You don’t need me to tell you this, but oil products have been a little expensive recently. Also, you’ve most likely heard that it’s not going to get better anytime soon. And you probably already know that the government has tried various tactics (gas tax holiday, stopping up the strategically-important flow to the nation’s reserves, etc) with limited success. Heck, you might even be aware that the President of the United States himself appealed to our good friends in Saudi Arabia to pump more oil (and was soundly rebuffed).

But what you might not know—but definitely should—is that high gas prices are, from an environmental standpoint, the best thing that can possibly happen to the U.S.  I’ve already told you that gas prices more in line with the rest of the developed world are the only way to get Americans onto bicycles (and even then, with great reluctance), but thanks to the magic of supply and demand, high gas prices will inevitably lead to the preservation of our natural surroundings. As many have noted, cheap gas and a clean economy are mutually exclusive.

The main problem that expensive gas solves is the environmental damage caused by automobile transportation. Aside from the obvious and widely known carbon emissions problem, and the ever-present specter of smog, ozone and the like, the automobile has an amazing number of detrimental side effects on the environment, on both local and global levels.

Automobile traffic tears up pavement, which damages the aesthetic character of a neighborhood, and can prompt nearby homeowners to be less careful about other environmental actions, such as recycling and trash disposal. The asphalt needed to patch battered pavement also further pollutes the air and increases demand for oil. Automobile tires wear constantly, leaving a sooty black dust filled with toxic galvanizing at the sides of interstates and below major overpasses, while the incessant buzz of traffic noise interferes with local wildlife.

And it’s not just problems with personal vehicle travel that higher oil prices would alleviate; shipping goods via truck and airplane would also become far less desirable. Trucks aggravate the same problems as automobiles while adding ultra-fine diesel particulates to the mix, and the noise of airplanes causes instant increases in blood pressure while pumping more carbon into the atmosphere than any other transportation source.

Rail shipping and travel, while on the decline in the US for decades, is comparatively friendly to the environment. While most American trains are diesel powered, and thus responsible for the same carbon and particulate pollutions as heavy trucks, they’re extremely efficient; a freight train can carry one ton of cargo 423 miles on a single gallon of fuel. As prices continue to climb, the market will push companies toward more efficient rail travel; with electrification and cleaner power sources, the impact of trains can be even further reduced.

So the next time you have to max out your credit card to tank up your car, don’t get angry. Take a deep breath, and realize that as the prices on those pumps continue to rise, the air you breathe will continue to grow cleaner, the streets you live on will get less potholed, and the things you buy will become more carbon-friendly. Be thankful for high gas prices—they’re best environmental weapon the US has seen in a long, long time.

Photo by Saynine