Riiiighhhhtttttttt......but doesn't Europe, and Asia have different economical and living standards then what us Americans have? I don't mean that in an offensive way, but aren't our Life Styles completely different?
Not too mention I think many countries in those areas embrace mass transit and walking....it's a bit difficult to do that here. For instance, my father has to drive 60 miles down and back 5-6 days a week for his job, his car gets roughly 30 miles a gallon, he'd barely even complete the week compared to me where I only drive 30 miles a day and have 32 miles a gallon.
Personally, I think we either A) need to find an alternate source rather quickly, hell we should of had a few choices for sometime now but I think there's some underhanding going on there. And these sources should not interfere with food stocking at all. B) Tap into some of the national oil reserves to show the foreign oil companies "We can handle ourselves right now, thanks" and watch their prices drop like a bolder strapped to a guys back jumping off an airplane.
Not really. They simply have better public transit then we do. As for their economy the Euro is stronger then the dollar.
Anyone who has a long commute DOES have the option of purchasing a more fuel efficient car. I personally drive a SUV but because it's cheaper then a full size van and with six kids, my minivan is not practical as it seats seven and not eight or nine. As soon as the SUV is paid off then I'm buying a small size car to run errands in or when I only have to take one or two kids with me some place.
As for the alternative source? Exactly where are we to get it? The national oil reserves does have the oil but what happens when we DO have a real emergency like the foreign countries we depend on decide to one day NOT provide us with oil?
Frankly, the BIGGEST problem is with the oil companies who are making billion in profits. They can EASILY reduce the prices and STILL make money but they're greedy bastards who are laughing all the way to the bank.
Electric car, preferably powered thanks hydro-electric dams, windmills and solar stations, are cleaner solutions.
Hydro dams are good EXCEPT for a few things.
1) Land is destroyed to create dams due to the flooding. Look at the Seneca Indians who lost nearly their entire reservation when the government decided to build a dam up in NY state (can't think of the location off hand).
2) Fish, specifically in my area salmon, die because they can't cross and the government has to spend billions in order to fix it so they could and can cross over. The damage is done now and this will be the first year that commercial salmon fishing is banned. Why? Because salmon are quickly becoming endangered.
3) Power provided by hydo dams is indeed cheap HOWEVER states like California refuse to pay their bills and as a result the prices get jacked up the other states that get the power. California bought BILLIONS of dollars of electricity from the Bonneville Dam in Oregon/Washington and then went bankrupt. Who is paying for that lost money? The consumers in WA and Oregon who get their power from Bonneville. (I honestly don't know why we don't get our power from Grand Coulee since it's closer then Bonneville.) I've seen my electric rates triple in the last three years. I remember my electric bill being only around $100 a month and now it's around $300 all because we're paying for Caliifonia.
I wish that more wind power is allowed but people complain how ugly the wind mills look. They're quite pretty actually but here they're now practically banned.
