Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

Off shore drilling passes U.S. House The ban would have expired later this month anyway. This puts a ban on drilling from 100 miles in unless the states agree then drilling can occur from 100 to 50 miles in. However, this bill also eliminates the royalties that have been paid to the states. This bill keeps 90% of our oil off limits. This bill does is just another ban.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7620282.stm Drill, baby, drill That reminds me, I have a dentist appointment coming up...

You know, I wonder if these people have a similar approach to dental care. Why brush and floss every day when the dentist can just Drill! Drill! Drill! The "drill baby drill" clenched it for me last night. I was an undecided voter until that moment. When I saw the bloodthirsty (I mean "oil-thirsty") grins on everyone's faces and realized how selfish the Republican Party is (collective stereotype, I know...), I knew there was no other choice. Despite the fact that the Obama/Biden ticket is far from perfect, it's a helluva lot better than entering into this oil-thirsty, damn-everyone-else-to-hell, we're-taking-what-we-need mentality.

Honestly, I'm very sad for our country. We have become Ugly Americans. Wow - I didn't watch the RNC last night (had the 1st CX race of the season and lots of pizza afterward). I'm sort of glad I missed it, because after seeing the 'drill bit' and McCain's speech to night, I'm not in the mood for more of the same. There are a couple of things I wanted to say on this. The first is obvious - the idea that drilling is going to solve anything is nuts. The second is that I REALLY wish everyone would stop using Pickens as THE example of an "enlightened" oilman. His only interest in wind is the fact that he's combining his proposed windfarm with a proposed water pipeline and stands to be an even more wealthy man after all the deals go through. His clear intent is to use support for the windfarm transmission lines to acquire necessary control over the land that he wants to run the water lines on.

I have felt, and continue to, that the solution to home power (the oil/gas/vehicle fuel issue is a different story and wind has 0 to do with it except as a way to charge electric cars) is the expansion of single-home based alternatives like solar and the nifty new mini turbine spheres I saw the other day. As long as we are tied to the antiquated transmission system and massive grid there will be large power plants, which means coal, nuc, and dams. I'm not thrilled about the Pickens Plan myself, but I used it because he's the type of guy who the "Drill Baby Drill" people might listen to.

Pickens himself says he's not opposed to more drilling, but at least he's realistic in saying it won't do much. Here is my video mash up version of drill, baby, drill!

I hope you will enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o0iJDA7_lY Georgia on my mind Hey. Don't mean to be an ass, but get your facts straight.

Georgia started this.

Russia only retaliated, please check the facts beyond what the mainstream media says. It is all about oil and taking advantage of motorized addictions. The Western world will display other weaknesses as this develops.
Jack I've read a lot of analysis on this, but haven't drawn any conclusions yet as to the root cause. Thanks for mentioning the topic. It has been anticipated for months. Europe will not go against Russia because they get so much energy from that area.

America has nothing to offer. We are all stretched out occupying the Middle East.

Putin despises Saakashvili, and wont rest till Saakashvili is ousted or assinated. So... deuxcolors says get "facts straight" but... I didn't see any facts in the comment. It was all opinion. Pipelines would seem to be facts to me. So... reckon mr. deux succeeded in being what he "didn't mean" to be.
I hadn't thought of this in terms of the "oil war" connection but there's a lot of sense to it.
I'm feeling snug as a bug in a rug with my relative independence from fossil fuels. I"m going to have to use some heat in the house, but I'm good with sweaters.
However, it seems the world around me could pretty much crumble. Okay, so far it's teh world around a few million other people that is blowing up ... but there isn't really good insulation from that... eventually... Nikadimus, please re-read the article. There are multiple factors involved, but the one I'm bringing out in this article was U.S. and European oil politics and paranoia against Russia. Paris Hilton's energy policy ...re: "paris hilton's energy policy"...

...'that's hot'... Gotta give her credit for this one even though the policies won't produce any short term solutions.
Smart response in a political climate that still favors cars over people, great laughs.
Jack Hope you all didn't click on that fake "cnn08" video -- there's a trojan horse / virus on that site. It's not really CNN but a fake. 21.6% inflation Well, if you're going to be optimistic about increased bicycle facilities & mass transit.. can't we also be optimistic about energy independence?

