Maybe money is God. Or, maybe, God should be spelled o-i-l-s-c-a-r-c-i-t-y. After all, where religious convictions about creation care have led only to minor lifestyle changes for select Jesus freaks, the ever-rising cost of oil is making good things happen across our indolent nation.
NPR has reported that “$8 Gas Might Be Good for Us” (I felt only a little indignant that someone else got famous making a claim I’ve previously pronounced), and now it appears that the Hummer may be doomed, according to TheLeafChronicle.com: “The final obituary hasn’t been written, but the future looks grim for the gigantic gas guzzler. … But sales are down 36 percent this year and 60 percent alone in May. … And the Hummer was more important for what it came to symbolize — that mindset among U.S. drivers that bigger is better, especially when you can intimidate everyone on the road. With gas prices zooming toward $4 per gallon, however, being an intimidator isn’t what it once was cracked up to be.”
Being intimidated by high fuel prices, on the other hand, has its benefits. On Tuesday, I received an email from the school board office: “Due to the rising costs of energy and fuel and due to the fact that we have met the instructional 990 clock hours requirement for a school year, the last day of school for all students will be Friday, June 13 instead of Wednesday, June 18.” If that’s not miraculous, I don’t know what is.
I’ve been told that other area schools have slashed their unnecessary end-of-year schedules, too, for “environmental” (ahem, budgetary) concerns, and this doesn’t bother me one bit. After all, the last several days of school are filled with uneducation anyway, and so every year schools should just cut off the last four days whether or not a solar-powered bus fleet has been activated. Jesus would probably agree.
In the long term, I’ve also heard talk of changing the school calendar to four longer days per week instead of running buses every day Monday through Friday. I’m praying that o-i-l-s-c-a-r-c-i-t-y’s will in this manner will prevail.