05-17-2007, 11:29 PM
Quote:Very interesting that on one hand people complain about too expensive fuel, and on the other hand about that we have to use less.
What do you pay in the US? 3 $ per gallon....that is around 75 cents per liter? Which is about 60 eurocents per liters?....that is around 30 % of what we pay. Of course cars in the US on average use also twice the amount of fuel (my estimate) so per km it will be more or less the same.
Conclusion fuel is (especially in the US) too cheap. ....... and if people continue complaining.......but don´t buy/use less fuel nothing will change, and governments are right to tax fuel heavily as well.
Eppie, the US isn't Europe. And the solution isn't to simply adopt Europe's way of regulating fuel consumption.
The sheer size of the United States, coupled with the vast areas of low (to no) population density areas makes comparisons between what works in Belgium (roughly the size of a small US state) and the US a comparison of apples and oranges.
As a result of the difference in size and density, the US has grown into an economy and social structure much more reliant on long distance highways than Europe has. At my last semester at college, I witnessed 600 kids move out of one building. The majority of which were traveling by car anywhere between 10-20 hours away. Moreover, look at the US economies heavy reliance on trucking routes cross-country.
The US is a different beast than Europe. And the answer isn't to make it more European. It isn't economically or fiscally feasible to create the same mass transit systems here (just imagine putting in government subsidized rail routes in Nevada, or Wyoming). Raising gas prices won't have the same effect - for the millions that commute 30+ minutes to work everyday, higher gas prices will just mean a bigger dent in their pocketbook. And don't even get me started on the idea of trying to make a 20+ hour road trip in a 4 cylinder 65 horsepower European economy car on US highways.
We all buy gas for roughly the same price. If Europe wants put high taxes and tariffs on it, so be it. But that solution won't work here. The US has a much bigger reliance on automotive travel, and that is something you're not going to change with higher gas prices.
The answer is in more fuel efficient cars (read: not the European idea; of small 4 cylinder cars, but new hybrids), and lower gas prices (either by supplementing with new fuel sources, or more direct control of gas and lower prices).
Cheers,
Munk
PS. As for the site, I agree with Bun-Bun.