Hypocrite? Or not?
A few weeks back there was a dip in oil prices to 106 or so, and based on my experiences I concluded that the price of oil would continue to rise. Cycling the roads of the Bay Area I see continued aggression towards cyclists who in my view should be looked upon as selfless individuals helping the greater local good by reducing their fossil fuel footprint. Discussing topics related to cars with people in the most progressive area in the US has shown that the excuses to limit behavioral changes are enormous. Even at home, I get into tiffs with my wife over her car usage, I will scold her for driving the dog to the park (10 blocks away) and she will tell me "I have to go to the store and Walgreens and..." (at least the peer pressure has her combining trips very aggressively, but I await the day she feels guilty for driving because of it's externalities, not because it ticks me off). Anyway, I decided oil was going up.
So I backed up the truck and loaded up on Oil futures. This has been a "good idea" so far. But I'm making money on a product I inherently dislike. However, I am not investing in companies that produce it - I am investing in the product itself. As such I am in theory taking oil off the market and making it more expensive for the people I wish would not be using it. As a counter, by adding "demand" for oil I am making it more lucrative to drill for more of it.
I'm going with "I made money by raising the price of oil which raises the price of gas, which makes my commute safer".
Hey - it's not like I'm investing in Philip Morris... (though I am sure I own a bit of that in some mutual fund...)