petrol prices etc

[MKG]

Oh my - what I would give to have been a fly on the wall at that Admin meeting.

Oh, no - double that

Mike

[greenorelse]

I haven't sat down and calculated the real import, if any, of those figures. I was just heartened to discover that the UK is not the leading offender in the oil stakes and its relative performance is improving. Perhaps there's hope yet.

if you look at it in per-capita terms, we're only #62... (And China is #144.)

I've never understood why we talk about the energy consumption of whole countries like they are single, directly comparable entities. "China" is 1.3 billion people - that's about one-fifth of the entire population of the world - whereas the US is only 300 million people, or a bit less than one-twentieth of the entire population of the world.

Precisely.

And it shames me to say that Ireland is up there at 31. Not as bad as Belgium and the Netherlands but all the same, it's one factor in my despair at peoples' flagrant and unthinking consumption of dwindling resources.

[dave45]

Well if you want an alternative more positive POV on the whole oil thing try this blog:
http://peakoildebunked.blogspot.com/200 ... oomer.html

[MKG]

Nicely written view of another standpoint. I particularly liked the comment afterwards ...

"I think we may have reached peak convienence or peak lazy, but the fatalism of peak oil is just too sexy...."



Mike

[oldjerry]

Interesting article Dave,thanks for putting that up. (typically for most Scientists ,and Americans,he has a VERY poor grasp of contemporary political philosophy (Marxist Enviromentalism????) but the more scientifically aware people will be far better qualiified than I to comment on the substantive part of it.

[gregorach]

I'm not a doomer because of the technical issues, I'm a doomer because of the political issues. (Well, actually, I'm not really a proper doomer at all - I reckon we'll turn out to be far more adaptable than most think, once we have no other option. Unfortunately, because of the wealth and power differentials that exist in the world, by the time we get there, a lot of other people will have already been pushed over the edge. By us.) Yes, we could, technically, avoid most of the trouble coming down the pike, if there was the political will to do the hard work required. Unfortunately, all I see right now is an apparently limitless supply of political will to avoid doing the necessary hard work for as long as humanly possible, and at any cost.

It's not physics that's the real problem, it's psychology and economics.

[oldjerry]

Absolutely... the free-market system has created the situation,and has nothing to gain by it being sorted out.
Global Capitalism vs. the Enviroment ?? no contest.

[grahamhobbs]

Oldjerry and gregorach, you are both absolutely right - what did they do with the banking crises, used our money to prop them up so they could carry on again regardless. They will go on burning oil, despite destroying the planet not because there is no alternative, but because it makes the most money.

[baldybloke]

When I was a lad pretty much everyone worked within a 10 mile radius of where they lived. Now rural towns have grown whilst local industry has disappeared. Also people have higher expectations, needing to earn more for stuff that is not always a necessity. We need to have a major rethink of how we live.

[contadina]

When I was a lad pretty much everyone worked within a 10 mile radius of where they lived. Now rural towns have grown whilst local industry has disappeared. Also people have higher expectations, needing to earn more for stuff that is not always a necessity. We need to have a major rethink of how we live.

I'm pretty sure we will return to that. Where I live, we've seen a major shift of younger families returning to live in the countryside (about 5kms from town), and Im sure this will increase as oil continues to push up the price of everything.

[baldybloke]

So maybe there is a positive if we are prepared to embrace it. Contadina, there's a name I recognise from another forum. We seem to be hanging out in similar circles.

[paul123456]

Hello there ,

moaning about petrol prices alone does not cover the issue , it is the oil price to be concerned about . On top of that since the Japanese have been involved and Germany has decided to close down 7 nuclear plants the trade price of electricity has risen by 20 %. And then the final blow , the UN has decided a no fly zone for Ghadaffi , this should give the oil price a further boost .
Not only will the petrol prices rise over 2 pound , it will have an effect on all other products which are made from oil .
One good thing though , the higher the price , the more tax the government will receive to spend on Ghadaffi .

If the government would raise the petrol and diesel price in advance it would have a few advantages .
Less old dirty cars on the road , and so less traffic jams .And so cleaner air , we'll need it after Japan.
More taxes from petrol , in this way they can give it to the banks which need support , the bonusses are under pressure.
Bump up the gallon price to 10 pound instead of messing around with a few pence every week .

regards ,

Paul

[paul123456]

Hello there ,

as expected the topic has run dead , seems as if everyone has got used to the price hike .
Brent oil hit 121usd today , around end of the month probably 130 .

to be continued ,

regards ,

Paul

[zaxdog]

Paul123456: "Less dirty old cars on the road" Awwwww thanks Paul, are you buying me a new car?

[Susie]

I think George Osborne sorted this in the budget.

Joking!