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18 comments on Tom Tomorrow: A Brief History of Gasoline Consumption in America

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indyphil on June 4, 2008 - 8:28am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

A lot of the folks I talk to - who have no clue whats going on - remember the 1970s.
IN the 1970s we had local problems, US oil peak, embargo etc... People talked about finite supply, and warned of the future. Then the price dropped.

Unfortunatly the average Joe got entirely the wrong message. Talk of finite supply + Warnings, then a price drop. Well I guess that means those folks talking about finite supply and telling us to conserve were all stupid huh? Lets go buy an SUV.

Now I talk to people and thats what they tell me:
"You said the same thing in the 70's and it turned out to be rubbish, why should I believe you now"
One guy who used that reply was a petroleum geologist who worked with the USGS in ANWR on the most recent estimates.

Price at the pump means 10x more than warnings about the future. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush as they say. Which is why the government failed us. We needed some taxes on fuel after the 1970s, the SUV boom should never have happened.

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step back on June 4, 2008 - 1:50pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

We needed some taxes on fuel after the 1970s, the SUV boom should never have happened.

Presidential candidate Anderson proposed just that, a modest tax on gasoline to reduce consumption. He was booed off his soap box.

So much for democracy and an intelligent electorate.

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Engineer-Poet on June 4, 2008 - 11:49pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Anderson got me to vote for him, and I've been saying for years that what America needs is $5/gallon gasoline.

We're going to get it, but the money is going to go to OPEC instead of staying in the USA.  At least the SUV craze is in its death throes.

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18 comments on Tom Tomorrow: A Brief History of Gasoline Consumption in America

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