An Effort to Save Gas

March 31, 2008

Yesterday as I was returning to the city from camp, I noticed that the fires have begun again. Trees and tall grasses were being consumed by flames and the flames even lapped at the edge of highway. It is too bad that the heat generated from the fires cannot be channeled into combustible for the cars.

I learned yesterday that the government has come up with an ingenious plan (or NOT so ingenious) for saving gasoline. Beginning next Monday each car will have a day of the week when it cannot be on the road. I think that based on my license plate number, I will not be able to drive on Mondays. From what I understand I will not be able to drive anywhere in the city. What happens if I need to travel between the city and camp, I do not know. Even if I wanted to bypass San Pedro to make it to another city I would be in trouble because in reality all of the roads go through San Pedro. If public transportation here in San Pedro was decent and safe, perhaps this effort could work, but it is neither of the above. The buses are dangerous both because there is no inspection of brakes etc.... and because it is a great place to get robbed. For those people who use their car for work, traveling from one appointment to another, there will be very little option. If everyone uses taxis, no gas will be saved because it is still individual transport. I am not so happy about the implications of this new law. People are saying that it will last about a week and then the government will realize it is impossible. I would tend to agree. But nonetheless I guess that I have to go today and try to find my sticker which will designate which day of the week I cannot drive. One more obstacle to make connections and meetings more difficult.