For the sake of the environment, declining oil reserves and future generations, oil and gas should be expensive. The price of oil will indefinitely rise, as it is a scarce resource and predicted to decline rapidly in the next 50 to 100 years. So, instead of waiting until the last minute to change infrastructure and technology, now is the time.

Why is that, you ask? If you’re like me, you cringe every time to you fill your tank. And if gas prices reached $5 to $7 a gallon, like they are in many Western countries, I would have to drive less, take public transportation and save to buy a more fuel-efficient car.

Odds are most Americans would do the same. And in places where public transportation is limited, public demand will require it.

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the average vehicle in America consumes 715 gallons of gas per year. Some countries with more expensive gas consume nearly half that amount because of high prices.

According to CNN, gas prices in May of last year were $6.99 in Oslo, $6.36 in London, $6.15 in Rome and $6.10 in Frankfurt. Even Mumbai, India, Brasilia, Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa had prices over $4, while Americans were complaining about the $3 mark.

Higher gas prices in other nations are a result of taxes. Higher taxes put a dent in gas companies’ exorbitant profits, like the $8 billion profit made by Exxon last May. If the tax money was used to fund alternative energy research projects, the government could prevent an economic disaster when oil runs out — likely in our generation.

This process would also change consumer habits, increasing fuel-efficient forms of transportation, ultimately helping the environment. Global warming is almost inevitable, according to scientists that aren’t funded by car and gas companies. Besides the global warming, vehicles also create an environmental issue in the manufacturing process and in building and fixing roads for them to run on.

The government isn’t much help sometimes, and it’s interesting to note that before becoming president, George W. Bush made his name in the oil business in Texas. Although prices are often the most effective way to change consumption patterns, and President Bush called for a 20-percent reduction in U.S. energy use, taxes on gas are unlikely. Unfortunately, our government is strongly influenced by the interests of oil and gas companies who would be disadvantaged by such a tax.

The failure of the United States to enter the Kyoto Protocol highlights this relationship. Chad Carpenter in International Affairs explained that businesses petitioned forcefully against international restrictions in the Kyoto Protocol.

The Global Climate Coalition, a group that represented oil and coal industries, tried to discredit global warming science in both the media and in front of the U.S. Senate and President. The GCC also argues that entering the Kyoto Protocol would damage the U.S. economy and create unemployment, without acknowledging the need for new energy alternatives.

Car companies also frequently reject regulation of their business. Companies regularly lobby against fuel efficiency standards in Congress. General Motors produces an ethanol-run car, which is common in Brazil but cannot be found in the United States. Yet in the United States, GM offered subsidized gas to buyers of SUVs and other gas-guzzling vehicles.

Furthermore, the technology already exists that could reduce car emissions; the country just lacks infrastructure. Bio-diesel technology has been around for decades, but bio-diesel engines are not readily available for U.S. consumers. Ethanol, made from sugar cane and corn, powers vehicles in Brazil. Hemp seed oil, which was used by Ford, can also run cars. Hybrids are also an impressive move in the right direction.

Although these forms of cars lack efficiency and are often expensive, so were the first cars. It’s time to re-think our production patterns before it’s too late.

Oil is integral to the production of some of the most mundane things we use, like plastic, which is used by everyone and is a necessary component for most electronics. Oil also produces electricity, fertilizers, herbicides, shoes, lipstick and medications.

The jeering reality is that oil won’t be around that much longer, and the longer we wait to find answers, the more devastating the future will be for the economy, our lives and earth.

Reach columnist Brooke McKean at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.