Drivers of gas-fueled vehicles woke up to a startling discovery this weekend — the highest prices at in pumps in Canadian history. Photo Grant Lawrence
It’s official. As of this past weekend, Vancouver and Victoria registered the highest gas prices in Canadian history. Our gas is also currently the most expensive on the continent of North America.
Yes, if you drive a gas-guzzler in this town, you likely noticed prices at the pump tipping into the $1.60-plus range. Dare I suggest these outrageous prices could be a good thing?
Car-dependent critics will screech that our soaring cost of gas is a direct result of the pipeline dispute and is part of Alberta’s reactionary chokehold to limit fuel in order to piss off B.C. consumers enough to sway public opinion into demanding the pipeline punch-through.
Our premier strongly denies this. Yes, there’s a shortage of fuel getting to Vancouver and Victoria but, no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the current pipeline battle. Rather, we don’t have enough refineries to supply enough gas to customers. Also, two out of the five refineries we depend on in Washington state are going through spring maintenance, which is slowing our supply down even more.
Besides waiting on maintenance or building a new refinery, what’s the solution? Dan McTeague, a senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy.com, recently told Global News one remedy would be to keep building pipelines to increase supply.
There are of course other options. These historically out-of-sight gas prices could be a tipping point for Vancouver — the kind that finally gets you out of your oil-industry-driven, fossil-fuel-burning automobile and into some kind of healthier societal alternative, whether that be public transit, your bike or your own two feet.
And while that may be a major point of contention for the SUV-set, especially those in outlying neighbourhoods such as the North Shore, East Van and the West Side, life does not have to be lived through the windshield of a gas-guzzler.
Many people who reside in some of the world’s greatest cities, such as New York, London or Tokyo, would never dream of owning a car, simply because it’s an expensive hassle. For one thing, there’s nowhere to put it. Life is easier without a car. That’s a lifestyle path Vancouverites should attempt to follow, and record-high gas prices are a reason to embrace it.
But hey, if your job or your hockey bag or your kids or your disability demands that a vehicle is an absolute must, there’s another option more and more Vancouverites are finally flipping onto: an electric vehicle. With the average price of a Nissan Leaf and other electric cars starting at $35,000 (and much cheaper for used ones), there’s now a large range of gas-free vehicles for sale in Vancouver. Imagine the satisfaction of never having to pull into another gas station again, and saving the $1,500 to $2,000 you currently spend on gas in a year.
Then there’s the lack of old-school car maintenance: there’s no oil, muffler system, gears or coolant in electric cars. They’re quieter and obviously much better for the environment with zero exhaust emissions. And, yes, they’re fast, and a charge can generally last from 100 to 450 kilometres, which will get you to Whistler or the Okanagan. Of course it takes just five minutes to fill your gas tank, but it takes on average about five hours to fully charge an electric vehicle, which is a major drawback for many.
But with more and more Vancouver arteries clogged with carbon-spewing traffic jams, pipeline battles raging across provincial and federal lines, and gas prices hitting all-time highs, could this be the time for Vancouverites to put their money where their mouths are, to lead by example, and ditch the oil industry for good? Maybe it really is time to turn over a new Leaf.
grantlawrence12@gmail.com
