There are loads of commentaries out there over the hike in fuel prices and how bad it's effect is upon the USA society. This is another one, not particularly surprising in its decision that the USA's problems are entirely different to those of any one else's.
It's not even the fact that I disagree with their opinion, but the fact we're apparently heading for some sort of "dark ages", that surprised me.
Are we really heading for some form of Dark Ages? Are we heading there quicker than the USA? I don't think so. Whilst being hit by the recession that has hit the USA and therefore the global economy I think we're riding this one out much better than they are. Which more initiatives for alternatives to oil for fuel for energy, I can't see how we're worse off than the USA for energy, even if the goverments of our region are taxing us through the eyeballs for petrol.
Am I blinkered to some predicted collapse specific to Europe?
Comments
Having read the article a few times, and having little or no time for political bullshit, my opinions are;
1) Author is a dumb American
2) An interesting comparison would be average MPG for cars in France against average MPG for cars in America...I suspect he'll find a lot of his 50% oil per capita right there
3) Author has never left his home town, let alone travelled to Europe
4) Author should be beaten with a stick until he stops moving
The entire logic of "our country is bigger, therefore we travel more" is fundamentally flawed. 90% of your time in/on a vehicle is spent doing fairly local trips (home, work, shops, friends), not going coast-to-coast.
I like to think of economies like control systems. To keep an economy healthy, you need to to keep the amplitude of change small. The economy will go up. The economy will go down. Jobs will move out, jobs will move in. As long as these changes are gradual then you're ok. What really bollockses things up are massive changes all of a sudden. You get spirals out of control then. High fuel prices and cost of living is what many Americans believe is 'the end of the world' but it's not. They just can't have the dream they've been promised.
The American economy has been isolationist. They keep prices artificially low by subsidising and trade tarrifs. No president wants to be blamed for ending the love affair with the motorcar and no president wants to admit that steel produced outside the US is cheaper. Years ago, they were able to switch off the rest of the world and be self sufficient. Not any more. They're finally having to pay near the going rate for fuel and they don't like it.
In the long term, people change their habits to meet the economic situation. Fuel too expensive to commute? Move job or house. Don't commute anymore. Buy a smaller car. You'll get spaced out communities shredding and more pockets of density, enough to support a transport system (which happens already in the US, people still commute by car when there is a perfectly good transport system, it has nothing to do with densities). To them, it's seen as overcrowding and thus "the end of the world" but we've had that for years. So have Americans living in cities.
Many US bloggers like to blame the govt for things far outside of the Federal Govt's control. Fuel prices is one example. China being the new economic powerhouse is another. Nothing the White House could do about that. Europe is better at embracing change and is much less isolationist.
Unfortunately, the recession over there will effect here. A large proportion of UK wealth is generated in money markets and they are all inextricably linked with each other. With the housing market slowing down, people aren't going to consume as much and you will see a downturn in growth. Let's hope the stock/money markets don't crash because that would be bad for everyone.
I've rambled a bit through there. I hope I'm making a point and that some of this is still relevant!
[edit] I am agree with Pete on this[/edit]
I found it hilarious that US car advert boast that a car will do 30mpg on the highway.
My car will do that without me even trying and then on urban sort of travel, hell some of the more fancy diesels will push 80mpg if you drive a little carefully.
Driving at 55mph my car can manage 70mpg perhaps more, I once averaged 70mpg on a trip from Reading to Bristol. On an average tuesday nite on the trip from London to Reading and back again I manage 45mpg.