After all, oil is STILL finite whether there's more in Alaska or not. Drilling would just be putting a band-aid on a band-aid. & heck, even Iran is running on duel-fuel cars that take gasoline or natural gas. Their goal is to not need gasoline anymore. Oh, and the Brazilians are all over ethanol. The Chinese are going methanol. Are we going to be left behind licking the bottom of the barrel while other countries go on untouched?

When we wanted to go to the moon, we had 10 years to create the technology and lots of political will to back it. Now we HAVE the technology.. but where's the political will?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303250.html I agree the HSR bond issue has a pretty good chance of passing in Nov.

But do you think we'll actually get a working railway out of it?

I fear a statewide version of BART-to-SJ :( Hey if your crystal ball is so clear I need to borrow it. The markets are getting crazy and even your backyard BankAmerica is trading at prices not seen since W was first elected in 2000. What's the stock's bottom price in this selloff and where will it be 3 years from now?

Thanks, I could use some help,
Jack

PS. AsT Boone explains, "we cannot drill our way out of this problem". T Boone, indeed... (shudder.)

When we wanted to go to the moon, our "leadership" wasn't quite as thoroughly corrupt as it is now, I don't believe.
It takes leadership to inspire people to do that odd thing of working together and sacrificing; without it the "each man for himself" stuff takes over and then we have "nothing to fear but fear itself" - which is, alas, something worthy of fear.

Part of me wonders wehther there isn't *some* way to surprise people into discovering that we no, honestly, really DO NOT have to be this dependent!!! (like having us actually survive a few days without gasoline...) Benefits of higher gasoline prices your WSJ link actually links to the LA Times article....

Once fixed feel free to delete this post! Thanks for that, Anon. Fixed now. That's what I get for writing blog posts on the bus! "...dropping the speed limit as part of the debate on an energy policy."
Does that mean lowering the speed limit as part of the debate, or does that mean not including the speed limit in the debate on an energy policy? Ah, now that I have the correct link, I see that it was the former: that the senator was in favor of lowering the national speed limit. I can see strong opposition to that, but not, obviously, from those of us who average under 20 mph. Warner (who is retiring and doesn't need to worry about re-election) wants to look at lowering the speed limit. You're right that "dropping" is confusing. T. Boone Pickens plan to reduce oil use I like what Ive seen of him, you can go to his website. If you want to know more. Kind of reminds me of another oil man, who ran for president. Could Pickens have presidential asperations>? http://www.tboonpickens.com Pickens is a straight shooter, and unlike a certain other oilman politician, Pickens has long called for a national energy policy. Pickens has been involved in politics for a while. He was a significant funder of the "Swift Boat Veterans" smear campaign in the last election.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/11/kerry_takes_pickens_1_million_swift_boat_bet/ ...t.boone pickens is an intelligent & straight enough shooter to pay attention to, especially regarding energy sources & consumption...re: the swift boat thing...he's also smart enough to know which side his 'bread' is buttered on & therefore supported the party that was gonna be easiest on his personal wealth...fair ???, not really, but that is big money american politics...

...omg, fritz...that foto is worth a thousand words as an appropriate metaphor in so many ways...here comes the future, "rollin' on down the line"...& i'll bet you were just tryin' for 'funny', huh ???...

...good luck on that 'metro express' issue...you'd hope they'd understand it as regards the regulars who've been doing the bike/ bus thing for a while now...you guys should be "grandfathered" in, especially considering the crunch that everyone is feeling these days... Boone makes the easy money as oil prices rise but cares more about our country than just making additional American pesos.

He is one of a rapidly growing list of business leaders who readily admit that our culture has to change if we want our future to be prosperous. As an oil man he readily states that "we cannot drill our way out of this problem".

The largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world has begun but most Americans prefer to ignore the obvious as they continue to drive large SUVs and other fuel inefficient vehicles.
Jack There is a public Forum for discussions about Pickens plan :
www.pickensenergyplan.com
Cheers. Please to post the notes on the SVBC meeting. The statements on the SVBC mailing list from the SVBC board (of course Celia remains silent) are laughable. Mexico gas tourism Export Land Model Please remember to Stumble, Digg, etc if you believe this article is helpful or worthwhile. The upshot is that countries like the US are transferring their wealth to ExportLands.

Some ExportLands with spend this money frivolously (like burning it up powering SUV's and private jets), and most people there will be no better off than us when the oil runs out--others are going to invest it and actually improve their long term economic prospects at our expense (literally and figuratively)! some will unfortunately spend it on armaments... Exportland will also waste fuel but it is their resources to begin with and we've been wasting it for decades.

