Oil has now reached $147 a barrel

[Aussie leftie]

In Australia, we are now paying on average $7 per gallon for unleaded and $7.60 for diesel. If the Australian dollar wasn't doing as good as it is (96cents to the American dollar) we'd obviously be paying a lot more.

It is said that China's demand is one of the reasons why the price of fuel is so high.

It seems that most people want to "have their cake and eat it too". We have been importing goods made in China for some time now, and clothes and electrical items have never been so cheap. It would be nice to have the cheap items and cheap fuel all the time, but to believe that that is possible, one would be living in a fool's paradise.

Many people seem to be more concerned by the price rises of fuel than the fact that it is rapidly running out. I feel that we are not that far away from rationing such a precious resource. During WW2 the general public was issued with ration cards. If such a system was reintroduced, those that need fuel to make a living should be given special dispensation to buy what they need. As for the rest of us we should be rationed to a certain amount per week, month or whatever. I am not saying that this system should be introduced immediately, but just throwing in fuel for thought.

With the prices as they are, it has certainly curtailed my driving to only using my car when absolutely necessary. I also believe that the big fuel guzzlers should be taxed off the roads (except for when they are needed for work).

A bit of feed back would be greatly appreciated.

[Extend a Hand]

1. for years all discussions about poverty in the developing world

have focused on bringing about industrialization. Now large parts of the third world are making great strides towards industrialization but they're using up "our" energy supplies.
Uh-oh.

[TheFarseer]

2. you've put that together so well

We wanted lots of cheep clothes, toys, electronics, so we've been outsourcing to China and India, but we didn't consider that this would raise their standard of living and their need for oil. Now our cheep oil is gone, our manufacturing base is gone, our IT jobs are leaving and all the cheep plastic crap in the word can't make up for that.

Rationing would be a drastic step for our "Santa Claus" government. I'm afraid conservation won't make much difference in price because of demand from Chindia, but what's really scary is the day when you can't buy any gasoline at any price.

[Aussie leftie]

3. I'm not expecting the price to come down in a real sense

but I do hope that this latest crisis works as a wake-up call. I am starting to look back to what I did since the 50's. I used to walk more, because I was too young to drive. Plastic bags weren't a common sight, so we used to wrap our garbage in newspaper. Instead of turning a heater on, we'd just put on a jacket.

At the moment, we are in the middle of winter. I've hardly used my heater. At night, when the temperature is at its lowest, I go to bed early, turn on the electric blanket and watch TV. Much cheaper than trying to heat a whole room, or dare say a whole house.

Its the little things that add up to paying less on the power bill.