If you drive an automobile, like me, you depend on it to get you where you need to go. We all felt the pain at the pump 2-3 years ago when gasoline hit $4.00+ a gallon. Businesses were crippled, people 'refused' to take any extra trips, and grocery prices went UP instead of down (why? grocery stores charge fuel costs to product prices to make up for the loss). After that two week bubble, gasoline was around $1.50 a gallon for the holiday season. This December, prices aren't remaining steady- they are rising. Why is this happening to the US? surely we can't be consuming a lot more oil than we usually do? You are absolutely right to state this- our oil consumption has remained steady. Here we go... you can blame 1) China, 2) India, and 3) & 4) North Korea (and more importantly) Iran. Can we EVER write an article that doesn't include "oil" and "Iran" in the same article? nope.
Power Houses Cannot Quench their Thirst for Oil
China is a developing nation of over 1,000,000,000 (BILLION) people. While I'll take a jab at their EPA records (which are poor), China is becoming the manufacturing powerhouse everyone predicted they would be since the mid 1980's. As a nation, China is becoming self sufficient at producing the goods it's country needs- and costs are beginning to rise there. Slowly, over the next 30-40 years, I expect China to lose its Communist form of government and move to Socialism. China needs petroleum for many products, including fuel and plastics. Their need for oil is greatly increasing: and when supply cannot keep up with demand, i.e. supply
The Blame Game
Want to play the blame game on high oil prices? The oil companies set the prices sure, but they are "in business" to "make money". I honestly wonder how far gouging can go before a whistle is blown. You can also blame countries such as North Korea, and especially Iran, for causing a whole mess of trouble and instability in the Middle East. The oil crisis is being caused by the middle east? ... partly. Our (humanity) consumption of oil is to blame, and so far, countries like China and India are slow to learn the consequences of our ever rising prices of oil. Sure enough, the Chinese are NOT paying a cheaper price for oil, then we get screwed: we all pay the same price per barrel of oil, period. If both countries are being ignorant of the consequences of running out of fossil fuels, then I encourage countries like the United States to invest in alternative energy.
Economic Compression
Our economy began to flourish after WWII, even when war machines were not being made in record numbers. The automobile greatly increased the range a person (or family) could travel, sparking business that relied on consumers willing to spend extra money for luxury and conveneience. Within the next 50 years, this convenience is under the threat of extinction. Two things will happen, well three:
1) We must live with the oil prices. This will hurt the economy.
2) The economy will compress and grow much smaller.
3) The US develops alternative energies for automobiles.
The exponential economic rat race is over- and we need to face the facts that our economy has cut back and has shrunk.
Gas Prices
Analysists say gas prices are now hovering (or are at) $3.00 USD a gallon. By February and late March, prices are expected to hover around $4.00 USD. That's the latest I heard. The American people can whine and complain all they want- but as China and India grow bigger, we will have to learn to live with less.
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