Short attention span? Americans may be spending a smaller percentage on fuel than in the 1970's, but adjusted for inflation, gas prices in the summer of 2008 matched prices in 1981 adjusted for inflation...look how wonderful our economy has done since then. A spike in oil prices has been followed by a recession since 1973. Americans are making less than a decade ago - Chinese and Indians are trading bikes for cars, making gas prices tight for the foreseeable future. History does not support your petro-optimism at all.
short? non existant. but aren't you making my point? gas has never been cheaper. i pay more for water!
Not really. When oil prices spike like they did in 1973, 1979, 1990, 2008 - the world goes into recession. That is enough reason to pursue alt fuels and converation more aggressively. There is no long-term trend to justify a sunny future relying on fossil fuels.
i'm not trying to justify it, i'm just saying it's a possibility. forget the recessions, tey have nothing to do with it. the only reason prices haven't gone up with inflation is opec. their addiction to selling oil is as great as ours to using it. they want to up the price, but not if it means a cut in production. and, they DON'T care about future generations, they'll sell every last drop now at the right price!
Forget the recessions? I probably underestimated by listing only four of them. Having the economy depend on an unreliable and dimishing source of energy is a path we need to depart from.
again, not arguing with the philosophy. it's just that, when philosophy meets reality, philosophy talks and reality walks!
