I believe all those other countries are A LOT smaller than the U.S., which would make a difference in fuel consumption.

Our infrastucture has been built upon cheap fuel. Our cities are more spread out. Love or hate it, that’s just the way it is.

United States 68.81
European Union 29.70
Japan 42.01
Switzerland 34.64
France 32.43
Germany 32.31
United Kingdom 30.18

Now, I have lived many years in each of these countries and feel that the standard of living is VERY similar in all of them.

Can anybody come up with a GOOD explanation why the US “needs” twice as much oil than others? Remember, this is per capita.

If the US would use the same amount as others, it would be energy independent

rg

1) Airlines cutting back on Flights, and less people traveling via Air. (Airlines use a HUGE amount of Fuel) – Anyone remember after 9/11 when the Airlines were not able to fly, Gas could be found at many stations for .75cents a Gallon.

2) My SUV to Car Ratio – (ok just general observation during Lunch time) – I used to see 5 SUV’s/VAN’s for every car during Lunch. Now I see 3 Cars for Every SUV. People are making Changes.

3) Despite Experts stating that we are still driving this Weekend, I am seeing that People are not driving far, and that they have changed their Plans. North Carolina Coastal Communities normally have many New Yorkers down at this time. According to Friends who work the Restaurants there in NC, they are at best 20% of normal.

All of these things add up to change, and while it will take a while to be reflected in the price of oil, it will happen. The Technicals on the chart already show overbought conditions, and a Topping in the chart parterns.

This is only a short term thing right now, but we still need to get off Oil, and make a move to Energy independence. Solar, Wind and Hybrids really need to researched and moved forward. Electric Vehicles that have the same range as a normal car are needed. I truly believe until we can resolve the Energy Equation that we will not be moving forward as a Country.

Also, our Government has done little to nothing to try to resolve this problem. We really need to vote all the current Congressmen and Women out of office, and get people in there who are not Power Hungry. Our Government no longer cares about the people. Just about Power for themselves.

Public transit in that scenario would be a nightmare: people crowding the buses and subways like rats. People would probably start sharing rides en masse too. We might also have a small problem with riots in major cities and a shut-down of commerce in general. An interesting future.

I’m sure new energy sources for vehicles will continue to come up. However, there is a growing focus on changing how we develop the land, and this will probably have a bigger impact in the long run. (To add to the alarmists, there are folks, The Atlantic Magazine, who say that modern suburbs nto near town centers will be the next slums by 2025, and there may be a 40% surplus of housing.)

Although you may have access to public transportation, a lot of people do not. It would be extremely difficult for me and my wife to get our family of five to all the places they need to be by using public transportation.

I’m not making excuses for people but our entire infastructure is built on cheap energy prices. Yes, people have gone overboard with their giant SUVs and massive pickup trucks, but for the most part people are trying to make good choices.

I think it is great what you are doing but I think it is unrealistic to expect everyone else to do the same until all cities have adequate transportation.

I’m hoping it won’t ever get to that point.

I also think if you were to graph prices on a chart, you’d be able to see the start of an exponential curve upward. Meaning that I think it’ll rise faster than we think.

I also think that it’s an excuse to say that Europe doesn’t have the distances we do in the US, hence we need cars whereas they are able to manage getting by on public transportation. We simply need to get over that mindset. We need to wake up and realize that we must come up with workable public transportation solutions to seriously curtail our dependence on cars. The better and faster we do that, the longer we’ll be able to have cars at all.

I for one, am not willing to see some absolutely beautiful Colorado wilderness (my state) or other wilderness destroyed just so a bunch of selfish Americans can keep driving gas-guzzling cars like its a birthright. Because that’s the sort of recovery operations we’re starting to face — ones that are destructive to beautiful places, not just some barren patch of the plains or desert.

I already put my money where my mouth is. I consume only a single tank (11.5 gallons) of gas a month, by limiting my driving. My city (Denver) has excellent public transportation and I make use of it on a daily basis to reduce my consumption of gasoline.

For instance, from what I recall, a monthly subway/bus pass in NYC is somewhere around 80-90 dollars. In London, depending on what zones you’re traveling from on the tube, you’re looking at somewhere around 10-30 BP per week (20-60 USD). Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t been to NYC or London in a few years, so I don’t know if things have changed.

But just as a comparison, I commute around 300 miles in my car each week. Even at $4/gal and my current MPG, I spend around 40-45 dollars a week for fuel. That is a bit more than what I’d pay for a monthly pass on the NYC subway, and possibly less than to get to and from work on London mass transit.

But, the best part is, my property taxes are almost nothing, I have a splendid view of a lake, and a nice lawn and garden that I couldn’t dream of having for the same cost as a similar place in a suburb of a major metro area.

So sure, living in NYC, London, LA, or any other major metro area, you may not need to drive a lot, or even need a car, but you’re going to more than pay for it in both the cost of public transportation, and obviously the cost of living itself.

It all evens out. If you are forced to drive a lot because you live far from your work in a city, chances are the extra you’re paying in gas would be offset equally, if not more by the costs associated with living closer to work. It is all a matter of balance and what you value. Some people dig living right in the heart of the action and pay a high price in terms of rent and constant use of public transportation, whereas others value the more secluded residence while spending more money driving to and from that location for work and entertainment. Pick your poison, because either way, you’re probably overspending on something for your decision.