NPR Reports -
Prepare to fork over $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012, former Shell Oil president John Hofmeister says. That’s nearly $2 more than the current average price of $3.05 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy.
American demand for gasoline has returned to pre-recession levels, while demand from Asian countries has increased beyond levels in 2007 and 2008, says Hofmeister, author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk From an Energy Insider.
“There’s a psychology of oil pricing based on fear — fear of shortage, fear of lack of supply,” he tells NPR’s Jacki Lyden. The Obama administration sent a shock to the world trading marketplace when it said the U.S. is not going to pursue more off-shore drilling at a time when the world needs more crude oil.
Drivers’ sticker shock will be only one of the consequences of a gas price jump driven by higher crude oil prices. “The higher cost of fuel touches everything in our lives,” Hofmeister says. “We have all kinds of crude oil applications in everyday life, from the Chapstick to the lipstick, to the fuel in our gas tanks.”
Hofmeister advocates for a more pragmatic approach to meeting U.S. energy needs. “I’m not proposing we drill 20 million barrels a day [domestically],” he says. “I’m proposing we produce 10 million barrels a day — 3 million more than today, equal to what we used to produce 35 years ago. The oil is there. There’s plenty of it if we would give ourselves permission as a people to go make it happen.”
Alternative energy sources are the future, he says, but in the short-term, “we really have no choice — with the 250 million cars on the road today — but to put gasoline and diesel into those cars.” Unless you ride a scooter, then you’re still in pretty good shape. ;)
3. January 2011 at 9:16 am
Note to self – cruise through alibaba.com and pick up a lot of cheap scoots to sell to suckers this summer.
3. January 2011 at 8:27 pm
High fuel prices are coming, how soon I don’t know.
Drilling for more oil will take years before it has any impact.
Waste not, need not, buy a scooter.
4. January 2011 at 11:57 am
Steve:
The other greatest site on this here interweb is related to this story directly. Life After The Oil Crash.net provides sobering information about our oil problem. http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Index.html
Gas prices are the first justification for many a scooter purchase.
irv
7. January 2011 at 5:58 am
When I were a lad (man you know your getting on when you say that and its actually true) people here used to walk a lot or ride bicycles. Now everyone walks out the house into the car to the shop, back in the car and back to the house. I have a theory that as well as being lazy it keeps them away from undesirables actually their other countryfolk. I will be interested to see how they keep this up with fuel here going more than £5 a gallon something like £1.30 a litre currently and the economy tanking more and possible euro collapse pending. My scoot is still parked up due to the ice for this last 2 months so I recon I have used about half a gallon in that time just to charge the battery.
Somethings gotta change to support more and more and more planet consumers. I think last time it was a war and the time before that and etc. I do hope not but….
8. January 2011 at 1:17 pm
Clive, your point is well-taken, but most American cities and towns have zoning laws that put housing here, shopping there, and business offices way over there. The corner store, and the high street, pretty much don’t exist in most of the U.S. You must have some kind of vehicle to get to these places.
In my own case, I have a junkyard leg and only part of a right foot. I’m able to get around without mobility devices, but not very far, or very fast. Luckily, I live in a compact smaller city where it is actually possible to walk to most of the places I need to go. It kinda helps that I don’t have a job at the moment, either…
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool
10. January 2011 at 1:28 pm
Hi again Orin
If you lived here with a disability you could potentially become middle class with the very very generous social benefits people get here and there is nothing much wrong with half of them. They just get the walking stick out and wince a bit if they are ever checked up on.
I live in a traditional smallish ~50k pepole Norhtern Irish Town built up in the days when linen was all the rage and now in some decline to the out of town shopping centre. When I couldn’t get out on my scooter with the ice I walked everyday to the centre of town from the outskirt and back through the ice and snow and I didn’t meet many people but the cars kept rolling by guzzling that gas.
Hurray, today it thawed enough to get out and drive around on the greasy roads and through the rain around the country raods. Glad to be back aboard.
BTW I’ve got to get a job now as before I was caring for my mother who sadly passed away before Xmas. I don’t think it will be easy if even possible but I’ve still got enough cash to keep the scoot running for now at least. The scoot which my mother pretty much bankrolled sure came in handy to fetch all her messages and medications infact it was the ideal transport for the job.
I just looked up the price rise this year for my scoot. It now has a retail price of £3500 ($5k?). Honda S-Wing 125. I find that shocking and don’t really expect their sales to go crazy this year if they sell any at all.
10. January 2011 at 4:08 pm
Scooter Scoop September 1: Gas should be $0.50 a gallon.
10. January 2011 at 7:18 pm
It’s kind of funny that the US’ nightmare scenario for gas prices is what we pay in Australia right now! Europeans must see $5 gas as just a beautiful dream…
29. January 2011 at 10:17 am
And why is gas $.25 gallon over in the oil producing country’s?
3. February 2011 at 2:28 pm
[tap-tap]
This thang on?
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