It is very difficult these days to look around and not hear something about the price of gasoline. In Northern California, where I live, it is especially prevalent. This is car country (not so much as our cousins to the south, in La La L.A., but the car is what people depend upon here — much like the rest of the U.S.), and the pain at the pump is something that people feel every day.
Myself, I ride a bike. So on a day to day level, I’m somewhat immune from the troubles the besiege drivers. For that much, I am thankful. However, I am not entirely unaffected by the rising cost of gas.
There are many petroleum derived products I use on a daily basis, such as shaving cream, face wash and lotion, that have seen a price increase in recent months. On a VERY real level, the ingredients for the beer that I brew (yay homebrewing!) has gone up in price.
This really interesting article talked about some of the changes that are going on with expensive gas. It has made me think about my little home town in New Mexico, Ruidoso.
Ruidoso is classified as a village, and sits high in the mountains of south-central New Mexico. There are probably about 10,000 people there full time, but the population fluctuates wildly with the seasons, as tourists come and go. As such, the economy is very much driven by, and dependent upon, people coming into town from outside areas. That’s pretty important, considering that the only way to get to Ruidoso is via automobile. If it suddenly costs you 400% more to drive from Lubbock, Texas to Ruidoso, and you’re already hurting from a busted economy, then you might rethink that trip altogether. This is a very real situation for the folks in Ruidoso. No tourists, no money, no businesses, no jobs.
So, let’s say the economy drops out a little (or a lot) from a decline in tourists. Another real problem that Ruidoso will face is transportation. Remember the cars I mentioned earlier? Not only are the only way into Ruidoso, they’re the only way around Ruidoso, too. There’s no public transit infrastructure, no busses, nothing. Did I mention that the village is spread out over an area in excess of 10 miles? You wanna get somewhere, you gotta drive. There’s a little “down town” (actually known as Mid-Town) touristy area, but it is really just a one street strip of tschotcke pushers. No core to speak of. Ruidoso’s problem is further exacerbated by the topography of the place. It is all hills and valleys and canyons, with very little level land.
The final issue that Ruidoso has to contend with is the weather. Yes, the weather. Warm in the summer (an elevation of 6000 feet helps keep it cool), and situated in the forest, fires are a very real and persistent danger. What happens when the planes and fire engines that combat the blazes have no gas to run on? The other seasons offer little relief, as in the winter it snows pretty mightily and gets VERY cold, so what do you heat your house with? Chop down all the trees?
So what happens to Ruidoso when all is said and done? If gas keeps up like it is, Ruidoso will die, I’m sad to say. I’m no expert, but without a serious shift in the thinking, or a solution to the energy situation, you’ve got nothing to fall back on. No industry, no infrastructure, rough environment to contend with. The town was not built or designed with any sort of sustainability in mind, and as such is extremely susceptible to these dangers. Let’s hope I’m wrong about the future.