An individual short term solution may be to drive less, although that's not an option to everyone. The long term solution is going to be higher prices, including higher fuel taxes which can be directed to subsidizing public transport and energy conservation and providing tax relief to those who need it.

Posted by Edoardo_C at 07/15/2008

Increased fuel efficiency and alternate fuels have been possible for many years. That we keep forgetting about them every time the gas crisis goes away for awhile has been a great folly.

However, I hear many people reject the notion of drilling because "it won't effect anything for 10 years. Thing is, thats what we said 20 years ago: We'd have it by now. So, are we going to put it off again for the same reason and be having this same conversation 20 years FROM NOW as well, or are we going to DO SOMETHING, for God sake?

And frankly, regarding the Global warming thing, in this type of crisis, I have to honestly say, politely of course, that I don't give a "Magenta Rodents Backside" what the drilling does to our "carbon footprint."

William Harry

Posted by william.harry13 at 07/16/2008

I am writing this against my self interest, since I live where there is no public transportation, and it is at least 15 miles to get most of the places I need to go.

However, we have been saying for a long time that the only way to make Americans take notice and push for better fuel efficiency, and even (dare I say it?) change their behavior, would be to have gas prices go way up. So here it is, and we were right. People actually are changing their driving habits, changing their cars, and soon hopefully will be driving more slowly.

I live on a fixed income, and drive a 1993 civic that gets between 35 and 40 mpg, and this is hurting me. But sometimes pain is necessary to motivate change. I don't think we should be trying to lower prices (though stopping their increase would be nice). Not only is short term change not possible, it is not desirable either.

Posted by ramara at 07/17/2008

A year ago, the Kansas City Star did an expose about the number of refineries operating in the USA. The number of shuttered refineries is astounding. We still have crude oil to work with. It is the capacity for refining we don't have because Ronnie Raygun "Deregulated" the oil industry way back in the early 1980's. We must increase our capacity for refining- in the short run, and research new forms of transit. If things continue the way things are now, the great depression will look like a cake walk by comparison.

Posted by jzamrzla at 07/17/2008

The fastest acting short term solution would be to reduce speed limits, as we did in the 1970's. With effective enforcement, we could cut our collective oil consumption by 10% from 2007 levels in one year. This much oil (512 million barrels) translates to $40 billion in gasoline at $4/gallon. The cutback in usage would give us more net supply and a reduction in prices. We must remember though, that this reduction will only be temporary and that we must work very hard at getting off of fossil fuels entirely. A more extensive version of the value of cutting speed can be found at: Posted by tamohara at 07/18/2008