$3.00 Gas Stretching Tight Budgets

[Oh, Gee!!]

How about less than 5. Gas in central Texas was 89 cents. Now it's $3.00.

it's all good if you're Xray

[Nbadan]

That's the Right's cynicism showing again. They think that everyone can just buy their morning coffee at Tesoro instead of Starbucks and pay the additional monthly costs of gas with little or no sacrafice, but the long-term mean price of gas always manages to creep just a little bit higher...

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

That's the Right's cynicism showing again. They think that everyone can just buy their morning coffee at Tesoro instead of Starbucks and pay the additional monthly costs of gas with little or no sacrafice, but the long-term mean price of gas always manages to creep just a little bit higher...

Actually I feel bad for anyone who feels like they need a $2-$3 cup of coffee to get going in the morning.

[Nbadan]

The real point is is that we've built our major cities all wrong. Suburban America will be our true downfall. We should have built our cities so that most people can work, live, and play all within a 5-10 mile radius. The interstate system and subsidized oil once made it easy and affordable for avg. folks to commute, but today 5% of the world's population, us, causes 30% of the world's pollution and uses about the same amount of the total worlds output. This is what can't continue.

[Yonivore]

The real point is is that we've built our major cities all wrong. Suburban America will be our true downfall. We should have built our cities so that most people can work, live, and play all within a 5-10 mile radius. The interstate system and subsidized oil once made it easy and affordable for avg. folks to commute, but today 5% of the world's population, us, causes 30% of the world's pollution and uses about the same amount of the total worlds output. This is what can't continue.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda...let's just start the over! eh, Dan?

[jacobdrj]

The real point is is that we've built our major cities all wrong. Suburban America will be our true downfall. We should have built our cities so that most people can work, live, and play all within a 5-10 mile radius. The interstate system and subsidized oil once made it easy and affordable for avg. folks to commute, but today 5% of the world's population, us, causes 30% of the world's pollution and uses about the same amount of the total worlds output. This is what can't continue.

What you see as a problem, I see as an oppertunity:
People will invest in local areas, and cause suburbia to build into metropolisses, some less fortunate cities, like many auto towns of the midwest, will begin to repopulate because of their existing infrostructure, which will allow for such a scenerio.

Economics will dictate, and life will go on.

America didn't build her cities wrong: based on prices of gas and the crappy living conditions inside cities, it was the right choice at the time to build out instead of build up. Building up has huge liabilities too, mostly having to do with safety and living conditions (not every building is a Trump condo). 9-11 showed just how vulnerable a high rise can be. (that is just 1 example).

And there are other solutions: When I went to Washington DC, I didn't know what to expect. I heard the city was in bad shape, but I was shocked to see just how vibrant it was. All it took was a serious push for security, and a Metro (subway) system that boggles the mind. In other words, with proper planning, the suburbs can still exist, with the introduction of cheap transportation, in the form of rail/mag-lev systems. Crowding and pollution can be reduced, all while keeping the existing infrastructures, and adding to them.

And yeah, we can also buy a Prius... I never understood why people buy SUVs: they are cramped, cost a lot, and until recently, were prone to rollovers... The fact they are cramped seems to indicate they are only for people who have short-person's complex and needed to compensate...