Stocks tanking, oil skying. Gee, wonder what's happening?

[Peak_Oil]

Could it be that world demand for oil has exceeded the current supply? Could that possibly be? Does that mean that buyers get in a bidding war for oil?

Could it be that gasoline will simply rise at the pump until the poorest among us are reduced to bicycling to work? Could it be that food will become increasingly expensive until the poorest among us are reduced to eating the cheapes food available, such as rice or corn meal with water?

Could it be that having both a TV and a refrigerator plugged in at the same time will become a luxury?

What will happen when the poorest among us can no longer afford to pay their electricity bill to watch TV 4 hours a day and have to amuse themselves some other way? Do you think they might venture out of their houses, surrounded by stores with goods they can no longer afford?

Does this sound like a GOOD thing or a BAD thing?

How long will it be before you need to live at most 3 miles from work to assure your commute will be less than an hour? How will cities like Los Angeles survive in that environment?

How effective will advertising be under those circumstances? What will happen to big business?

[Laura_B_manslaughter]

1. But...but --- I need my SUV

Going out on the highways and driving my 3 ton highway tank 90 mph and endangering other drivers makes me feel like a big man instead of the pathetic worm i really am.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Welcome to DU :^D

[smirkymonkey]

5. Good response!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[htuttle]

3. Their Caspian gambit....failed. Not enough clean crude -- not profitable

Their Venezuelan gambit...failed. Turns out when the poor vote, the rich don't get much say.

Their Iraqi gambit....failed. You can't protect a flammable liquid you need to pump across the country.

I think they are about out of cards, short of invading Saudi Arabia directly, and that would never work in the long run.

I'm just glad I live 2 miles from work in a city surrounded by fresh water lakes. I work at a taxi company, but I've already warned our mechanics that they might want to brush up on their horse-shoeing skills...just in case (there were taxis long before gasoline engines, you know).

[Ignis]

4. While I doubt that we've hit peak oil just yet...

I would love to see more Americans become aware of the subject. But then, it will take a while before global warming or evolution become mainstream scientific concepts in the States, so I won't hold my breath.

I especially love this part of the equation, Peak Oil:
How long will it be before you need to live at most 3 miles from work to assure your commute will be less than an hour? How will cities like Los Angeles survive in that environment?

So many cities here in California are designed solely as commuter work hubs, rather than actual living spaces. I shudder to think how hard the economy of this state will be (further) hit by rising energy costs.

In the meantime, SUV sales continue to rise. It's enough to make a grown man cry.

[Union Thug]

6. I seem to remember that big oil ...

... or was it the auto manufacturers were responsible for killing the development of an efficient public transportation system in California.

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it is all over this country. What we need is clean, efficient public transporation. What we're sold is the 'romance of the open road' and credit debt and over consumption

[Karenina]

7. It was the TIRE companies

IIRC, Bridgestone, Firestone... In any case they bought the Red Car tracks (they ran from downtown to Long Beach) and ripped them all up.

[Union Thug]

8. Thanks Karenina! /eom

[el_gato]

9. We'll tear up the freeways and plant gardens