Actually -- the last year has shown one of the smallest increase in gas consumption in the US in a long time.

 

Chavez: US Attack on Iran Will Spike Oil - AOL News -More good news!! (not)

 

This topic is good and bad.

What's good about it?
We have people here describe what could/should/would/might happen to the world.
We are not going to change our life style in terms of driving. Hybrids or not, they use gas just like everyone else. We might fill up less over time but we still fill up. We need to take action about our fuel usage in general.

We could criticize the person in front of us at McDonald's for ordering a super sized meal with a diet coke but what are we doing?? We are at McDonald's also...... we might not get a super sized meal with a diet coke but we are still there.


What's bad about it?
We assume that our view is the best for everyone. Just like any other group out there that wants to push their view on us...

 

My NAPA parts supplier (parts store) came by today and wanted to know if I thought an FEH might help with their fuel use. Seems they are now using $5000 to $6000 a month in fuel with their 8 pickup truck fleet. we guessed they were averaging about 14 mpg. I showed them my average tank for the last 18 tanks. His jaw dropped. I said even if they only got 26 mpg would save they a bunch. I suggested that when they purchase their next delivery vehicle they buy a plain white Ford Escape Hybrid and see how it does.

 

Yeah I truly don't believe you will be seeing For Sale signs on hummers. We are the ones who will be affected most. If we are driving Hybrids it's because 1) We want to save money and 2) Save the earth of course.

I fear for the oneswho still drive 24MPG vehicles and think they are getting good gas mileage, they are in for a shock.

 

Does anyone know why gas is not sky high like in europe and other countrys?

 

Their taxes are sky high.

 

Yep, and they tax petrol at an outrageous rate, mostly to encourage less driving, and thinking more about alternatives.

 

I am sorry, I resent what you say in your blanket statement about people of affluent stature. These "people" you speak about are being paid very well to run what some may consider non-essential jobs. But at the same time people of affluent stature continuously give to charities and do more for a community than middle-class or lower income class citizens...

Yes it may sound to you as just another publicity stunt but at least the stunt has some bite to it. It seems the only thing lower income and some middle-class people can do is picket and complain.

Sorry but generalizing a class of people is not correct. People are allowed to choose what they want to do with their money in this country. If that right is taken away from people we will be no better then other countries we are currently at war with. For a more intellectual discussion, let's not focus on what others might do. What will you do? All of us still use gas to fill our tanks, it will also effect us to.

If prices went up to $10.00 a gallon, your 10 gallon tank will cost $100.00. If you commute is long and you fill up every week that will be about $450.00 a month in gas. Yeah the guy next to you might cost more, but we can't worry about him/her. We need to worry about self. For some of us that is a major impact going from maybe $30.00 a week to $100.00.

We are all part of the problem and solution.

Thank you

 

Regarding the oil companies and known oil reserves, I think that part of the reason for their recent commentary is that the oil company stock price is based, in part, on known proven oil reserves; the quality of these reserves effects investor confidence in the future of the oil business. So naturally, they will spin it such that petroleum prices are driven higher, while they maintain their stock price. And, there's simple supply and demand.

But the concept of 'peak oil' is a fact. True, we don't know what we don't know, meaning that the probability of undiscovered oil reserves is somewhere between zero and one. But even with known, near-exhausted oil fields, when the energy required to extract and refine these difficult fields is equal to or exceeds the amount of energy contained in the extracted oil, then it's a no-win situation, and these fields are left untapped. The same is true with other difficult to extract sources of energy, such as tar sands; there's got to be a net energy gain in the entire process for it to be an energy 'source'.

So what happens when the oil runs out? Well, before that happens, the super-powers jockey for control of the remaining world's oil supply. Which is what we're seeing now in geopolitics. After that, all bets are off. Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to what it'll be like to alter one's lifestyle to pre-1820's?

~Joe