But also look at what they are doing for alternatives:’Developing Bicycle Paths in Doha, Qatar; A Plan to Promote Use of the Planned Bicycle Path in Doha’...with particular reference to the training and promotion of cycling to Muslim women.

Now that's a cycling path!
http://www.velomondial.net/page_display.asp?pid=32

Jack ..."some will unfortunately spend it on armaments"...so murphstahoe, that means there is a 50% or better chance that it will come back to our economy... My Dad lives in Dubai. They have a big AC culture there, or else you can't survive.

Boy, you've got to take a look at how lavishly people live there. Dubai is basically a Las Vegas multiplied by 2.

He tells me the price of everything is increasing out there, from food to clothing to rent of apartment. Low income immigrants are actually fleeing the country. But perhaps a good side is that there are virtually no income taxes, so you can make as much money as you want and no one will ask you any questions. I think an indoor ski resort in the middle of a desert defines "lavish" pretty well. :-) Even Iran -- the world's fourth largest oil producer -- is expected to become a net importer in a few years.

Gee, maybe Iran should start a nuclear power generation program! Rockefellers: Change crucial for future of Exxon Entrenched companies don't generally fare well through technological shifts, even when they try.

None of the old builders of steam locomotives survived the transition to diesel, for example.

So don't expect oil companies to lead the way to the post-petroleum world, or even to survive it! I would add this from the WSJ: If the Rockefellers are willing to stand up and be counted,maybe the Ford Foundation would, maybe Harvard College would." The proposal has been gaining support. In 2003, it drew 21.5% of shareholder votes, and it won about 40% last year.

Getting public policy to change will be highly influenced by corporate strategies...especially by those who are very dependent on the status quo.

The transition will be painful, even for entrenched companies, just look at the Big 3 who stayed alive via trucks-SUVs and outdated regulation.
Jack ...well, it behooves high profile "name" families like the rockefellers to show a civic minded 'footprint' in this, the day & age of 'green'...

...& certain oil companies are now expressing their concerns or interests, through various forms of advertising media regarding "alternative" methods, but again it serves their own best interests regarding public image & future profits while mollifying a younger crowd maturing into a world that they see as needing environmental attention...

...295bus...i think you've drawn both a good & bad analogy re: steam locomotives to diesel...companies are structured differently in this the day of the 'mega-corp' w/ whole departments devoted to analyzing & assessing any direction needed to maintain profit margins...but budget departments won't allow shifts until a maximizing can be assured...
...there are now opportunities for smaller energy companies to make a mark but i believe ultimately they'll get bought up by the big present interests...

...i could be wrong but i think it'll be the same old, same old, even if it's re-badged & brought to the table on a bed of 'greens'... Interesting thought about entrenched companies. The one that comes to mind for me is Schwinn -- they owned the bike market but flamed out miserably with nascent globalization in the 1970s. Note the fortunes of World Without Oil ARG; turned into lesson plans that teachers are using in public schools. http://worldwithoutoil.org/metateachers.htm
and still winning web awards a year after the event: http://beta.flowgram.com/f/p.html#AH8AFH7JHGIFK2

We are living through the last throes of a mad dog dying. Just as the Climate Change voices are finding credibility, so too are the Peak Oil 'prophets' Drop the Federal gas tax and watch Big Oil profits GROW Massachusetts is on the verge of increasing the tax by fifty cents per gallon, to help pay for road and bridge work.

The state also recentyl passed a one dollar tax increase on every pack of cigaretts to pay for state health care. I thought Big Mac was concerned with national security?
Jack Gas prices here in Minneapolis jumped a whopping $0.23 - $0.28 from Wednesday to Thursday. No one complains.

Minnesota decides to raise the gas tax $.08 gradually throughout the year and the usual suspects wail and moan like their having their livers removed.

The next time someone says "Somebody ought to do something about the price of gas," I'll reply with, "Yeah, and somebody ought to do something about me being fat." Gas prices are astronomical in New Jersey now, last night I had to fill up at $3.259 per gallon! It scares me that these guys have so much power. Some of 'em can't see what they're doing, but it's gotten so lots of 'em do, and know they just don't have to care. Oh, and of course, we'll stop fixing the roads 'cause we can't afford it... what else will we cut? Certainly not anything that would hurt our leaders... ...good informative article, fritz & as you know, northern california regularly leads the nation in high gas prices...

