the smedley log - suburban scrawl

2.699

I am not looking forward to a time when I will look back and long for the days when gas only cost 2.70 a gallon.

Ah, the good old days, when gas was less than $15 a gallon.

I still recall (from not that long ago) fretting about the price of unleaded reaching two dollars… just didn’t know what I was going to do if that happened, but now, at more than two and a half bucks a gallon, I’m developing a real taste for my next car being a Prius (which wouldn’t represent an environmental philosophy, but rather a simple desire for financial survival)

WHEN GAS CAN GO FROM 1.40 TOO 2.80 IN ONE YEAR IT SHOULD BECOME OBVIUOS THAT WE ARE FIGHTING THE WRONG PEOPLE KILL TONY THE TIGER !! OR AT LEAST LETS TAME HIS ASS

I SURE HOPE THAT LAST COMMENT DOESN,T LAND ME ON A TERRORIST WATCH LIST!!

WILL BABIES BE ABLE TO FLY AGAIN ?

I SURE HOPE THAT LAST COMMENT DOESN,T LAND ME ON A TERRORIST WATCH LIST!!

WILL MY BABY GIRLS BE ABLE TO FLY AGAIN??

As one who regularly pays about $4 per gallon in Europe, I guess it’s a matter of perspective.

I heard some commentary the other day that gas prices in the U.S. are actually not as high as they have been in the past, taking into account inflation. I checked on my handy-dandy inflation calculator, and found out that it’s true. It’s going to have to hit $6-$7 per gallon before it gets to an all-time high, in inflation-adjusted dollars.

I don’t doubt it, Tom.

But then again, I’m not pushing for all-time highs here, either. I think the relatively sudden surge in prices over the past couple (or maybe few?) years is what gives some of us this sense of sticker shock. You don’t have to go back more than a year (or slightly longer) to find a time when it cost half what it costs now to fill a tank with gas.

And we, as consumers, are all about routine here in America. And I, personally don’t like the way it’s cutting into my savings and discretionary budget.

google “peak oil”

You’ll get some apeakolyptic (heh—end-of-civilization) stuff, but you’ll also find very few people who deny that we’re somewhere near the top of production or that when (eventually) production declines that there are now ready or anywhere near as cheap alternatives. Even the major oil companies are waking up to it. A recent BP (I think) ad said something like, “One thing’s for sure, the era of easy oil is over.” And if they think that, shouldn’t we? 10 kcal of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas mostly) are burned for every 1 kcal of food we eat. Food travels on average in the US 1500 miles (5000 mi in Canada) from its source to our plates. So this is not just about prices at the pump, mpg, and heating oil… it’s about ecologically unsustainable ways of life that will have to change… one way… or another.

Have a nice day