My busy driving ministry this spring and summer, to people in need, has been a blessing but it does have its cost. Because of all the driving time I have been unable to work with my friends this year on the DMZ community garden. I saw my friend Marna this morning at a prayer vigil for a homicide victim and she said the garden is doing extremely well this year, the first year I have not participated. However, driving time barely leaves enough time for my own garden.

As I drive around the city and county this summer I have been struck by all the road construction that is going on. Almost everywhere I go there are new and improved roads being built. I hear in the news and by politicians talk about being energy reliant and not being so dependent on oil. However, more roads means more cars and, for now, means more oil. Certainly they are not using self-reliance as talked about by Gandhi or as I know it.

On one of my driving experiences recently I heard a NPR radio report about the extremely high cost of extracting oil in Canada, the main country that supplies the U.S. with oil. It takes enough natural gas to power a natural gas powered car 170 miles to produce one gallon of oil that will power a car for about only 30 miles. Does this make sense?

Naturally there is also all the cost and damage to the environment that is created by use of oil for cars and energy.

The U.S. military is among the biggest users of oil. The cost of a gallon of gas to air
condition a non-insulated, air conditioned tent in Afghanistan is ridiculously high. The oil for the military in Afghanistan, purchased from companies like BP, the largest contractor to the military for oil, has to be shipped into the country at a great cost. A large number of Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan have been truck drivers bringing in oil on mine-ridden roads.

At the same time that I am realizing the high cost of driving I hear politicians delay and decry forms of mass transportation, like the Rapid Transit Authority (RTA) bill that was defeated in Wisconsin senate although we the voters have endorsed it in referendum. Two of the persons running for Governor of Wisconsin are saying they would veto the high speed train that the US government has already authorized and allotted money for between our two major cities, Milwaukee and Madison. All these politicians pretend to not understand the high cost, especially to the poor and those in most need, of not developing a mass transportation system in the city and state. Some of the need for my driving would be eliminated if we had good mass transportation. A friend I could not help today because of other driving jobs, had to take an expensive, long and ineffective bus ride across town today to pick up his books for school next week.

We continue to build more roads for more cars for more oil. Someday I will relate the blessings of my driving ministry but for now I am feeling concerned about the high cost of driving.

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