...price the stuff at euro cost & watch some real whining ensue... bgw -

That's this (or any other) administration's greatest nightmare. The only reason that we aren't papering our houses with $100 bills is because oil is sold in US$. If OPEC ever decided that it was to sell oil in Euros or Yuan, the american economy would collapse. The gas tax would not cause a change in the supply of oil. There may be a slightly larger demand, but demand by Americans has not increased at a rate that calls for a 2$ price diff per gallon in 10 years, so I doubt it would change that much over a few weeks. The demand for gasoline has not decreased enough over the last few months we have had really high prices, so based on the elasticity of the market, there is not much growth available.
Also, the gas you pump has long been pumped, processed, refined, etc. before it will see your tank, so the supply argument is shot.
Oil is also traded as a commodity, which also greatly changes how the supply and demand chain works.
The only way to see real negative change in the pockets of the oil companies is to reduce the amount of their product you use. As long as we continue to use our automobiles in the fashion that we do, the oil companies will continue to increase profits.
I also think that McCain’s idea has an equal chance to the snowball I left on my running engine. I think gas has doubled during the time crude has doubled. I haven't checked price history but that's the way it seems. The cost of refining shouldn't have changed much. Delivery only costs a little more. It seems like the rest of the price increase has gone somewhere other than to the Saudis. This would be no different. You have a very good website with lots of information, I like it very much. Keep up the good work!!! You can blog in the language of your country to read if you Google Language Tools germany> Their language at home the link http://www.rentner-haben-keine-zeit.de
Please read by clicking the Google ads. Anon 9:17 -- crude oil is a worldwide commodity. You're correct that U.S. demand has remained monstly constant over the past two years, but worldwide demand has shot up as India, China and other developing economies build up their infrastructure and benefit from globalization. In the meantime, global supply has remained almost constant -- worldwide oil production remains at about 85 million barrels per day.

Demand pressures have increased while supply remains constant = big price increases. Well as a nice young man living in Iceland (a little island in the middle of the Atlantic and a part of Europe) we have some nice prices going on concerning gas, we pay no less than $8 for petrol and no less than $8.3 for diesel. I really wish I could get your $3-4 for the gallon, I'd think I would have won the lottery. Energy Wasting Day viral video They tried to hard. The only things truly funny in the video were the T-shirts. Gasoline elasticity Saw your recent flickr picture of the price of gas there. Yikes! Even though it's "only" around $3.15 here (regular), I find myself taking the price of gas into consideration more often when I plan a trip. It's now cheaper to take the train round trip to Chicago than drive in, and that's without figuring in parking. Whereas living in Portland may cause me to be a bit skewed, it's definitely heartening to see shops like Clever Cycles doing well, and companies like Civia, Swobo, and Kind Cycles popping up with solid commuter-focused offerings for the US. It's going to take a while to change the mindset from recreation to transportation, but it will happen eventually. Really there's no other option. ..."...is because of choices we made a decade ago about transportation & housing development, when resources were cheap"...

...a simple but good point to bring up in an excellent post, today...

...it's that kind of thinking, that kind of mindset that obviously has to be replaced w/ longer range intelligent forecasting...

...our self limiting ability to look into the future because we're enjoying the 'now' may be our downfall... A good deal of the blame of why Americans don't ride bikes lies on the heads of the bike manufacturers. When people were actually interested in biking while Lance was winning TdFs, what did they sell? Racing bikes and that's all you got except for MTBs. Racing bikes are good for racing but not much else.

Instead of looking at the interest and seeing what people wanted, Big Bike wanted to sell inappropriate bikes to novice bikers. It's funny to see the bike press wet themselves over the utility bikes at the NAHBS because these have been around for a while. It's just that wasn't cool enough, sexy enough for them to get excited about. Perhaps Trek and the rest will finally get the hint that US riders need bikes that work just like bikers everywhere else around the world.

Perhaps they'll get it this time. Thanks for the comments, all. I had Bro Yam's similar post flagged but forgot to include it in my article (which I'll do in a moment).

When gas is cheap, it's easy to go wild and have fun, so I can't say I really blame people. There but for the grace of God...

