[extropy-chat] FWD [U-Tapao] Re: IS IT TIME TO RATION FUEL?

[Brett Paatsch]

BillK wrote:

> On 8/22/05, Brett Paatsch wrote:
>>
>> That we have "No choice but to use oil" seems like arrant economic
>> nonsense to me.  It doesn't parse even economics 101 level of thinking.
>>
>> Who the heck is "we" in that sentence?  Price affects demand.
>>
>> There ARE substitutes to using oil.  Personally we can reduce our demand
>> for it if its price becomes prohibitive vis a vis alternatives and ditto
>> macroeconomically.
>>
>
> In Europe the gas price at the pumps is still around 2.5 times higher
> than US.

That is interesting if its specifically true. 2.5 times equivalent unit 
weight
seems like quite a transportation premium being enjoyed or befuddled
somewhere. I'm not doubting your honesty just wondering how
specifically true it is. If we could get someone on the list to look out
their window in say some specific town and street in Texas and read off
the bowser price of fuel and have someone else do the same in some
town and street in Europe we could play ourselves a nice little game of
trace the value chain.

Gas, or petrol or whatever you happen to call your dead tree juice
of hydrocarbons is very much a commodity and the brands on the
petrol stations in that town in Europe and Texas would be conspicuous
also. Obviously the exchange rates for the relevant currencies would be
too. The conversions wouldn't be too hard even for a relative maths
retard like myself to figure I suspect.

Chances are the petrol/gas at the two retail outlets would also come
from identifiable sources and if the companies were public (or even
if they weren't but had a public competitor selling the same dead
tree juice more could be deduced from that.

>So I would think the US has a long way to go before panic
> measures should be sought.
>
> Europe still has traffic jams full of cars burning that expensive petrol.
>
> True, the cars are generally smaller than in  the US and more public
> transportation is available and used by Europeans. But Europeans won't
> give up their cars any more than Americans will. Cars are still
> marketed here on performance. 'Be more powerful - overtake the weaker
> guy in front!'
> As though it mattered in the slightest when you are both in the same
> traffic jam. :)
>
> Fairly trivial lifestyle changes will easily enable the US to cope
> with higher gas prices for many years yet.

I reckon. But then you and I probably aren't specifically invested in
the petroleum infrastructure or its existant supporting industries or we
likely wouldn't be having this conversation in quite the same free and
easy way.

Brett Paatsch