongers overnight.
With fuel prices feared to spike to P90 per liter and maybe even beyond, especially if there is no quick resolution to this war in the Middle East, we have to seriously reconsider the way we live our lives, as the cost of living and getting to work to pay for that life threatens to get out of hand.
Those of us who get to transition to a 4-day workweek can save 1 trip to work, in exchange for longer hours during the 4 days of work. However, if their other housemates that they carpool with don’t get the same schedule, then there are essentially no savings to be made, as the rest of the household still has to get to work or school. But at least our government officials are trying something, even if it hasn’t been really that well thought out (just like the reasons for the war in Iran right now, if you come to think of it), and for most of us, that’s all that really matters, right?
In the end, the matter of making our lives and routines more energy efficient is still our problem to face, because it is ultimately our wallets that will bear the brunt of the beating. So whether one family member gets a 4-day workweek or not, we still have to be extra mindful in the way we use our resources.
If we are going to be more efficient when it comes to using the family car, unnecessary trips will have to be avoided. For that to be achieved, there has to be greater coordination and communication among members of the household, so the trips that are deemed necessary can be consolidated. People who live outside Bacolod but go to work and school there, know the drill. The difference now is that the impact will be more pronounced, so we have to be more conscious when it comes to using the car. Dependents who don’t pay for gas will need to be more considerate during these difficult times, and hopefully, everyone can learn a few lessons in using fuel and resources more responsibly from now on.
Other ways to improve fuel efficiency is to focus on maintenance. For car owners that have been avoiding maintenance costs for one reason or another, this crisis should open eyes to the value of proper maintenance because it makes the vehicle run smoother and ultimately use less fuel. The problem with having a maintenance backlog is that owners that avoided it in the past will have to spend to enjoy the benefits, and with times expected to get harder, at least in the next few weeks, those people might not be willing to spend extra to make their cars more efficient, and will probably opt to spend that budget on gas that is more expensive instead. However, efficiency and maintenance is something that responsible car owners should consider, and hopefully, this war in the Middle East gives them a heads up while the topic is fresh.
Other ways of being more efficient include our energy consumption at home. The less electricity we consume, the lower the bill, which also results in lower emissions, which is ultimately good for the planet. We can hope and pray that electricity prices won’t shoot up as well, as our power generation mostly uses coal, but if everything is shooting up, it’s not hard to see the power sector joining the bandwagon as well.
The point of the challenges we are facing today is the need to be more energy efficient. But if you come to think of it, that issue has always been there. We’ve just been ignoring it because we could afford to be wasteful. Now that the costs are skyrocketing, we have to think about it long and hard.
In a world where the threat of armed conflicts and war has become a reality, and with a planet where our wasteful ways have resulted in the climate changing for the worse, we should’ve been focused on being more energy efficient and less wasteful at least a decade ago. Maybe now that the war that the USA and Israel has wrought upon Iran and the Middle East is finally making us feel the pinch, we can get our acts together and come up with sustainable solutions or change our habits so we can be more responsible in using our energy resources that drain not only our wallets, but have an impact on the future of the planet as well.*