Indeed it's good to see commuter bikes getting some attention. I'm one of those excited about these new bikes because they're what I've always wanted :-) I don't know if the bike industry is really to blame -- they built what they thought customers would buy. Yeah, Fritz, in your spare time would you please get on that NAHBS City Bikes write-up??? Elasticity argument notwithstanding, the skyrocketing oil barrel is also inversely proportional to the descent of the dollar in sub-toilet paper values. I am afraid the black gold producers like to be paid in real currencies. This is absolutely obvious, but few in the US seem to notice it. ...i'd have to side more w/ fritz than brother yam in regard to the industry & it's conceptualizing...

...you spend all your capital building what you want or think people should buy & it will sit on the floor unsold...it's a delicate balance of educating, prodding, paying close attention to both needs & trends...

...there are people better versed than i, on this site, who might explain it but the bottom line right now is: commuting by bike is bigger within the industry than perhaps ever before...& it's a win/ win situation for the customers... Nansen Saleri writes an opinion piece for the WSJ titled "The World Has Plenty of Oil" and it is one of the most popular emailed articles.

OPEC Prez Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he called "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy...There is sufficient supply. There's plenty of oil there."

W complains "I think it's a mistake to have your biggest customers' economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices."

Meanwhile oil is up $4.98 per barrel today, another new high.

Somebody is wrong...

Jack If gas consumption is shrinking, I'm still not sure it's about demand elasticity, or even really economics.

The fact is, gas is a small enough part of the cost of driving that going from $3 to $4 per gallon doesn't raise the whole cost that much.

Of course, it's the cost that people are most aware of paying.

Maybe it's actually a combination of trying to save money and (gasp!) idealism.

Or maybe people are just trying to start making adjustments now so they'll be able to deal with life when gas gets to $10! Sheyrl Crow - Gasoline ...ah, sheyrl...sweet, soulful as ever & bringin' it home...
...you'll always have it, babe... Too bad she confuses Brasil & Argentina. The vision dims and all that remains are memories. They take me back - back to the place where the black pump sucked guzzolene from the earth. And I remember the terrible battle we fought - the day we left that place forever. But, most of all, I remember the courage of a stranger, a road warrior called Max.
To understand who he was, you must go back to the last days of the old world, when, for reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior nations went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all.
For without fuel they were nothing. They had built a house of straw. People stopped in the streets and listened: for the first time they heard the sound of silence. Their world crumbled.
And only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive. At last, the vermin had inherited the earth. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and crushed.
Men like the Warrior Max, who in the roar of an engine, lost everything and became a shell of a man. A burnt out, desolate man, a dead man, running from the demons of his past. A man who wandered far away. And it was out here in this blighted place that he learned to live again. Dan Yergin fan club Let's lead! Let's lead! Waving flag now :D Gotta tune up my flute to play Pied.... Tonight on the NBC Evening news with Lester Holt, Daniel Yergin was interviewed for his views on the price of oil. I assume that your "fan club" has contacted the major networks regarding this fool. $100 per barrel So. PRedictions?

Will bicycle companies vie for the practical market in practical ways?

Will the Media Forces continue to preach "keep buying stuff!" as the nonsolution to the problems we of course don't really have?

Will great chunks of the WWW get hacked?

Will it snow on February 5? Fritz,
glad I wasn't the only one paying close attention to oil prices today. They closed at 99.64/barrel. Not sure what afterhours trading will bring.

-sv Great, but I am ready for the price per barrel to get over 100 and stay there. Maybe that arbitrary benchmark number will get the car buying public's attention. We really need more consumer demand for smaller, efficient automobiles. At some point, people have to stop complaining about prices while they are gassing up the old SUV and actually buy vehicles that use less fuel. It would be great if more people turned to cycling, and bike companies should and will try to tap into that market. Even if most people continue to drive though, a shift to smaller cars would make the roads safer for all of us. Economist says 'Don't worry, be happy' You are dead on the money. Our economic basis has been the petro-dollar for decades. Schoolkids who were paying attention in the 1960s were being taught that oil was running out. That means someone realized it even then. But people only respond to a crisis, and then only long enough to be able to get back to rationalizing their way out of meaningful, long-term change. Yep. U.S. peak production was in the early 70s, but then foreign production came online and made up the difference. This seemingly discredited the "Peak Oil Theory" to many many people. We'll always find more!

