While the Bush Misadministration is totally deserving of our ire and disgust we do have to stay in the realm of what is true and they can’t be entirely blamed for the pain at the gas pump. But its diabolically crafted energy policies have left the country far too dependent for our energy on countries that hate us and on fossil fuel products which are ruinous to the environment .
There are several reasons for oil’s dizzying price spiral. Soaring demand in fast-growing developing countries like China and India means there is more demand than ever before. The crash of the dollar but also other currencies— driven in collusion by the White House AND the Federal Reserve — has driven prices even higher, as investors have bought oil and other commodities as stocks and the dollar plunge.
Some in the world are delighted with the rise of the price of oil, of course. Not just the Oil companies themselves. “Mouse That Roared” governments in countries like Venezuela and the Sudan are living the high life of oil riches and political protection.
If there is any silver lining to this very dark cloud then it is the shift in public awareness and also industry activity towards clean alternative energy sources.
Take cars. This past December, the White House and Congress raised fuel efficiency standards for the first time since the 1970s!
Another reason, besides the most obvious… can you spell IRAQ?…that Americans are hated abroad is because we are known as obese consumers. The average German or Japanese uses little more than half the energy consumed by an average American. In Germany and Japan, per-capita emissions of carbon dioxide spewed by cars, power plants and other sources of energy are half those in the United States. In France, they are a third.
Americans are beginning to curb consumption. Gasoline demand declined in the first 11 weeks of the year for the first time since 1997. It’s way too little, too slow and the government lethargy is not helping.
A lot more needs to be done to prepare the American economy for a world of scarcer, more expensive energy. To start, the nation has to replace the oilmen in the White House with leaders who have a better grasp of the economics of energy and the interests of all Americans.
On an individual basis we can lower our fuel consumption significantly, help safeguard the environment and have our cars running better too by following the instructions made available to members of Water4Gas