What should our country do about fuel cost?

Question

What should our country do about fuel cost?

Answer 1

do away with oil and gas powered electricity generation plants ..

nuclear power is the answer

Answer 2

Improve public transport and limit the use of private cars. Try to increase the use of sustainable fuels like wind and solar power. Energy saving campaigns.

Answer 3

Nothing. We need to be forced to buy more fuel efficient cars so the manufacturers produce more fuel efficient cars.

20 years ago I drove a regular Toyota that got better mileage than todays best hybrids. What's up with that?

Answer 4

Raise it. We have dam near the cheapest fuel on the planet, if you don't count the Middle East, and if I am not mistaken, we consume the most. The only way to force American automakers to quit building 12 mile per gallon Escalades is to force consumers to get sick of paying for the fuel to run them. Then they'll quit buying them, then the automakers will get the message the hard way and start building something efficient for a change or concede victory to the imports and close down. We're dealing with over 100 years of gross overconsumption of petroleum-based fuel in this country. That behavior doesn't change overnight, nor will it change if the price stays as low as it is.

Answer 5

There isn't a thing we can do about fuel cost.  Prices are established on the world market and we are all subject to it.  

Countries which produce oil and sell it to citizens for bargain basement rates do it through subsidies.  Currently, I know China and Venezuela are offering low cost gasoline within their borders and it's propoganda that costing those governments billions of dollars a year.

As long as current conditions prevail, with global demand increasing against a dwindling supply of oil, prices will climb.  Since we can't create more oil overnight, the only way to reduce price pressure is through decreased demand.  Don't expect the Chinese and Indian goverments to share your views...

Answer 6

make more fuel efficient cars, alternative fuel, plug in are bogus, it would put more strain on the grid, Solar electricity on all roofs and solar heated water for house to ease our way off fossil fuels

Answer 7

Well, we need to realize that it's not all about us.

The Chinese, Europeans and Indian economies have all started to take on activities which are at least as intensive on resources as the US economy. The price of fuel is never going to really go and stay below about 3$ and more likely will stabilize around 4$ or so per gallon increasing slowly.  Which is what the market is bearing in the next 5-10 years at least. In another 30 years or so - we're gonna be out of the stuff practically speaking by 2040.

There will always be oil , but I can't afford 30$ a gallon for the stuff , so that will be a VERY hard pill for most Americans to get around.

In the short term, we need to do two things, put a serious incentive program for citizens to buy fuel efficient cars and mild tax penalties for poor gas mileage.

STRONGLY encourage GM, Chevy, Ford to produce economical , fuel efficient cars on par with what the Japanese were producing, the Prius is over 10 years old, the Mark 2 Prius is out in 2008 will get 90MPG, vs. the present 40-45 of the Mark 1.

Our manufacturers are (as of this August) still having a debate about average 30MPG maybe someday by 2019 or 2020 or so. Clearly they aren't too concerned and maybe with thinking like that they deserve to go out of business.  

Personally, I just think it shouldn't be that hard to get some engineers from MIT or somewhere and some capital together to start producing efficient cars in the US by US firms.

As a nation we need to get all warm and fuzzy with the ideas of conservation and fuel efficiency - again.

Largely, the appalling lack of business and political leadership is pretty freaking embarrassing. When you talk to Japanese or German or other westernized nations, they kind of regard the US as either being incapable or unwilling - and in either case - no longer really ABLE to innovate and compete.

So I'd like to see our people, our companies and our government step up to the plate.

Answer 8

Develop our own source of a safe alternative energy and stop depending on other countries.

We can do whatever it takes to use less energy, especially gasoline. If you don’t use it then it’s less profit for them.

Answer 9

What country would that be?