Maybe we will. Oil companies continue scouring the world for new fields, but the returns our diminishing. Hey, if you combine this post with that post, what happens to the US dollar? Gah, now I'm going spend the rest of the evening trying to invent a hopelessly uninformed radical new economic theory. It's all connected. The result is hyperinflation in the U.S. in the short term. Food prices up by one third I just found the journal article (Chaplin, L. N. & John, D. R. "Growing up in a Material World: Age Differences in Materialism in Children and Adolescents." J. Consumer Res., vol. 34, p. 480), and it has absolutely nothing to do with unhappy Hummer drivers. So it grates on me a bit the research is being spun that way in the blogosphere. It looks like the researches were trying to show why materialism spikes among younger adolescents, and why restricting things like TV watching and corporate advertising in schools doesn't really address the root of the problem. The relationship between materialism and happiness in adults with respect to their vehicles is probably a far more complicated one, but the same general idea is probably there.

(Don't mind me, I needed a good excuse to try out Chicago Journals Online.) In 2006 35.5million people (or over 1/10th of the population) were 'food insecure.
http://www.secondharvest.org/learn_about_hunger/fact_sheet/poverty_stats.html

I can't imagine this massive uptick in food costs is helping matters much. Thanks Jennifer. I usually at least glance at the research but I didn't in this instance -- that'll teach me to be in a hurry!

Seth, the hunger problem is indeed getting worse in the USA. In the Bay Area I've seen announcements that local food banks are critically low on food. Robert Hurst on Peak Oil $4+ gasoline in San Mateo, California! Get well soon! Thanks, Citizen. I'm kind of better today. I plan to go into work tomorrow. Go to work?! What a waste of feeling better. ;-P Thanks for the mention Fritz. Glad to hear you are starting to feel better.

My four year old absolutely loves Mike and the Bike. He has a poster vin his room and he listens to the CD that came with the book all the time. I pointed out Phil Liggett at the Tour de Georgia this year and he wasn't particularly excited until I said, "that is the guy who reads Mike and the Bike on your CD". During the TdF, my son referred to Mr. Liggett as the Mike and the Bike guy every time he saw him on TV. I'll have to take the book along for Phil to autograph next year. I am sure that he would be glad to meet one of his younger fans. Bicycling the Next Big Thing "bicycling will be a major mode of transportation in the near future."

Gee, d'ya think? How come so few f us got the word in 1973, and then in 1978? All through school I heard that oil was finite. So bicycling has been a major mode of transportation in my past. It will continue in my future as long as I have one. Bicycling was once a major mode of transportation. The rise of the automobile changed that ... but now it is back. I guess you could say that riding is, um, cyclical...

Imagine, a reporter that doesn't dig deep enough for the facts in this day and age. Shocking! $90 oil $3.49 per gallon I, too, have seen more people cycling to work and even, in some cases, walking, even though fall has arrived. I think we are all feeling the pinch at the pump. Pinches are no fun, period :( And when people start thinking they don't have enough... if there's a little leadership people can get together and work through and have team spirit and all the good things... or people get scared and isolated and swipe from each other and get more scared... like the man said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself... so I'm a little worried. Trying to figure out a way to create the illusion of leadership :) You pay more for things, especially for distant things. This has two positive effects: it makes local production more attractive, and it raises the cost to the buyer of polluting the environment by shipping, i.e. you don't get as much of a free ride on pollution as you might have before. So while it sucks, at least there are positives. I'm hoping for the "We're in this together; let's all pull together" too. Agreed that more expensive energy will make destructive/wasteful practices too expensive to be viable.

Donna, it looks like weather in your area is still somewhat pleasant. It'll be interesting to see what happens after the snow starts falling. The price of gas must stay low if we want the economy to continue to do well. Beware of the party that clams to want to help the poor but keeps coming up with new tax ideas to hurt them. The latest Clinton idea would add $0.50 a gallon to the price of gas. Making it harder for the poor to get to work and buy food and other things that would increase with transportation cost. Gasoline makes you fat .... so what's making me fat, then? I've been hearing a lot about this study lately, and honestly I have a hard time believing that it would really make that big of a difference. Lazy people will still find ways to be lazy. We're lazy by nature. Laziness is inherent in us, and in fact laziness is a valuable survival trait for any animal. Super easy availability of cheap energy makes it *too* easy, unfortunately. Tax credit for exurban car commuters Fritz,
I was at at party last week and two people there were complaining about their commute by car. Seems they go from one suburb to another and the traffic is so bad that it takes them 45 minutes to an hour each way. Oh, did I mention that the distance involved is 8 miles? I suggested they try riding a bike to save time and money. Although that thought never occurred to them, they actually seemed to be considering it. I'll let you know if either one gives it a try. Nearly an hour to get 8 miles? Wow, that's pretty bad.

