WOODCHUCKS, MILEAGE, AND SOCIAL ENGINEERING

APROPOS of nothing much...I caught sight of my friendly woodchuck today, keeping to his allotted corner of the back garden. We have a visitor; a charming red cardinal. I think he may be somewhat north of their usual realm.
GAS MILEAGE: For those who think metrically, my 29 mpg translates to 7.9 litres per 100 kilometers.
SOCIAL ENGINEERING: I met my friend Walt in the library last week. Walt lives in what used to be the general store in a small town about 15 miles east of Corning. He comes down to shop, work out at the Y, perhaps catch a meal at the local senior citizens' center, and check out books and newspapers at our excellent library in Corning. We are of an age and like to discuss the changes overtaking our society. We agreed that we may be entering one of the more dramatic times of change and societal adjustment and that this will be an interesting decade, to say the least.
Here are some straws in the wind...
The proportion of Caucasians (whites) compared with African Americans is beginning to increase in many US cities; apparently, they are moving in from the suburbs.
Because US motorists are driving less miles as gas prices remain around $4 or more per gallon, the Federal Government is collecting less tax designated for the maintenance of roads and bridges. A quarter of a million bridges in the US have been determined to need crucial repairs and there may not be enough money to get the work done.
A recent Washington Post article (This Time It Is Different, Sunday 27 July) drew attention to unheralded events. One was the notice given by Valero Oil to its US refineries that it will reduce supplies of crude by 15%, necessary as the production of oil diminishes in Mexico. The other was the announcement by Tara Motors (India) that it plans to begin production of its mini-car (the Nano) later this year, hoping eventually to produce a million cars for Indians drivers each year. If this transpires it will boost exponentially India's consumption of motor fuel at a time when oil supplies worldwide are like to be beginning to diminish. Since demand is driving the rising cost of oil, this ought to be a 'wake up call' in respect to gas prices over the next decade.
Rising fuel costs will bring about a re-engineering of American society. Already folk are leaving the 'exburbs' and returning to the inner cities in order to reduce commute times and costs. Shopping mall parking lots seem less occupied; it may be that Amazon's recent increase in profits has to do with it being cheaper to purchase online than to drive to the mall.
Few of us, unless we have really read up on the history of the flight of Americans (and Australians) from the cities to the suburbs, understand that our culture (the large motor car, the large house in the distant suburb, the large centralized schools and their school bus fleets, cheap goods available from the large supermarkets with huge item-delivery miles from original site of production to point of sale, and the gargantuan food industry are all based on and made possible by cheap motor fuels and the huge influence of the motor manufacturing companies.
It looks as if we will be 'blessed' with interesting times as the price of energy continues to rise and we make what may be for many very painful changes. Hold on for the ride!