When I read about american gas prices and how everyone whines about them I get strong urge to strangle nearest Yank.

hint: take a look at european gas prices.

 

Yeah, if only Bush and Haliburton weren't stifling the alternative energy industry...

 

International gas prices have been discussed in the past, (Note the SF price then, from January of this year, is now around $.80 in the past.) and yes it costs more most places in the world. But most places in the world have viable public transportation systems that enormously outclass the US's.

Also, why would you be angry with Americans? It's not as if our good buddies in the Middle East sell us gas cheaper than they sell everyone else gas; Hugo Chavez to Cuba style. Gas at the pump is so more expensive in Europe since the various European governments have slapped huge taxes on it, taxes that theoretically to pay for some of those nifty trains and buses and trolleys that make it possible for most Europeans to live a normal life without driving 80 miles a day, as so many Americans have to with our infrastructure entirely (and foolishly) designed around automobiles.

 

"Also, why would you be angry with Americans?"

Perhaps because your foolish reliance on automobiles and constant caving to corporations only out to make a profit (your MPG standards are absolutely appalling and really just a sad joke) has resulted in your countrythat contains 5% of the world's population using 25% of the world's oil. Sure, you're paying for it, but that's not much consolation when there's none left because of your profligate "non-negotiable" way of life has squandered it all for shits and giggles.

 

Wikipedia page with interesting statistics on oil consumption. By GNP/oil, the US is nowhere near the top. Yes, the US consumes and imports the most oil, but the US produces so much that per barrel, we're way down that list, getting more bang for the barrel than most of Europe, Canada, and others. Neither does the US rank amongst the nations that import more than 90% of their oil, but that's a largely meaningless figure, since it's just technology/resources and a country can't really help not having petroleum resources in the ground.

None of this addresses the real issue though, in terms of how much less oil could the US import with higher car economy requirements, more investment in solar and wind and other renewable sources, etc, instead of hysterical arguments about drilling in ANWAR like a junkie scrabbling through the couch cushions for loose change, instead of facing up to the real problems.

This post summed up things pretty well, I thought.

"It just feels sad to think about how long it’s been since it became obvious to anyone who cared to look that we won’t be able to scare off problems like fuel scarcity and climate change by closing our eyes and wishing.

That lead time was an opportunity to make changes. Some would have been painful and some merely sensible, but it would prevent huge numbers of honest Americans get caught with their pants down. Instead we blew it out the tailpipe of cars that average 15 MPG. Now, instead of a planned transition, we get to see what happens when stubborn denial meets inescapable change. It’s simply unsustainable to live in suburban car country with a negative equity on the house, $6-7 gas (wait until you see what that does to property values in outlying suburbs) and expensive SUVs that nobody wants. The saddest thing for me was that most who will get fucked the worst had no idea this was coming. There was that one guy who warned us, but he had a snooty laugh."

 

The car-centric lifestyle is not an unsustainable one. All we need is a battery with a high enough output to power the penis-inflating acceleration that we fat, disgusting and self centered Americans can't live without. Which, BTW, we already have. It just needs to catch on and get implemented into the development cycles of major car manufacturers. Plus a more efficient storage medium would help.

That and a few hundred thousand acres of wind farms (Kennedy's coastline is only a year or two away!) and we'll have a perfectly green car-centric economy.

PS: We saved yer asses in WWII, Europe, so I'd show a little more RESPECT if I were you!

 

Good luck finding all the lithium for the battery packs that you need to power all those cars.

 

Like I said, a more efficient storage medium would help. I know it's a long shot what with the utter stagnation of technology (I have to wait like 6 frickin' months to get a significant upgrade to my computer, for Chrissake!), but we'll come up with something EVENTUALLY. Heck, methinks there are already promising energy storage technologies out there. Can't recall any of them at the moment, though.

 

I think the boat in this case is in fact the environment in general and not the US (or global) economy. The economy will recover, the environment may not before it is too late.