My commute took 80 minutes this morning. But I traveled 24 miles and it was by bike ;-) Oh, and I enjoyed it! Signs of the times If the government put all the money that's going to Oil towards renewable resources of energy (solar, wind, hydro-electric) we'd all be set. Even Nuclear would give us hundreds of years of power. But instead, all of the tax dollars are going to the war for oil. Trilby Lundberg smokes crack She's protecting her livelihood,so there is nothing here but self-interest. But, you should also remember, a lot of people think like this. A lot of people over 50.

They're gonna die and then we can change the world. "She is the source when the media needs information about oil and gasoline retail marketing and trends."

Ok, so we are to be surprised when she says we should buy more gas?

It's like people are surprised gas prices has gone up when we have a President and Vice President who have come from the oil industry. If you say something to yourself often enough you *can* shut down rational thinking. Lots of people "don't think" just like this. It's a lot more comfortable and as long as you only hang around people who agree, you feel good. Smoking crack helps too. What a complete bimbette Trilby Lundberg is. Hope she googles her name in a fit of pique :) I don't know about you, but I am just glad that my "extremist views that have now achieved mainstream acceptance." Seriously, does anyone (besides Ms. Lundberg) really believe that even the act of dicussing conservation is somehow un-American. How dumb can you get? She should be ashamed.

I also don't think the exponential increase in car ownership wordwide is lifting the majority of people "out of a backward, poor way of life" as she decribes. If anything, it is just furthering the growing division between rich and poor in developing countries. I did a little digging, and it turns out Trilby did not found Lundberg Survey Inc. Her father Dan Lundberg started the company, and her brother Jan Lundberg took over when he died. After Jan left the company, she took over. Jan has since become an outspoken environmentalist, and has battled with his sister over custody of their aging mother. He describes her sister as "a servant of major oil companies" and accuses her of "yank[ing] a home out from under family members by supporting the liquidation of the property." No word on her consumption of combustible cocaine derivatives though. And that headline has to be an M.E. Kerr/Wendie Joe Sperber reference, right? Dinky Hocker, wow -- umm, yeah, that reference was entirely intentional!

Chameleon: I was vaguely aware of some nastiness between Trilby and the rest of her family and I had wondered what the relationship was between Jan (a man, pronounced "Jon" or "Yawn" -- think Jan Hammer) and Trilby. I guess I should have suspected that Trilby didn't found LSI by herself in the 50s -- she looks to be about 60 years old. Nanotech and energy research The Great Gas Boycott of 2007 So, what you're saying is if I don't drive as much, I won't have to buy as much gas? But wait, can I keep buying gas but not use it?

http://consumerist.com/consumer/clips/snl-skit-dont-buy-stuff-you-cant-afford-252491.php So. The six ways of lowering gas prices don't even *hint* at reducing demand by *needing* less. The question "are any of these even possible" seemed to mean the suggestions didn't have to be "feasible" but I suppose driving less is truly unthinkable.
Like my nonsense word verification of the day: jffokuhm ... I received one of those gas boycott chain mails. It makes me laugh that people think they can just not buy it, but still consume the same amount. It the whole "something for nothing" mentality. The only thing that will make people use less gas is to make it more expensive. While $4-5 gas may hurt in the short term, I see it creating big changes in the long term. Last week I drove to Phoenix ... and spent a lot on gas. These were my first real gas purchases this year. from Snopes "Pain in the Gas"
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/nogas.asp

"Gasoline is a fungible, global commodity, its price subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand. No amount of consumer gimmickry and showmanship will lower its price in the long run; only a significant, ongoing reduction in demand will accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, for many people achieving that goal would mean cutting down on their driving or opting for less desirable economy cars over less fuel-efficient models, solutions they find unappealing." Get on bike and quit whinning! Just a thought, if people would buy JUST gas at the gas station, and not all the other stuff, this would have a huge effect on their profits (they always say they don't make their profit from gas). You can only get gas from a gas station, but you can get all the other stuff from your corner liquer store. Just my 2 cents. I am sorry if this is in the wrong place or wrong group.
Acting Together Will Make A Difference! visit www.end2crazygasprice.com now!
Our objective is to Force the gas companies to lower their gas price by asking the consumers in Canada and in the United States NOT TO PURCHASE ANY GAS from the selected gas companies posted below.

