Come On $6 per gallon gas!

Perhaps they will stop using the 9/10th of a penny then? Problem solved!

... Brad

 

Fuel of $6 per US gallon, even $10 is not only possible, it's most likely to occur before 2010. Not sure what all the whining is about. Many EU market countries have fuel prices just as high, not the end of the world

We've had a free ride for a *long* time, but it's suddenly time to start paying our dues. Get over it, deal with it, too bad so sad

Neither Americans or Canadians have a god-given or even constitutional "right" to cheap fuel. We also don't have any "right" to cheap credit, deficit spending, McMansions, or any of the other bulls*** things that go with it

What "right" did hillbillies, rednecks, and white trash have to move from the trailer park to a +$200,000 home? We're now paying - in a very real sense - for the cheap credit that funded that little social experiment. My retirement fund is healthy only due to oil futures, otherwise it would be in the red

Personally, I feel I have no obligation whatsoever to help hillbillies, rednecks, and white trash live in nice homes and have a bunch of pricey toys to play with. I worked hard for everything I have, no reason why they can't either. I absolutely refuse to participate in any sort of mortgage bailout, if they end up homeless, TFB they brought it onto themselves

The ones that whine the loudest have obviously *never* traveled outside of North America. Their entire perception of the Rest Of The World is framed by whatever flickering image is on the Boob Tube. IOW, a fantasy, a fiction.

Consider the vast proportion of the global population leads a daily scratching hunt for barely enough food to prevent starvation. Some would suggest "let them starve." Ok, but once we lose the cheap petrochemicals that allow us to have an overabundance of cheap food, we would also starve

There is also no conspiracy rigging oil production. All the neocons are ranting about this supposed endless quantity of crude in the coastal shelf zone, or in the interior. Well, if it was that cheap and that easy to extract, it would have been by now. With profits of billions per month, there is no way an environmentlist group could stop it

Reality is, the coastal shelf oil is so expensive to profile and extract, it barely breaks even with oil at $100/barrel. Consider the Hibernia field near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Canadian gov had to set up a Crown Corporation to pump billions of taxpayer dollars into that operation.

When oil was $30 a barrel, Hibernia was losing money like a drunk sailor in a bordello. If the Hibernia field was so f***ing cheap and easy to extract, why did it need a Crown Corporation and billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars to keep going, even now with record high oil prices?

Other neocons point to shale and tar sands. Consider Syncrude in Alberta, that was also a taxpayer boondoggle until a couple of years ago. Nobody wants to fess up that the cheap oil is done, over, finished

Will we run out of oil anytime soon? Nope. But we had better get used referring to $4/gal gas as "the good 'ole days."

Oh, and I also refuse to hear the "Patriotism" angle. I spent 10 years in the armed forces, as I couldn't afford to go to college when I was young. Thining back, I got a couple of college degrees out of it, but since I came close to being put into a rectangular box, we're even.

I've done my bit for King and Country, now somebody else can step up to the plate. Want cheap oil, join the Army and fight for it

Oh right, we tried that. Didn't work so well, did it?? Oops

 

What is missing from this whole discussion is that we are in Peak Everything - fuel, water, air quality, land, food, . . . With human population approaching 7 billion and the US reliant on imported oil we can only expect costs to go up. We need long-term thinking, not "how much for gasoline." PHEVs will help push the paradigm shift as we recharge from PV-assisted electricity at home and pass by "gas" stations. Emphasis on walking and bicycle routes, electric light and high speed rail will further push the shift. Super energy efficient buildings (schools, businesses, churches & homes) that are climate appropriate and based on renewables (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal) will help push the shift. Complaining about things now and not thinking long-term or holistically does not help individuals or communities.

We continuously put our money where are mouths are. Our home has an Energy Efficiency Index of 1.0 for the last 18 years. We have a large organic, french-intensive garden. Our utility bill (gas and electricity) has averaged less than $30 month for the last 18 years. There are no magic tricks - just look for and work with constructive alternatives and strive for efficiency.

 

Take a look at High gas prices threaten to shut down rural towns - USATODAY.com where the local store is paying $5 per hour to run the generator as there is no local utilities. Yes, maybe solar would work, if you have the money and the space to put it. The owner isn't even driving and still having a problem with the high cost of gas (to say nothing about the cost of items delivered to the store because of the cost of fuel).

As for the 4 miles, do you mean that most people live within 4 miles of their jobs? If so, take a look at US Census Press Releases to see the average commute times. If you mean that once you arrive at work, most people stay within 4 miles, that may be true. BTW, I live 18 miles from work and the local bus service would add 2 hours to the commute each way. When I started the job, it was only 5 miles, but they moved. I'll agree that some car choices aren't based on a need so a smaller vehicle would do them just as well.

Yeah, until they say, "Hey, let's sell by the half gallon."

 

They will make it fit, they managed it here when the price went over 99.9c per litre and they did it there when gas went over 99.9c per gallon