Gas Prices Push Consumers to the Edge - USA Today

[Bill USA]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2011-05-19-gas-prices-poll_n.htm

With prices up $1.06 a gallon from year-ago levels, consumers already are making substantive lifestyle changes. More than 50% say they've altered daily habits to compensate. Almost 20% plan to make changes if prices remain high. Nearly 30% say they're driving less and consolidating trips.

~~
~~

Prices on food, clothing and everything from coffee to airfares have also been rising.

~~
~~

Companies wrestling with higher transportation and shipping costs are also looking for lower-cost solutions. Phoenix-based 3 Busy Dogs, which manufactures Bowser Beer, a non-alcoholic, protein- and vitamin-infused brew for pooches, says shipping costs to some retailers and consumers have jumped nearly 100%.

~~
~~
"Ultimately, it's going higher," says Dicker, author of the recently released book Oil's Endless Bid: Taming the Unreliable Price of Oil to Secure the Economy. "Over the course of the next four years, we could see $185-to-$200-a-barrel oil, which translates to a gallon price of $6."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------