> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>
> >oil is irrelevant
>
> Oh, now that's an interesting proposition. The oil price spikes of
> 73-74 and 79-80 were irrelevant? The collapse in oil prices in 86 was
> irrelevant? What would $3/gal gas do to the U.S. economy? U.S. life
> in general?
Once we got beyond the initial shock, it would probably improve it over the long-term. Because of low oil prices, fuel efficiency standards have been allowed to rot, as SUVs and other "trucks" (exempt from the more rigid fuel effiency requirements for cars) have streamed onto roads. The average gas mileage, with a bit of political pressure and research funding, could be pushed up to the point where most drivers would be paying about the same amount, with less pollution in the air and a bit more pressure to rein in suburbanization. And mass transit would suddenly look a lot more efficient and affordable, encouraging a much healthier urban environment.
A lot of other energy sources, from solar to wind, would also become more viable as alternatives, improving the environmental options on that front as well. And the switch to cleaner electric cars would be sped up as well.
I'd be all for economic relief for working families hit by the higher costs in the short-term, but the fact remains that our economy is less dependent on oil that we were in the 1970s, and would be even less dependent if the price had not dropped so much in the late 80s and 90s. So higher oil prices can only improve our environment over the long term.
-- Nathan Newman