[jeeg]

Canada and most of Europe all have traditionally lived with higher gas prices then we do, many of them much higher ($7 - $9 per gallon range).

It won't cause our country to collapse, but it will cause some growing pains as our country learns to reinvent itself again.
We'll be forced to go back to smaller vehicles and create communitiy areas much like Europe has always had. As many things that can be supplied locally as possible. We'll have more of the homesteads and small farms again. The town butcher, the town seamstress & tailor, the blacksmith, the town markets to sell locally produced foods and wares, etc. etc.
All of this instead of importing foods and goods from thousands of miles away.

I personally don't see it as a bad thing altho we'll have to do some serious readjusting along with everyone else.

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by jeeg

Canada and most of Europe all have traditionally lived with higher gas prices then we do, many of them much higher ($7 - $9 per gallon range).

It won't cause our country to collapse, but it will cause some growing pains as our country learns to reinvent itself again.
We'll be forced to go back to smaller vehicles and create communitiy areas much like Europe has always had. As many things that can be supplied locally as possible. We'll have more of the homesteads and small farms again. The town butcher, the town seamstress & tailor, the blacksmith, the town markets to sell locally produced foods and wares, etc. etc.
All of this instead of importing foods and goods from thousands of miles away.

I personally don't see it as a bad thing altho we'll have to do some serious readjusting along with everyone else.

I totally agree. The human is an amazing creature, because we can adjust to most anything. The ones that will have a problem, are the ones who cant..or wont adjust. Personally I see it as a minor inconvenience then a major problem.

[MountainMen]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

I totally agree. The human is an amazing creature, because we can adjust to most anything. The ones that will have a problem, are the ones who cant..or wont adjust. Personally I see it as a minor inconvenience then a major problem.

Michigan is more capable of adjusting than other states, because Michigan actually has a lot of golden farm land to produce local food. Food will be no problem, unlike places like Utah where not much will grow.

[ForStarters]

If gas reaches $6.50 a gallon, cities will become very popular.

[Luzette]

Get the bycycle out or the old time horse and buggy. Sort of kidding, but sort of not too. Nothing funny about anything that's going on the in the world right now. I'll be planting a garden as usual.

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by jeeg

Canada and most of Europe all have traditionally lived with higher gas prices then we do, many of them much higher ($7 - $9 per gallon range).

It won't cause our country to collapse, but it will cause some growing pains as our country learns to reinvent itself again.
We'll be forced to go back to smaller vehicles and create communitiy areas much like Europe has always had. As many things that can be supplied locally as possible. We'll have more of the homesteads and small farms again. The town butcher, the town seamstress & tailor, the blacksmith, the town markets to sell locally produced foods and wares, etc. etc.
All of this instead of importing foods and goods from thousands of miles away.

I personally don't see it as a bad thing altho we'll have to do some serious readjusting along with everyone else.

Since we have a goverment that is unwilling to tap our own oil resources I guess we will have to live with the scenerio described. We will have to reduce our standard of living because those in power want that to happen anyway. Allowing an oil crises to happen (by not drilling our own) they will adavance the enviromental agenda they support. They want us to ride busses, to give up our big vehicles, they want us to consume less and live in urban enviroments. We will all be forced to live with this economic reality because our goverment decided to not allow the drilling of our own oil in the interest of forwarding the enviromental movement. We should stop being sheep and start being Americans again, elect a goverment that supports keeping our standard of living high. We should not be dependent on foriegn oil supplies, and we should have access to the oil we need. For the past 100 years the automobile has brought us great freedom and an awesome lifestyle. I do not want to give mine up, and Im sure most other people dont either. I dont want to ride a bus, I dont want to live packed like sardines in an overcrowded city. I am not a European, I am an American. Dont get me wrong we should use our resources wisely, and I support the development of new technology that promotes energy efficiency (like the volt). I dont however think accepting a reduced standard of living is the American thing to do. I say drill baby drill, while at the same time we develope those alternative energy products like Volt. We do this and we will no longer be dependent on hostile nations and we will not have to live with less.

[jeeg]

Cities are not are not in the least, self sustaining. Small towns and villages can be (or at least very nearly so).

I don't see cities as the way of the future.


For the record, I see all of the previous (as well as the current) administrations as partly responsible for the mess we are in today.

Reminds me of that old Billy Joel song "We didn't start the fire"

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by danielj72

Since we have a goverment that is unwilling to tap our own oil resources I guess we will have to live with the scenerio described. We will have to reduce our standard of living because those in power want that to happen anyway. Allowing an oil crises to happen (by not drilling our own) they will adavance the enviromental agenda they support. They want us to ride busses, to give up our big vehicles, they want us to consume less and live in urban enviroments. We will all be forced to live with this economic reality because our goverment decided to not allow the drilling of our own oil in the interest of forwarding the enviromental movement. We should stop being sheep and start being Americans again, elect a goverment that supports keeping our standard of living high. We should not be dependent on foriegn oil supplies, and we should have access to the oil we need. For the past 100 years the automobile has brought us great freedom and an awesome lifestyle. I do not want to give mine up, and Im sure most other people dont either. I dont want to ride a bus, I dont want to live packed like sardines in an overcrowded city. I am not a European, I am an American. Dont get me wrong we should use our resources wisely, and I support the development of new technology that promotes energy efficiency (like the volt). I dont however think accepting a reduced standard of living is the American thing to do. I say drill baby drill, while at the same time we develope those alternative energy products like Volt. We do this and we will no longer be dependent on hostile nations and we will not have to live with less.

I half agree with you. I definitely agree that our quality of life is deteriorating. However, I don't think the answer is drilling for more oil. Oil is the problem. It is a non-renewable resource. Eventually, it will run out, maybe not in 5 years, but perhaps in 50. Instead of subsidizing oil companies, our government should be subsidizing clean energy technology that's developed and manufactured in this country. Drilling oil is a temporary solution to a permanent problem. The environmental concerns are also real. Ever seen an L.A. morning? It's disgusting. Future generations are going to get stuck cleaning up the enormous mess were making, if such is even possible.

I also don't think urban environments are evil or unAmerican. The sprawled out version of America is a product of the past 50 years. Prior to that, most people lived in cities. Big cities are keenly American. Chicago is the home of the skyscraper. New York City is a beautiful and iconic American place. Our nation's history is rooted in cities like Boston and Philadelphia. My grandparents lived in uban evironments, road the streetcars, and walked to the grocery store. I also don't believe that Europeans are crammed into cities because they can't afford to live in suburbs as many Europeans do live in the countryside. However, on the whole, Europeans choose to live in cities because they are viewed as enjoyable places of culture and interaction. This is certainly true of places like London, Paris, and Rome.

[Perferator]

Recessions are often set off by a preceding rise in pump prices. The recession of the early 80's was caused by the big jump in pump prices the summer of '79 when gas hit 1.00gal+. Again, we see this in the rise of pump prices to near 5.00gal in late '07, early '08. That one set off the huge economic tumble we have yet to recover from.

The only question is how big and how deep this next one will be and what will the consequences be.

We need to build more refineries and start tapping our vast reserves to save this nation from going under. If not, it's only a matter of time.

[NATIVEYOOPER]

As the original poster posed the questions what happens if gas hits 6.50, it is already at 3.59 in our capitol, sickening thought but 6.50 does not seem that far from reality in the very near future. We have abundant resources right here in our own country, time to start using them in the wisest manner possible, and demand putting people in place that have the smarts and know how to get it done efficiently.