We all know that the price of gas and diesel fuel is  going up with no relief in sight in the near future. It is especially bothersome for those of us who can remember the days of 25 cent a gallon gas. I was shocked when it went over a dollar a gallon. Now  even two dollars a gallon would be a bargain price. I  was sent an e-mail recently showing what gas prices are worldwide in American dollars. These were before the recent decline of the dollars value on world markets so the prices may be lower. Some of these may surprise you. These are in U.S. gallons.
 Oslo Norway - $6.82
 Hong Kong - $6.25
 Brussels Belgium - $6.16
 London - $5.96
 Rome  Italy - $5.80
 Tokyo - $5.25
 San Paulo, Brazil - $4.42
 New Delhi, India - $3.71
 Sidney, Australia - $3.42
 Johannesburg, S. Africa - $3.39
 Mexico City - $2.22
 Buenos Aires - $2.09
 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - $0.91
 Kuwait - $0.78
and here's my favorite.....
 Caracas, Venezuela - $0.12

 It's a fact that if the country worked together to limit the fuel consumption we use, we could bring the price of fuel down drastically. It is simply a matter of supply and demand. If you decrease the demand, the supply goes up and the price goes down. Unfortunately it will never happen because our society is spoiled and giving up their car or truck for a day or two would be out of the question. Simply stated, we are doing it to ourselves and as long as we continue 
to do so it will only get worse. 

 We can complain about the prices but  when we go to the gas station we can still get it. During the oil embargo of 1973-1974 it wasn't available. It was common to pull into a gas station only to find there was no gas. If given a  choice, I would rather pay the high price than not be able to get it at all. 

 I own a gas guzzling truck so I only drive it when I have to. I put about 600 miles a year on it. My daily driver is a small sedan with a 6 cyl which gets around 25mpg. I fault no one who wants to drive a  large SUV or pickup everyday day. 
They are nice and safe vehicles. But having a small economy car on hand for those short hops to the store or whatever would save fuel and money. 

 I am going to make a prediction. If the price of fuel keeps climbing, the used car market will become flooded with large SUVs and trucks that are not fuel efficient. I think the trend will be to go back to small sedans and economical mini vans. Hybrids (gas and electric) are still to expensive for the average buyer. Time will tell if I am right. 

 In the meantime I will clean the dust off of my bicycle. If the prices keep going up I may be glad I still have it. 

 Now all I have to do is find the ambition to go with it!