I think all of us are in a bit of a shock over the rapid price increases we’ve seen in energy, particularly gasoline.

With oil hitting an all-time high of $140 barrel, and per litre prices crossing the $1.50 mark, it’s really putting a crimp in a person’s wallet to fill up even a small compact car at the gas bar. It has also led to price hikes for food and goods that must be shipped by truck or container ship to market, or which employs petroleum products in its manufacture, whether it be fuel for tractors or for manufacturing fertilizers.

And this price went up another two cents and a bit on Canada Day, with implementation of the B.C. government’s new “revenue-neutral tax” on fuels.

(The revenue-neutral part refers to the reduction in personal income taxes that also takes effect this month, which means that most of us in B.C. will be paying less in total taxes to Victoria than we did last year.)

The government sought to cushion this blow by sending all of us a “Climate Action Dividend” of $100 this past month, along with a brochure on how we can act to reduce our “carbon” output.

Short of expiring, literally, I’m not sure that any of us can significantly reduce our carbon output — it is a biological function, after all. We’re full of the stuff. It’s a building block of all life on this planet. And even when we do expire, the process of decomposition, or a funeral pyre if we prefer that method, releases carbon into the atmosphere, so there doesn’t seem to be much of a net gain.

However, as skeptical as I remain of the hopes for humans to do anything that will reduce carbon emissions or alter global climate trends, I am a practical sort and prefer not to live in denial of facts.

The practical side of me detests waste and conspicuous consumption. Even though gas was about 50 cents per imperial gallon when I started driving (yes, I am that old) that was a lot of money in comparison to my wages at that time.

So I learned to drive on a motorcycle, and when I did graduate to a large old Chevy wagon I traded it for a newer four-cylinder Toyota as soon as I could save up the money. Over the years since that time, I’ve never had a real and practical need for a large pickup truck or SUV, nor any interest in owning one. That’s saved me a bundle of cash over the years.

It’s also been apparent to me for many years that the price of fuel will keep going up, whether it’s due to speculators cashing in on global demand caused by the burgeoning economies of China and India, or simply because speculators are cashing in.

Far too many in North America have been in denial, and now it’s catching up to them. We’ve enjoyed some of the lowest fuel prices in the world for decades (actually, we still do) and this has cultivated a sense of entitlement.

North American vehicle manufacturers have catered to this market and fallen far behind the small-car advances made in Asia and Europe. And now that the market for large vehicles has crashed we are seeing GM closing its truck plant in Ontario and laying off thousands of workers.

Didn’t anyone else see this coming?

However, if as some analysts are predicting, the price of fuel drops significantly in the next few months, will we once again be flocking to the new car and truck lots in search of the largest SUV we can buy? I fear we will.

You won’t see me among those buyers though, no matter what the price of fuel might be.

I’ll be the guy who puts his $100 Climate Change Dividend towards a down payment on the smallest four-cylinder or hybrid vehicle available, provided it has a good safety and quality rating that is.

I’m even thinking about getting a small Vespa scooter for commuting on pleasant weather days.

Not because I believe that it will reduce my carbon footprint, but because I’m cheap. I resent every cent I hand over to oil companies or governments.