$5 dollar a gallon predicted by 2012

[menaus2]

Yeah when I heard about $5/gal on the news I couldn't help but smile and feel somewhat vindicated. Hopefully it will give an incentive to us in the US to get our energy act together. Worried about food prices increasing? Easy: Increase rail freight and more local food. Life goes on for those who are willing to adapt.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Jim-Bob

The problem with the CPI food index is how it is weighted. It is not a pure reflection of cost. The indexed items change to reflect what the majority of consumers are purchasing within a given category. So, for example, if more people start buying hamburger and less buying steak, it indexes the price of hamburger. The price of hamburger may well have increased substantially. However, the prior calculation would have been based on steak, not hamburger. Thus the index remains little changed whereas the actual price the consumer sees has changed substantially. I do my own grocery shopping and have seen a substantial increase in cost. Even staples like ramen noodles have gone up by around 40% in the last year and milk and dairy products have also shot up substantially.

I don't follow that argument at all. I have not seen the prices of the food I buy go up at all over the last 5 years. My income has not gone up by much, and we are still within budget. Eggs and milk prices have been totally stable in my area. Don't buy much ramen though, I don't consider that a staple or food.

Broadband and television though, holy smoke! I disconnected the cable.

[bluejoey]

One of the bright sides about higher gas prices is that they will likely lead to decreases in speeding as well as in overall driving, which will lead to decreases in deaths on the road. It will make things safer for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

[aggie sig]

the number one problem is over population, even our bountiful earth has it's carrying capacity, and when we hit it the price of a gallon of gas won't mean anything...

[redyaris]

In 2000 I used aprox 3000L/yr [796 gal] of gasoline at a price of $0.50/L or $1500/yr.
In 2010 I used aprox 1400L/yr [371 gal]of gasoline at a price of $0.90/L or $1260/yr.
The amount I drive per year has not changed by more than plus /minus 5% in any given year. I would guess that inflation has been around 3%/yr over the ten years. It would appear that I pay less for the fuel to drive now than when the price of fuel was almost one half of what it is now.

In 2000 I was driving a 1988 Medallion 2.2L 4cyl that got 7L/100km, a Ford Aerostar mini van 2.3L 4cyl that got 9.5L/100km on a good day, and a 1989 Honda CBR600 that got between 4 & 5L/100km. In 2000 I used to drive 15km/hr above the posted speed limit, and did very little hypermiling.

In 2010 I drive an Aeromodded 2007 Yaris 4cyl 1.5L that gets 4.8L/100km, a 1997 Ford Aerostare AWD V6 4.0L that gets 9.5L/100km when I drive it, an Aeromodded 2007 Suzuki GS500 2cyl that gets 3.6L/100km. In 2010 I drive at 90km/hr on the highway in the car and van and 110km/hr on the motorcyle, on secondary roads I drive at 80 - 90km/hr with all vehicles. I do a moderat amount of hypermileing.

[cfg83]

aggie sig -

Originally Posted by aggie sig

the number one problem is over population, even our bountiful earth has it's carrying capacity, and when we hit it the price of a gallon of gas won't mean anything...

Yeah, that's what my Dad was talking about in the 1970's, aka da'bomb. I think it ranks as one of many penultimate problems, but I don't know a humane answer beyond education to generation after generation of *all* people until we get it right. By that time the decision will probably be made for us.

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

Education- pop bomb seems to be taboo, especially to anyone in a leadership position. If anything gummints promote the explosion via tax policy that subsidizes reproduction because of the short term desire to keep their Ponzi schemes going and possibly to keep the supply of cannon fodder up. Religious leaders promote the explosion too in the belief that their religion will win world domination if their members can outbreed the other guys. Pretty much the entire female gender supports fertilizing at least three of their eggs to satisfy their reason for existing (the third + spawn is a biological attempt to one-up the other guys) and the male gender goes along with it because society gives out virility points for it, even though any monkey can do it. Without women, political, and religious leaders on board it'll be a tough slog.

[RobertSmalls]

In most third world countries, the only retirement plan for the poor is to have children to support you in old age. People breed early and often, especially when you can't count on having all of your children survive to adulthood.

As a society grows wealthier and better educated, parents have fewer children, have children later in their lives, and spend far more time on the upbringing of each child. In Japan, most of Eastern Europe, and some other wealthy countries, people have too few children to sustain the current population. Either the difference is made up by immigration, or the population declines.

Aside from sub-saharan Africa and maybe parts of Asia, I'm sure there will be no population crisis, as the pace of carrying capacity improvements will exceed population growth, right up until population growth stalls.

[robchalmers]

cost me $7.67/gal this morning

[meelis11]

Originally Posted by robchalmers

cost me $7.67/gal this morning

Auch! In estonia it is not much better, we have little cheaper (cheaper is not good word here...cost little less is better) but salaries are much smaller than in UK. So actually fuel costs more here. You must have above average salary to earn enough money for full tank (50-60L) of fuel in one workday.

currently it is about 1.2 EUR/L ($6.27/gal)

Meelis