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Americans Rejoice At Lower Gas Prices
HughPickens.com writes Drivers across America are rejoicing at falling gasoline prices as pumps across the country dip below $3 a gallon. According to Sharon E. Burke while it's nice to get the break at the gas pump and the economic benefits of an energy boom at home, the national security price of oil remains high and the United States should be doing everything it can to diversify global energy suppliers. Ultimately, the only way to solve our long term energy problem is to make a sustained, long-term investment in the alternatives to petroleum. But October saw a 52 percent jump in Jeep SUV sales and a 36 percent rise in Ram trucks while some hybrid and electric vehicle sales fell at the same time. "This is like putting a Big Mac in front of people who need to diet or watch their cholesterol," says Anthony Perl. "Some people might have the willpower to stick with their program, and some people will wait until their first heart attack before committing to a diet—but if we do that at a planetary scale it will be pretty traumatic."
Nicholas St. Fleur writes at The Atlantic that low oil prices may also undermine the message from the UN's climate panel. The price drop comes after the UN declared earlier this week that fossil fuel emissions must drop to zero by the end of the century in order to keep global temperatures in check. "I don't think people will see the urgency of dealing with fossil fuels today," says Perl. Falling oil prices may also deter businesses from switching to energy-saving technology, as a 2006 study in the Energy Journal suggested. Saving several pennies at the pump, Perl says, may tempt Americans away from actions that can lead to a sustainable, post-carbon future.
Nicholas St. Fleur writes at The Atlantic that low oil prices may also undermine the message from the UN's climate panel. The price drop comes after the UN declared earlier this week that fossil fuel emissions must drop to zero by the end of the century in order to keep global temperatures in check. "I don't think people will see the urgency of dealing with fossil fuels today," says Perl. Falling oil prices may also deter businesses from switching to energy-saving technology, as a 2006 study in the Energy Journal suggested. Saving several pennies at the pump, Perl says, may tempt Americans away from actions that can lead to a sustainable, post-carbon future.
In UK, the gas taxes pay for the roads. In the USA, gas taxes cover less than half, with the rest coming out of general taxes. And the US has about four times the length of road per capita than the UK does. It is not that UK gas taxes are low, it is that US separates tax source from target to avoid discouraging driving. Remember, what's good for GM is good for America.
No, in the UK, the petrol taxes go into a large pool of money called the treasury, which is used to fund all the things the country does. This is true of pretty much all national taxes. The same is notably true of "Vehicle Excise Duty" (note, *not* road tax), which contrary to popular belief, does not give you more right to use a road than someone who hasn't paid VED, nor does it mean that you have "paid for the road".
You realise that this is pretty much exactly the policy that most of the prosperous areas of Europe use, right? This is why US fuel costs about 2/5 of what UK/French/German fuel costs.
2 minor nits.
1. Hummers are no long being made.
2. Most F-150s are sold as work trucks. Also, F-150 is one of the more efficient work trucks out there.
Yes, it's true. We are currently producing more oil than Saudi Arabia! But we are far from being independent.
We need to do several things to be truly energy independent:
1. Set standards on gasoline, there are way too many formulas that vary state to state
2. Determine how many refineries we need (haven't built any new refineries for 30+ years).
3. Determine the best locations for the refineries (logistics of incoming raw crude and outgoing fuels)
4. Free up government land for oil drilling and fracking
5. Build pipelines to transport oil cheaply (XL Pipeline needs to happen, Canada is a huge ally and trust worthy)
6. Stop the Greens agenda, the Caribou won't be bothered by oil drilling in Alaska, that's just silly (saw video, hundreds of square miles of nothing but tundra)
6a. Hey, Caribou tastes real good and it's fully of Omega 3's and low in fat. Setup a nomadic ranch herding permit system and let's start selling MacBou Burgers!
7. Oil and Energy Independence needs to be considered a matter of National Security and as such should trump saving the Spotted Squirrel or any other endangered species that really wouldn't be impacted in reality!
There is no reason we shouldn't be paying $1.25 per gallon for gasoline. Don't give me that electric car bullshit either. You're charging you car using energy from coal so you ain't doing any favors using a toy battery car. Also those batteries are bad for the environment and will have to be recycled properly and that's expensive. Build more nuclear power plants. Wind and Solar don't work, at least not at the scale we really need not to mention they both kill birds! We have lots and lots of oil and coal and natural gas resources. More than we ever thought we had years ago. There are even more resources under the polar caps. There is no shortage and there won't be for hundreds of years. By then we should have figured out fusion and then the problems are truly solved.
Next time try a front wheel drive with decent tires. Safer and better than a 4wd in anything other than steep / deep (ie, on roads).
4WD vehicles have this funny habit of breaking all four tires loose at the same time. Front wheel drive vehicles tend to break the rear tires first, allowing you to control the vehicle with the fronts. Anyhow, it's mostly tires and driver.
4WD SUVs are fun to watch flip over. The combination of an icy road, a 4WD, a bad driver, some speed and the laws of physics can be pretty entertaining.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
A price drop on an item isn't deflation. Deflation is a general drop in price across all goods, indicating your currency is becoming worth more. When your currency starts increasing in value, people stop trying to spend it and start shoving it under the mattress to wait for it to become worth more. That is bad.
More precisely, they tend to do less productive work while trying to live more off of the appreciating value of the currency. Since the economy is based on people being productive, this behavior tends to tank the economy. Like trying to save gas by shutting off the engine of a car when it hits a downhill grade. If the engine can be restarted instantly the moment the downhill is over, it can be a good strategy. But the "engine" that is the world economy can take months or years to "restart" and "rev up" back to speed. Nowhere near fast enough to respond effectively, and you end up with a stalled car at the bottom of the hill. So in the long-term, deflation is bad.
The way to adapt is by retiring the internal combustion engine.
People driving around in cars is only a tiny part of it. You could stop everyone from driving a petroleum fueled car right now, and it would make little or no difference. Heavy industry, HVAC in homes and businesses - that's what does it. The solution is nukes or one form or another. Solar and wind can't put a dent in it, and China's not going to stop putting a new coal-fired power plant online EVERY WEEK any time soon. Cars have got almost nothing to do with it.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.