Is the rising fuel prices going to run our country into the ground.?
481296
I read a report about 6 months ago that said gas prices would have to exceed $6.00 per gallon before it would even change our personal driving habits.  I believe this and I also believe the first 2 answers you got.  If the price gets high enough, will figure out something better.
183542
He is absoulutly right, gasoline in Mexico City right now is $.78. I looked it up on the net. You people that can't do metric conversions and monetary conversions, are the stupid people. Of course America is getting screwed for the cost of fuel. America pays the most to offset the rest of the World economics. The burden is on us, and always has been.
1154704
Sounds like a good choise to me. As in the near future with the cost of petrol going up continually, people wont be able to afford to run a car!
989569
Truthfully and without sarcasm: no. Plain and simple. The hike in gas isn't just because of us invading Iraq. More and more people are using gas: it's the law of supply and demand. If the demand for a product goes up and there's a little supply (there really isn't a small supply, but these countries have to supply the whole world) the price goes up. Plus, with us being in the Middle East, other huge oil producing countries like Iran--especially with the controversy over their nuclear weapons program--might sell less oil to us, thus lowering the supply with the high demand, increasing the price.  And as long as the American people can and will pay for the gas, they'll keep selling it.  Also, as a result of whatever sanctions or mandates are out there on some foreign oils, prices will go up.  Just because there are oil fields in Iraq, doesn't mean that we went in there for that. Why would we do that? If the gas prices were moderate while Saddam was in power, without this huge hike in prices, why would we go in there specifically for oil? What would you do if you suspected a foreign power was invading you to overthrow you, take your money from the oil away and put it in their pockets? You'd do the same thing Saddam was doing (sabotaging oil fields and the pipelines).  The only reason why the oil prices went up to begin with during the Invasion was because Saddam felt that he wasn't doing anything wrong (like the genocide, even building up his military) and that the only reason the Coalition (led by the U.S.) was invading his country was because of the oil. And when the oil prices get high enough, don't you think people will find different venues around them? Like more carpooling, public transportation, bicycles. I know when they get so high that it's really burning a whole in my pocket, I'm buying a train pass.
374893
LOL.  You is funny.  Well at the rate that the cost of gas is raising, they might have to bring it in.  \nI've heard of the government (NZ) helping people to get a haircut for a job interview but not helping them get their with petrol vouchers.  How stuffed up is that.
425194
Global oil production is about to peak.  Supply will go down, demand up.  This equals economic ruin.  It is easier to kill others on far away soil for oil, than it is to ask Americans to consume less.\n\nBush's agenda:  secure oil so Americans can continue to be obese SUV drivers while the rest of the world fights for the scraps.  Do this at all costs.  "Our way of life is not negotiable." G.W.Bush
645427
We are importing about half of what we use now. If you would like to choose which half of our nation cannot use oil, then we could quit importing.\n\nIt isn't a matter of how much oil is in the ground. We can't produce it fast enough, or refine it fast enough to more than marginally outpace demand.
1120593
They are but prices for gas right now are through the roof. Try at least $3.50 for a gallon of gas. Everything is more expensive. There are a lot of locals who don't like tourist/ military here.
1107645
Quite simply NO that is not true.  There is plenty of oil and gas left.  Enough to last your lifetime and probably most of your kids lifetime.  However, the rate at which countries like China and India and other emerging economies are growing there is going to a strain on current levels of production.  This is why there is a huge amount of activity in the exploration and drilling sector right now, we see this future demand and are working to compensate.  However there are countries like the USA and Britian that consume much more than they produce, and the majority of their fields are depleted or on the down hill slope.  This is why they must forge alliances, you didn't think they fight these wars just in the name of freedom, but that's another question.  This is also why Bush has given the go ahead to drill in Alaska.  We know where almost all the oil and gas is, now it's just a matter of getting it out of the ground.  But we don't want to flood the market, because then everyone will think they can use as much as they want.  Then there is the politics, pipelines,environment,etc.  It's a delicate balance.  Any way, Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of hydrocarbons and still has the largest reserves.  Canada has the second largest reserves, but it is hard to produce because it is mostly tar sands.  Iran is third(friendly with China), Kuwait is fourth, Iraq is fifth(soon to be friendly with USA) others among top ten Nigeria, Venesuala, and others I remember off the top of my head.  In the future alternative fuels will have to be researched and put into common use.  Some of these we see already, such as hybrid cars, fuel cells, corn oil,processed fish fat can burn in diesel engines.  Nuclear fuel will be used for everyday power, solar power is not practical, takes up to much room, wind power is only practical on a small scale, and they need to be where it's windy, and since you lose power when it travels down lines, only windy places can utilize wind turbines.  My personal favorite is hyrogen power.  Although to volitile with current technology, it is abundant, powerful, and emission free.  By product is pure water.  All these will come to be as future governments covet what's left of the natural resources and we think about the environment a little more.  But there will be oil and gas to heat your homes and run your cars for many years to come.  So long as you got the money to fill the tank.
