I was born in the United States and that means that I have something built into my DNA that makes the experience of owning a car and driving anywhere and everywhere whenever I like something like an inalliable right.  Something the founders of the US might have considered adding to the Bill of Rights if they had had the foresight to predict the invention of the automobile.

The weird thing is that for the last year (about 10 months so far) I have been car free for the first time in my life since I was 14.  I bought a car before I was old enough to drive.  Actually, my father bought a car for me.  It was an old broken down Mustang II and the general idea was that I would work on the car for a year or two before I was old enough to drive.

I'd fix it up and it would be ready to be my first car.

That didn't work out so well, and its not a story for me to dive into tonight, but my point is that I have had a car for about the last 20 years or so.  Going without a car has been more difficult than going without cigarettes when I stopped smoking 10-15 years ago.

These days, I don't trek around just to go somewhere.  I make a number of connections online which keeps me connected. 

I do find the need to consider various alternatives when I need something.  Most notably when I'm working on the house or yard and need to move something big. 

But even that doesn't lend itself to a car, its more of a job for a reliable truck or something.

I do not know how long I might go without a car or vehicle in general.  I suspect that I might buy a cheap truck for some of those deliveries that I need every now and then.  It almost doesn't make sense to buy a truck so that I can make a couple trips to Home Depot or Lowes a couple times a month.

Instead of carpooling maybe I need a truck sharing plan.  Some type of local neighborhood sharing of a truck.  Maybe include a trailer too and a full host of truck accessories so that we would always have what we need with the neighborhood truckster.

I have always been highly tuned into efficiency in both work and life.  I got rid of my car last year because it was just sitting there.  It was a complete waste of resources and very inefficient so I sold it off at a marginal profit.  I did save money in insurance and further depreciation.  I gained a bay in my garage and all in all I've kicked the habit.

But I now recognize that people cannot all kick their car habits cold turkey at the same time.  We need to find some way to allocate our needs a bit and share the resources at hand as it relates to cars. 

I think we need to do this whether or not gas hits $5 a gallon this year.  I think we need to do it regardless of whether or not there are vast new oil reserves that have not been previously tapped in the world.  I think we need to do it even if the carbon realeased from petroleum is turning the planet into a greenhouse.

I think we need to do it simply for greater efficiency.