Folks who prate that “spoiled Americans” should get used to European gasoline prices still think it’s $3-4/gallon the other side of the pond. Gasoline in the UK hit $7/gallon before Katrina.
Prices have risen to record levels of more than £1 a litre in some parts of the country. About three-quarters of the price of a litre consists of fuel duty and Vat.
The Fuel Lobby, the group which organised the protests that brought Britain to a near-standstill in autumn 2000, says it plans large-scale protests across the country. It wants to prevent supplies reaching petrol stations from 6am on Wednesday.
Gordon Brown, the chancellor, yesterday played down prospects of government moves to cut the price of fuel for motorists, instead telling a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Manchester that high oil prices required worldwide solutions.
“We urge oil-producing countries and companies and consumers to recognise their common interest in ensuring sufficient supplies of oil,” said Brown.
Andrew Spence, a farmer from County Durham and one of the founders of the Fuel Lobby, said the EU meeting should have agreed fuel tax cuts to ease the burden on motorists.
He added that lorry drivers in France and Spain had told him they would hold protests in sympathy with actions in Britain.
Spence said cuts in fuel duty would make “common sense” by producing immediate reductions in the cost at pumps.
The last time there were boycotts, rolling demonstrations and barricades by farmers and truck drivers was 2000. These are tactics that certainly won’t be supported by all motorists. The folks moving to measures this extreme are being put out of business by the cost of fuel.
Last week ministers discussed a response to threatened shortages caused by blockades. A document, Downstream Oil Resilience, suggested that motorists could be restricted in the amount of fuel they could buy while other measures, enshrined in the Energy Act of 1976, could include the setting aside of designated filling stations for the exclusive use of priority users.
British bureaucratese ain’t a whole lot different from Rovespeak. The last paragraph means — rationing!
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Update: You’re going to seem prescient to the folks you work with — after you mention this, Monday morning. Predictably, the whizbangs at AP and the TV talking heads haven’t noticed this is going to happen on Wednesday.
And one wonders exactly whom priority users would be….
I can’t speak for British or European oil prices or practices, I will about American practices.
Here in my local burg, in the Mid-West, the favorite vehicle is the pick-up, with 4 wheel drive of course, or a SUV, also with 4 wheel drive. The bigger the truck or SUV the better. Then these gas guzzling behemoths don’t enjoy the speed limits, they must exceed them exponentially to the size of their engines. Can you say WASTE!!!
So far I am the only person I am aware of that thinks the 55 mph limit should be brought back. Why? There is a shortage of fuel. While ordinary drivers have other options, such as smaller cars, essential uses such as transport trucks and home heating oil are much more limited.
I believe that we won’t see lower speed limits or more efficient smaller cars because oil industry profits are going through the roof and Ford, GM, and Chrysler make most of their profits from gas guzzlers. The federal politicians know which side their bread is buttered on and will not buck the trend. Until there is some leadership in Washington the problem will only get worse. Soon, the energy crash will come and then everyone will wonder why no one did anything sooner. I doubt if the Federal government has made any more plans then how to deal with the mass civil disobedience that will go along with the massive depression.
And one wonders exactly whom priority users would be….
… even though one knows, deep in one’s heart, what the answer to that question is.
The price for premium unleaded here in Belgium is now 1.51€ per liter.
Which is 1.87346$ per liter.
Which is 7,1004134$ per gallon…
🙁
And we should worry about European fuel prices because….???
Where I live in Canada fuel is about $1.16 per litre, which yes, is a lot.
But if you don’t like it then drive something more economical. While I’m sure Europeans don’t like the high gass prices, they are smart enough to drive appropriate vehicles, use mass transit, and bike places. I’d never seen so many bikes in my life as there were at the Amsterdam train station. Image that! People actually bike and then take a train!
But no, we all want a big house, which means it has to be in the suburbs for us to afford it, which means we have to commute a silly distance. And naturally we wouldn’t want to lower ourselves to taking transit. That is for the lesser-class. So obviously the answer is to buy a bug SUV to prove how special we are. The bigger the truck, the bigger the man. (And yes, you can substitute woman, as required). Almost no one needs an SUV. People just want them. And if you want it, then you can bloody well pay for it.
Basically, the US can whine all it wants. Generously, you might call it growing pains while change is affected. I am very pleased to say that we actually have hundreds of smart cars in my town of 350,000 people. A small percentage now, but it’s growing. I haven’t seen any in the States yet, but hopefully if we’re doing it, others are too.
(By the way, I walk to work 🙂
All well and good to compare our fuel prices to those in Europe. However in Europe, they have options. The train system is magnificent, and other forms of public transportation are available. In this country, we opted to put our mass transit money in concrete highways, and airports. So if that’s our overall transportation strategy, then the government needs to monitor the cost of fuel and control it if necessary to that people can afford get to work. They can’t just sit back and blame it on the Arabs.
We found out after 9/11 that not having a reliable railroad infrastructure brought us up short. Amtrak did it’s best to replace the airplanes, but couldn’t keep up. The bus companies bought up all the trolley systems in the 20’s and 30’s and put them out of business. No, we put our money in personal transportation, and until that changes, our government needs to get off it’s ass and provide affordable fuel for the population.
Pat, please think this through. Have you ever traveled through the vast corn belt in our Midwest? Where you can drive on an expressway and see 100 miles forward and back. I remember driving in southern South Dakota. I was the only one on the road. There was no one ahead of me and no one behind me. But I was stuck driving 55 miles per hour. That was asinine. Energy is valuable, but so is time.
States ARE allowed to pick any speed they want. If you think your state roads should be no faster than 55 MPH, then petition your state to do so. But please let us know what state it is so I can avoid it at all costs.
So Pat you want to tell everyone else what type of car they should drive? Just because it doesn’t meet your standards of what’s appropriate? Having more cargo room/legroom means nothing to you? The reason there’s so many SUVs is beecause the CAFE rules for cars basically eliminated the large sedan and the station wagon.
Ima, states can pick any speed — up to 75 mph — outside of specific populated areas. Over that and the feds start withdrawing hwy funds. As I recall, that’s how they eliminated 75+ speed limits up in Wyoming or Montana.
Here Here for Amtrak!
I think the auto industry should buy out Amtrak, improve it, and make money off of it. Automobiles are not sustainable. The US should try to make something like Japan. Speed trains for long distances and local trains for cities. We already got some local trains, but many local trains need to be improved, and in smaller cities, installed. Then we need high speed trains.
I don’t know how much sense I am making, but Automobiles and air travel are wasteful. The corrupt US government and the silly auto industry ruined it for them selves.