based on the number of cars on the roads, and the huge numbers of diesel pickup trucks with most of the ones I see lifted, leveled, big tires, wheels, underglow, loud exhausts, tuned, chipped, deleted, etc, I can absolutely understand why we are in a shortage.
people don't know how to conserve apparently. Instead of making 15 trips a week to teh store for 1 item each time, stock up once a week and make ONE trip. Or instead of taking the rodents to the schoolhouse every day, they can ride the bus. "My kid ain't riding no bus"--would you believe how many times I've heard this? Too good to ride the bus or is there someone on the bus who might've hurt their feewings? I were a kid once too and I can tell you from my experience, it wasn't no fun at the time but I"m GLAD I was forced to ride those things with my peers. Much learned. A bus can carry up to I think 71 passengers on ONE bus, which might also be 71 cars sitting there idling with the heat or a/c on burning up gas or diesel, just SITTING there waiting to get closer to the drop off or pick up point. I've seen 'em sit there for HOURS waiting. Hours (yes no kidding!) sitting there in a giant SUV, burning up fuel while playing with the phone or surfing the net or whatever else they do while sitting there. It's nuts how many of them sit in front of the house between 0715 and 0830 in the morning and seems like 3x that many from about 1430 until 1545, they just sit there. And half of them don't live a half mile from the schoolhouse, since the town I live in is tiny. They can walk on nice days. Then once they get 'em picked up, and delivered to the house, they drive back to work for an hour, get off work, drive back home, pick the rodents up again, take em back to the school for soccer football baseball volleyball band golf or whatever practice, while they sit out in the parking lot idling and playing with the phone. Once done, drive a half mile the other way, get a loaf of bread, then go home, sleep and repeat. 5 days a week. On saturdays jump into the giant gas guzzling thing and deliver them to the ball games. Stay and watch? Nah, gotta go get gas again, I'll be right back.
The wasteful spending I see on a daily basis is mind-boggling. And the wasting of resources even more so. But we have become a society that never or rarely thinks about that, we think about what's good for us at that exact moment.
I know it's kind of off topic but when I moved I set a budget, and STICK to it--that also means once home from work, I don't go anywhere. Once a week, I'll go to the grocery store, stock up, get fuel if needed, also on the same trip get parts for whatever I'm working on, etc--all in one trip. I think if people would learn to do similar, they'd notice their monetary situation change. And possibly see a reduction in the cost of energy due to a little bit less demand.
On that note, if you use amazon, when you check out, look at the options. Most of us want it RFN (right freaking NOW) and choose that option. BUT if you look there's also the option of "amazon day delivery", which you get maybe one or two boxes with all the stuff you ordered, on ONE day (for me, it's friday). Easier to use, I know when the stuff's gonna be there, conserves cardboard, less trucks need to be on the road at the same time, saves amazon some money and that is potentially passed on to us, the consumer of goods. And lastly, they give me a little bit of a break on pricing by using amazon day delivery