Quote:
Originally Posted by vivfox
History shows that significant declines in U.S. oil consumption occur only after prolonged periods of high prices. Over the last two decades, U.S. consumers have been spoiled by low fuel prices. And those lower prices led to a buying binge that put millions of giant SUVs, pickups, and other gas guzzlers on our roads. Today's higher prices are forcing consumers to adapt. The EIA now expects U.S. gasoline consumption to decline this year—the first drop in demand in 17 years. In April, sales of small cars in the United States were up by 17 percent over the same period a year earlier while sales of SUVs, trucks, and large cars all fell by about 30 percent.
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I pretty much agree with everything this article is saying, especially the part about monster SUVs. Whenever I see a Hummer or an Escalade on the road, I just have to smirk at their hubris while I mentally calculate how much they have to pay for a tank of gas- probably well over $100! Out on eastern Long Island, 93 octane is edging towards $5.
I'm looking forward to the day that wind and solar power (not coal or ethanol
) will be used indirectly to power our vehicles. I do think this is achievable via hydrogen fuel cell technology. But our leaders have been asleep at the wheel with regard to energy policy... And all of this money wasted on the so-called "Stimulus Package" and the war could have been set aside to jumpstart a green energy economy a la Roosevelt after the Depression.