I know that was him…..

I also suspect he´s the reason for my sons low self esteem, bastard.

Something’s gotta give with the whole gas situation but I have yet to hear anyone come up with a viable solution.

Trust me, I completely agree with you, it should’ve been a wonderful trend in the 70′s and 80′s, but hey, shit happens.

I’m excited for over $5 a gallon soon enough.

Way to be too literal and miss the joke.

We pay £1.33 per litre for diesel/£1.18 for unleaded (diesel is more eco-friendly, hence you don’t use so much, hence it costs more because they need to scam you somehow.)

So that is the equivalent of $9.95 at current exchange rates for diesel or $8.84 for unleaded.

I would *love* to pay $4 per gallon. You have no idea how lucky you are!

You overlook alternative social modes of energy use – better public transport, better telecommunications/ICT and accessible car hire for occasions specifically demanding a car journey can drastically reduce energy consumption. Not that immediately ceasing all petroleum industry growth makes any sense, but emphasis needs to be placed on the balance of individual and collective responsibilities in fuel consumption, and it should not be assumed that people can expect to use cars on a daily basis – *especially* given the global population growth you yourself cite.

Things that drive up the Demand aren’t just the same number of people the world over, and they just happen to be driving more. No, things like increased wealth, jobs, and productivity not just in your own country (presumably the US), but in the world Over.

Take just China and India…They are probably producing 2-3x the number of goods they used to. What gets the raw goods to the factories? What gets the people to their jobs? What gets the finished product to the shipping yards? To the country they’ll be sold in? To the retail stores? The people who’ll by it to the stores themselves? Each of these two countries have experienced nearly 3 fold increase in the size of their economy, and with that, HUGE increases in demand. In this light, it’s easy to understand why demand HAS gone up, and will likely continue to go up.

Now, given the above, it also stands to reason that these countries, as well as that of the US, also experience population growths as well…so while 12 years ago, the US was at 210 million, we now are at 300+ million…and our population growth is not very aggressive compared to the likes of, say…India.

Where else will demand for energy/gas grow? Of course, other Asian countries, Latin America as they move slowly to greater prosperity, and of course, at some point the next cheap labor place will be Africa, and with that increased fuel demands.

Now, it’d be nice to conserve…I do. Not only do I drive the most fuel efficient vehicle ever sold in the US (Honda Insight), but I bike as many days as my schedule allows, no small feat considering it’s 25 miles one way to the site I work most frequently. But conservation BY ITSELF cannot win because even if the US cuts back 50% of it’s demand tomorrow, normal growth ( est. a low 5% due to economic increases and population) and increases will bring us back to the same rate of consumption within 15 years. Then were will we be? With an even POORER infrastructure for delivering fuel, less known supplies, and still growing demand.

The fact is, while many whine that even if okayed to expand oil exploration tomorrow, we wouldn’t see a pay-off for 10 or more years (*although, imo, it’d strike a blow to the overinflated “futures” market that bets we’ll be worse off in the near future and is currently inflated by roughly 100% what the price SHOULD be)…we have to understand that IF we invest in alternative energies, the pay-off won’t be till MUCH longer (as much as 30+ years) AND it might not work out as we’d hope. The safe investment is STILL petrol.