- China is introducing 25,000 new cars a day to their highway system.
- China's highway system now includes 33,000 miles of new freeway-style roads.
- The Chinese government subsidizes the price of gasoline to buffer the cost.
Growing Chinese consumption of gasoline is becoming a real factor in the price of gasoline sold in the US. Chinese demand for gasoline is growing at an exponential rate which means that our fuel conservation will be insufficient to offset Chinese demand. The Chinese want our way of life and the consumption patterns that follow.
Our entire economic machine is dependent on petroleum and not just our cars. Petroleum is part of much of what we produce and consume from carpet to clothing to furniture. The US freeway infrastructure was conceived and built in a time of cheap petroleum. The US love affair with automobiles also began at a time of low-priced gasoline. Now China is falling in love with the auto. What does that mean for the future of gasoline for US consumers?
What do you think? Are we at a new place and time economically due to growing global demand for petroleum in developing industrial nations? Is the soaring price of crude oil just a function of speculators driving up the price? Do you believe that price at the pump can be traced back to a conspiracy among the petroleum companies? Do you think that eventually, gasoline prices will fall below $4 a gallon and stabilize? How will rising gasoline prices change your lifestyle?
Let me hear from you, the weeping consumer.
6 comments:
I think that demand (whether Chinese or otherwise) is allowing oil barons to raise prices without limits. I think our only options are to go to war with oil-producing nations (bad), learn how to conserve and do without (better), or come up with an alternative to gasoline (best). Erik and I wish that the government would step in like they did to create the atomic bomb and to get a man on the moon. We have the ability, just not the motivation. As for us, Erik rides his bike to work and I don't drive anywhere. When it costs us $60 to fill up our tank, that really decreases our desire to drive. Moving to SLC will be good, since they have a lot of public transportation.
There are no easy answers. Conservation apparently will not reduce demand because foreign demand may outstrip the effects of our conservation. Conservation will help us save money but may not influence a change in price.
If by oil barons you mean the oil producing countries, then I would agree with you. I believe these countries are making the lion's share of the money on the price increases. Price is driven by price per barrel of oil. The price per barrel of oil is essentially set by the oil producing nations.
I agree that we have the ability to solve the oil dependence issue and it may take the government to faciltate the focus of resources. If left to the business community, the process will take that much longer since their has to be an economic incentive to change.
Now here is a thought...are the oil companies concerned enough about the sustainability of oil production that they will invest in non petroleum-based fuel/energy to maintain their viability?
Whether the government takes a lead or the oil companies act out of self preservation, the investment dollars need to come from somewhere. If the government takes the lead, the funding largely will come thorugh tax dollars. If the oil companies act, the investment will come through the pump. Which would we rather have - aditional taxes or higher pump prices?
their should be there...I wish there was a way to correct comments after psoting. I seem to always find my spelling mistakes after I post.
One reason why the government would not start a major program for an alternative fuel source is that all of the politicians are bought out by big oil.
I would like to see term limits for the legislative and judicial branches of the government. I think that many problems could be solved.
I agree with the thought that our conservation will not affect the prices.
We need to become energy independent. China is drilling 60 miles off of Florida because they have an agreement with Cuba. But our "greenies" won't let us drill.
Erik, I agree that becoming energy independent is really the only thing that we can do. This may take decades and I think it must be accompanied by further drilling on our own territory to ease the transition and to lesson dependence on foreign sources.
There is good news, actually, in higher prices at the pump. The average American citizen might not have any incentive to demand change unless there is pain in the wallet. As a general rule, our society take the course of least resistance until disaster strikes.
It will be interesting to see what sacrifices we will make as a country to become energy independent. We have to give up some of our lifestyle to make this happen.
Frankly, I think conservation will only go so far. Our cities and nation are structured based on the ability to transport people and products. A change in infastructure would be too costly to our country. I believe that we need fuel source that reduces our reliance on forgein powers and that is renewable and realistic.
I've read a number of articles lately dealing with renewable biofuels. One uses algae (like pond scum) and creates a biofuel. I also understand an experiment is being conducted to run emissions from power plants through algae, which eats the carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. This sounds like a good idea to me, unlike other biofuel ideas like ethanol.
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