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I don't buy into this. He talks about a world of $8 per gallon bringing on drastic behavioral and economic changes. A world where by school busses would have t

by adamt 17y ago

I don't buy into this. He talks about a world of $8 per gallon bringing on drastic behavioral and economic changes. A world where by school busses would have to stop running etc and private motoring is massively reduced and restricted to hybrid cars. In the UK (as with most of Europe) due to heavy government taxes on petrol (gas) we pay over £1 per litre. This equates to over $6.35 per US gallon (and at peak prices, it would have passed $7 per US gallon in 2008. Have our school busses stop running? Has private motoring disappeared? Do well all own hybrids? The answer to all these questions is an obvious no. Sure - we care a bit more about MPG - the average out-of-town MPG of cars on the market in the UK is 47MPG (admittedly only about 39 miles per US gallon) for extra-urban (out of town). Source; http://www.fuel-economy.co.uk/stats.shtml http://www.fuel-economy.co.uk/stats.shtml. Similarly, car ownership per capita across western Europe is broadly similar to North America (http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/spreadsheet/1003604 http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/spreadsheet/1003604) I think the author confuses what happens when prices spike (and school districts exceed their budgets) versus what happens when prices rise steadily over above inflation over a number of years.

dejb 17y ago
I agree with your sentiment but I think the differences between the UK and the US due to fuel prices are quite noticeable. Here some that I noticed - UK cities and towns are built more for people. In the US they feel like they are built more for cars. - Pretty much everything is more expensive in the UK than the US - Pedestrians take more 'right of way' in the UK whereas in the US it's 'watch out or get hit'. - The UK has much better public transport than the US - UK cars are tiny and US cars are huge. - Some people in the UK people do tend to think it was a big deal to drive 100 k's to go somewhere. I guess this is partly because the UK is geographically small. So I'd say that there would be some good and some bad changes but they'd certainly be noticeable. Of course technology will adapt so most likely the impact on the cost of living will be reduced.
- sho 17y ago
  "Some people in the UK people do tend to think it was a big deal to drive 100 k's to go somewhere." Maybe so, but in Australia they'd also think it's a pretty big deal to drive 100kms. And yet in the USA, I remember one guy I used to know who drove 6 hours, two ways, every weekend to see his girlfriend, seemed to think nothing of it. Trust me, that is never going to happen in Australia. Americans just love driving, it seems. They seem to like being in their cars more, almost seems like a second home. I don't know why. Another thing I've noticed about Americans is that they equate their cars with freedom, whereas in many other countries cars are a necessary evil which, far from making you more free, is actually a millstone around your neck. If I drag a car somewhere I have to worry about it, pay for parking, can't drink, etc etc. Give me a train anytime! But Americans seem to see it the exact opposite .. go figure.
  - dejb 17y ago
    I live in Brisbane and I know a fair few people who commute between here and the Gold Coast (about 70k away) every day for work. Many wouldn't think twice of driving 100k north or south on the weekend to go to the beach. So my impression is that us Aussies are closer to the US than UK in terms of car usage. I must confess I'm not a big car fan either. Maybe if you could sleep in the damn things then it would be a second home but otherwise it is just a place where you sit while trying to avoid becoming a road fatality until you reach your destination.
    - sho 17y ago
      Hm, maybe because there's a decent freeway between the GC and Brisneyland it doesn't seem such a long way? I admit that 100km by freeway doesn't seem that bad. But 100k through Sydney traffic and you'll want to go on a killing spree.

by adamt 17y ago

dejb 17y ago

I agree with your sentiment but I think the differences between the UK and the US due to fuel prices are quite noticeable. Here some that I noticed - UK cities and towns are built more for people. In the US they feel like they are built more for cars. - Pretty much everything is more expensive in the UK than the US - Pedestrians take more 'right of way' in the UK whereas in the US it's 'watch out or get hit'. - The UK has much better public transport than the US - UK cars are tiny and US cars are huge. - Some people in the UK people do tend to think it was a big deal to drive 100 k's to go somewhere. I guess this is partly because the UK is geographically small. So I'd say that there would be some good and some bad changes but they'd certainly be noticeable. Of course technology will adapt so most likely the impact on the cost of living will be reduced.

sho 17y ago
"Some people in the UK people do tend to think it was a big deal to drive 100 k's to go somewhere." Maybe so, but in Australia they'd also think it's a pretty big deal to drive 100kms. And yet in the USA, I remember one guy I used to know who drove 6 hours, two ways, every weekend to see his girlfriend, seemed to think nothing of it. Trust me, that is never going to happen in Australia. Americans just love driving, it seems. They seem to like being in their cars more, almost seems like a second home. I don't know why. Another thing I've noticed about Americans is that they equate their cars with freedom, whereas in many other countries cars are a necessary evil which, far from making you more free, is actually a millstone around your neck. If I drag a car somewhere I have to worry about it, pay for parking, can't drink, etc etc. Give me a train anytime! But Americans seem to see it the exact opposite .. go figure.
- dejb 17y ago
  I live in Brisbane and I know a fair few people who commute between here and the Gold Coast (about 70k away) every day for work. Many wouldn't think twice of driving 100k north or south on the weekend to go to the beach. So my impression is that us Aussies are closer to the US than UK in terms of car usage. I must confess I'm not a big car fan either. Maybe if you could sleep in the damn things then it would be a second home but otherwise it is just a place where you sit while trying to avoid becoming a road fatality until you reach your destination.
  - sho 17y ago
    Hm, maybe because there's a decent freeway between the GC and Brisneyland it doesn't seem such a long way? I admit that 100km by freeway doesn't seem that bad. But 100k through Sydney traffic and you'll want to go on a killing spree.