We can have a significant impact on the price of gas IF WE ACT TOGETHER to initiate a GAS PRICE WAR!!! So Please Start The Boycott Now!
Until futher notice WE DO NOT BUY ANY GAS from the following companies
CANADA
- Esso
- Petro-Canada
- Shell
USA
- ExxonMobil (all Exxon Mobile Gas Stations)
- Esso
- Shell
YES, WE CAN WIN BUT…It is absolutely NECESSARY To continue purchasing our gas ELSEWHERE Than at the posted gas stations above and this, until we reach our objective. And, MOST OF ALL, HELP US

BY FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKER etc...! CAN WE COUNT ON YOU…?
Please visit www.end2crazygasprice.com and join us to implement it.
NO PROTEST REQUIRE! All you have to remember the next time you fill up, STAY AWAY from SHELL, PETRO-CANADA, ESSO, and All ExxonMobil Gas stations.
"BOYCOTT" is the only option left for us to fight against this crazy gas prices, unless the government involve and regulate the gas price somehow! My gas price conspiracy theory Ok -- so -- what drives the price of fuel? The market. Are we willing to pay $5 a gallon for it. Yes. Am I?

I'm not. I didn't even realize the price had gone up. What was it that Al Gore said? Find the courage to change?

I want to get eco-green-credits for riding my bike, Al? Good post Fritz. Gas here in South Carolina is still very cheap, well under 2.50/gal currently. Unfortunately, we have some of the lowest state gas taxes in the country, but that doesn't stop many residents from appealing the Governor to temporarily suspend the state gas tax. That is a completely absurd idea when those measly taxes don’t even begin to cover the cost of maintaining the automobile’s infrastructure.

I also don’t understand the public support for price controls. You would think that in a red state like this one, a majority of people would want to see the free market economy at work, but that does not seem to be the case. No other product is as competitive as gas at the retail level. Try price shopping for a gallon of milk with out even leaving the road. I say, let the oil companies charge whatever they want. At some point, consumers will chose not to buy the product and the prices will come in line with what the public is willing to pay. Furthermore, if gas prices eventually rise to what I consider a reasonable level, people will demand fuel-efficient vehicles and car companies will provide the products to supply that demand. I am all for smaller cars and safer roads, so I would be happy to pay 6 bucks a gallon when I need to use the car. Thanks for the comments. I didn't realize SC was one of the states looking at price controls. Some California legislators are talking about.

Doesn't anybody remember the gas lines from the 70s that occurred as a result of gas controls and rationing. Making a scarce resource cheaper will make it even more scarce.

Problems with the market setting the price of gas does result in inequity, unfortunately. The poor are disproportionately affected, for example. I know a lot of working class people who live in cheap housing miles and miles from their work, living in areas that are not well-served by public transit and "alternate commute modes" programs. They're stuck with the high prices.

Eco credits: Congressman Earl Blumenauer will introduce a "Bike Commuter" bill tomorrow to encourage employers (through tax breaks) to provide financial incentives for bike commuters. Remember the days (like, two years ago) when everyone was in an uproar because gas was shooting up to almost 3 bucks a gallon? Well much like the frog that stays in the water that is slowly brought to a boil, people are sitting idly by while prices creep ever closer towards $4. I was riding in a car with a friend this morning and he stopped for gas. He was leaning against his car, watching the digits on the pump climb past $30 and he said, "man, I'll bet you save a ton by riding your bike." Ummm, just a bit. The world looks a lot better from the seat of a bike. I'll second that -- THe world looks better from the seat of a bike. Biofuel: First tortillas, now beer Peak beer!

I think it was James Kuntsler a few weeks ago who said that it looks like we're gonna burn off our last six arable inches of topsoil just so we can keep motoring. Nutty.

I need a drink, but it's too early in the morning here. well, we'll always have vodka. you can distill anything into vodka. congrats on being sober... Yeah, Peak Beer.

Thanks, Doc. Australia Senate Report: Bicycle to reduce oil dependence I liked that last link, very funny, I sure as heck hope it doesn't come to that kind of scenario. I wondered if somebody would make it to the end of the article and notice. :-) When I lived in Australia, I worked in the transport industry, and commuted by bike for a while. Rather scary place for bikes - a huge depot with trucks, trains, and forklifts. If the Howard government is pushing more people to ride bikes, it only means that they're figured out a way to tax them too. IndustryOutsider