103003
There will be other energies. Only way we will run out of them is if the powers that control them (Oil men in many countries) say to. "Fossil" fuels themselves may not even be quite what we think they are.
407383
Economists believe motorists will alter the way they drive once the average gas price moves to between $3.50 and $4.00 per gallon.\n\nThere won't be a mass revolt.  But people will continue to get upset.  Our elected officials will call for investigations.  And our leaders will be forced to seriously look at alternative fuels.\n\nIf our elected officials tamper with the price of oil and, the move to alternative fuels will slowed.  \n\nIf we truly want to embrace alternative fuels, then the market must lead us there.
502628
Not that I am for this--But dear it wouldn't matter and why you ask---well here is an article--this is starting to open up a new can of worms--please understand--Anyone in the world could have all the oil in the world..and it really wouldn't matter at this point...\n\n$3-a-gallon gas: Blame Washington, not Big Oil\nWhat's driving up gas prices? It's not just higher crude costs; it's new regulations.\nNelson D. Schwartz\nMay 3, 2006: 2:20 PM EDT\n\n\n(FORTUNE Magazine) - With gas prices roaring past $3 a gallon and consumer fury rising even faster, Congress and the White House are engaged in a Kabuki-like ritual: pointing fingers at each other over who's to blame, while furiously attacking Big Oil for reaping gargantuan profits - as drivers get hosed at the pump.\n\nIf the politicians really want to figure out who's responsible for the latest round of price increases, though, they'd be better off looking in the mirror. That's because the rise isn't only due to higher crude costs. It's also fallout from some little-noticed provisions in the energy bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush last summer.\n\nBuried in the 551-page energy bill - which was supposed to ease energy shortages, not worsen them - were new regulations governing what additives go into gasoline and how it's refined. Corn-based ethanol is replacing the petroleum-derived additive MTBE, but Congress timed this logistically tricky switchover to occur just as demand for gasoline peaked ahead of the summer driving season - right about now.\n\nThe end result is an extra strain on the refining and distribution system when it can least afford it.\n\n"It's too late now, but Congress has consistently failed to sequence regulatory requirements in a responsible fashion," says Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association.\n\nAdds Larry Goldstein of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation: "The gasoline crisis is made in the U.S.A., not in Iran or Venezuela or Nigeria. At least half the increase in gasoline prices is due to unintended consequences of the energy bill, but no one in Washington wants to admit that."\n\nIndeed, while crude prices have risen 21% since the end of 2005, gasoline is up 37% - a sign of just how stretched the system is. Congress's mistake, says Goldstein, was setting the new law to go into effect 270 days after it was signed - May 5 - rather than waiting until fall, when gas demand is typically on the downswing.\n\nNow the big question is, How high can gas go? Well, perhaps the only good thing that can be said about paying three bucks per gallon is that it seems to be slowing consumption - which should, in turn, reduce prices. Over a four-week period in April, says oil analyst Jamal Qureshi of consulting firm PFC Energy, U.S. gasoline demand dropped by half a percent, to just over nine million barrels a day. That may not sound like much, but it's a reversal from the 1.7% average annual increase in gas consumption the U.S. has experienced over the past decade. If $3 is indeed the tipping point at which consumers change their behavior and alter their driving habits, it's the one silver lining in an otherwise very dark cloud for drivers.\n\nThe wildcard in this scenario, of course, is the increasing risk of a military confrontation with Iran. If that happens, says Qureshi, "all bets are off." Given that crude oil accounts for 55% of the cost of each gallon of gas (refining accounts for 22%, taxes for 19%, and distribution and marketing for 4%), an upward spike in crude oil would push gas up even if the bottlenecks caused by the energy bill ease this summer.\n\nThat's why Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, says the answer in the short term is conservation. Washington is indeed being turned upside down when it's left to Cavaney, Big Oil's chief lobbyist, to talk conservat
446687
It is already here.  But we don't want to change and continue to use gasoline like when it was cheaper.  It will start affecting how we travel and live when the price continue to increase.  We continue to buy these oil from Iran (not our friend) and support their government through our need for oil.
300860
no gas prices should go higher!!\n\nthen maybe fat a**es will stop driving their big fat SUV's, take a bus\nand other technologies will be developed\n\nthe gov't did not create the "gas problem" people being lazy did
1062509
Look who's running the country...a bunch of oil freaks.  Everytime the price of oil goes up they are cashing in!  They don't want to come up with alternative fuel sources because there is no money in that for them.
223519
Have you checked the fuel prices lately?  I think people are looking for an alternative fuel source because of the rising prices of gas.  Not only that, this whole gas exploration thing creates such a power play in the world and even causes wars and embargoes.
922359
Quite possibly.  Because when Clinton was in office gas prices rose before the elections and dropped right after.... talk about a conspiracy :P