Four dollars a gallon.

[AF-ULF]

I paid $5.75 for a gallon today in the US. Of course, it was for a gallon of D-76. I guess all costs are relative.

[Joanna Carter]

Then you have the cost of Epson ink for the R2400 printer @ $6,430 per US gallon, £3,842 per UK gallon. And that doesn't account for the cost of the ink that you can't use after the chip says the cartridge is empty.

[Terence McDonagh]

It doesn't help when the US Air Force awards a multi-billon dollar contract to Airbus (instead of Boeing).

It doesn't help when Boeing bribes government purchasing officials with jobs, and proposes an inferior product while acting like they are the anointed savior. I'd love to see more of the jobs stay in the U.S., but Boeing blew it, not the Air Force.

I'd rather give my friends in the military a best product to safely get their job done than to watch them deal with an inferior product because it was better for U.S. employment (a claim that has been shown to be dubious anyway).

If we expect to sell things overseas, it is disingenuous to expect them to not be able to sell things here.

The problem of our economy is not holding our politicians liable for their wasteful spending. Until people begin to look at what's good for the country in the long-term instead of what is good for their district in the short-term, we're screwed. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be human nature to do so.

[Jim Ewins]

Don't you'all worry. this government will depreciate the dollar to the point it'll cost $10/gal before the world stops using the $ and oil then will be priced in euros.

[John Z.]

I just bought a Camry Hybrid, and am very happy with it; I doubled my gas mileage to 34 mpg! Effectively cut my gas cost in half, saving 1,400 dollars a year.

[Stephen Willard]

I am sadden by the price of fuel. I suspect the impact on poor working rural people who travel long distances to work are going to feel the crunch more than the rest of us.

However, I believe the only way we are going to curb our ridiculous appetite for energy is for further increases in energy prices. Only then will people start to walk to work, rider a bicycle to worker, live closer to work, drive smaller cars, drive at slower speeds, insulate their houses properly, turn down the heat and wear a sweater, turn off the air conditioner and use fans, use a cloths line, turn off street lights at night, live in smaller houses, and the list goes on.

Our political system is not capable of doing the right thing. As much as we hate Bush, he is only a reflection of us. We are in Iraq only because we cannot tame our consumption for energy. His pulling out of the international agreement to reduce our carbon footprint is only a reflection of the ineffectiveness of our political system and American's unwillingness to change and reducetheir styles. Bush is us in every way. How many anti-Bush Pro-environment bumper stickers have I seen blow past me on the interstates going 80 mph. Most of us, including myself, do not walk our talk. We are nothing more than all-consuming debt driven energy guzzling hypocrites. The resources it take me to sustain my life style with the cars, size of my house, and everything else I consume, I could feed 3000 people for a year in a third world country.

Who are we trying kid here...

[Jerzy Pawlowski]

However, I believe the only way we are going to curb our ridiculous appetite for energy is for further increases in energy prices. Only then will people start to walk to work, rider a bicycle to worker, live closer to work,

Too late, this requires smart city planning. Ridiculous new suburb divisions in US and Canadian cities (I call these architectural, economic, and cultural disaster) won't allow for any efficient public transportation in the future, too far for riding bicycle or walking. No car equals no life in this case.

Fortunately, gas is still relatively cheap (compare bottled water or coke) and oil will last for quite some time despite popular crying that the end is close, obviously it does not mean it should be wasted. Just in time we will have alternate ways to move our cars.

[Donald Miller]

I think that one idea that would have lasting benefits would be to immediately raise the mileage requirements for autos to 32 mpg (if the auto makers can't deliver, they can not sell) at the same time we could raise the price of gasoline to $8 per gallon...the additional $4 (tax) would be used to pay for a high speed passenger rail system and expanded rail freight transport capabilities...The US auto industry is on it's ass as it is now...maybe it's time to deliver the coup de gras.

Driving down I40 through NM and Arizona is like playing dodge ball with the eighteen wheelers...hundreds of trucks hauling a smidgen of freight at about 8 mpg...makes no sense to me...trucks should be used for local haul only...rail for long haul...much more cost efficient.

[fergus]

... if the worldwide supply of oil were to be increased as a result of increased domestic drilling, the world market price of oil would drop according to the shift in supply and demand.

True, but sadly with OPEC acting as a cartel there is no open market.

If there were a new source of oil, the OPEC nations would likely restrict supply in order to maintain high prices. This has been their technique in the past, and was the basis for their recent discussions a few weeks ago.

btw - petrol here in Oz is currently US$5.40/Gallon for the good stuff. $4 sounds cheap!!!

[Diane Maher]

The gasoline should Be Higher in the city to make the folks use Public transportation
the people out in the boon docks like the outskirts of Minasotta montana,north dakota :They have a long ways to go to get food and supplys: :

If there is public transportation to be used and that actually goes to the place you want to go.