My local paper this morning published an editorial by Thomas Friedman about oil. Though I have not always agreed with everything he says, this one is spot-on. MSM, meet peak oil!

The NYT article was behind a paywall, but there are papers commenting on it all over the place:
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/editorial/14445098.htm
and here:
http://www.nationalreview.com/payne200604260838.asp
and here:
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=218148&pub=1&div=Opinion

Original (paywall version) is here:
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/opinion/28friedman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op %2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fThomas%20L%20Friedman

Dang, I should look more carefully at the results of my google searches. Not all those folks actually agree with Friedman. Or have a clue. And I could have trimmed the NYT link, everything after the '?' is not needed.

But congrats on the nice new look, Super G!

DIYer,

Thomas Friedman editorial made it into our little newspaper locally too. Two things I took away from it. Friedman is very frustrated over the course of the Bush govt., and the inaction for the first five years of his regime. Second, the call for a new 3rd Party that would be Geo-Green in 2008.

Traditionally third parties in the USA simply do not work. I think his frustration has impacted his thinking.

Right now the majority of America can not see past the high price of gasoline. They are not ready to see the big picture of GHG/PO. The education process is very preliminary.

Friedman also appealed to economics stating that alternative fuels would take off. Most of the Financial talking heads on Bloomberg would agree. Even our controversial PACIFIC ETHANOL just got a 25% financial stake from Bill Gates.

PS CNN had a Hummer vs. Prius segment this morning in Southern California. The Hummer driver, a woman, had been egged four times. The Greens are not going to win her over with that tactic! The Prius driver who was interviewed commented that big SUVs drive up behind her and try to intimidate her, though I have never had that happen in our Prius. There was resentment too, over hybrids getting to go in the diamond lanes on the freeways. One guy complaining was spouting off on his "$60,000" Escalade as if the fact that he spent that much on his ride he should get the privledge of driving in the diamond lane.

Funny world - glad I don't live in the city.

That woman could have been lying. She could have had her home-schooled kids do the deed.

"listen Billy and Jeffy, I have a new game for you, go get some eggs and throw them at mommy's big car"

They like to play the game of projection, you see. Claiming to be a "victim" when they are actually the perps.

jaybus, we get our mailbox baseball-batted regularly. Does that mean that the Posse Commitatus is after us for using government services?

There is a bill in California to potentially allow hybrids the ability to drive in HOV. If you were to listen to nutjobs like LA radio's Hugh "spew" Hewitt, you would think it was the end of the world to them if this were to happen.  

Hello Jack Greene,

The $60,000 Escalade guy was a pretty sad commentary on our society.  Everyone needs to picture living with ever-decreasing 'energy slaves' to do our bidding.

The American auto manufacturers are missing a golden opportunity to keep their workers employed by leapfrogging the Japanese in building super-efficient transportation and bicycles.  The Big Three should be lobbying the Govt to build railroad, mass-transit, and bicycle infrastructure where they will gear up for the manufacturing effort.  The Big Three, in the interim, could be building scooters, motorcycles, and this super-efficient car I found on Yahoo:

http://tinyurl.com/mqjwf
http://tinyurl.com/req3c
http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/en-proj20/index.html

Most Americans, that are unfit to pedal a bicycle very far, can easily buy a small scooter to bridge the longer distances until their physical stamina levels rise.  Then they can save the investment in their large vehicles for bad weather days or when the entire family needs to go someplace together.

This is a peaceful method of adaption to using fewer energy slaves in a city with poor mass-transit, like Phx.  I fear postPeak gas prices will accelerate faster than local govts ability to purchase mass-transit leaving many people unable to get on overcrowded buses.  We don't need people fighting for a place in a busline, or fighting for a spot in a gasline to fuel their autos [as occurred in the '70s].

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

i had a jeep cherokee come up and ride my bumper today, as i was coasting down to a red light.  of couse it passes me (girl w/ a strarbucks glaring) on the right when a 3rd lane openned up on that side.  we then proceed to wait, both of us, for the green.  i wonder if it registered at all to those people that there was a red light like 10 car lenghts ahead?
They never do figure out such things, do they?  

My wife and I ran some errands today, and I think the woman tailgating me at 40MPH in a 40MPH zone must have been related to your friend in the jeep.  She followed me at about half a car length for a mile, then passed me, floored it for about 50 yards, and--you guessed it--cut back into the right hand lane and made an immediate right turn.  

Eventually most of them will get the message that driving more sensibly is in their own best interest.  If not, they'll pay through the gas station nozzle for it.

DIYer!

You live in Wichita?

Small world.

Austin, actually. But the local paper's website also requires a sign-in, so I did a search for for the unobstructed column.

What I take as important is that Friedman says gasoline should cost more, not less. He says it should be $4/gal, which is a start. I agree with Westexas that it should be >$5. But at least it's a MSM mention of the idea.

John Tierny also has a call for a gas tax in the NY Times - Fiddling While the Fuel Burns (paid subscription required).

Perhaps he is getting worried about losing his $5,000 bet with Matt Simmons?