Gas prices to take 10 million cars off the road: report

[wescoent]

Originally Posted by mobyss

A quick rise to $7 per gallon over two years, which is up another 75% from the price today, would do two things:

#1. The gas mileage of the "fleet" of US vehicles that are actually used regularly would go from the current 15 or 16 mpg to closer to 28-30, with all the V8 powered pickup trucks sitting idle except for the time they are used AS TRUCKS to haul or tow something worthwhile. Sales of new trucks would dwindle to nothing. Demand for gasoline made from foreign oil would be reduced by 30% or more.

#2. A much larger portion of US farmland would be used to produce ethanol, from corn, switchgrass, or whatever. Food exports from the US would cease, meaning the whole world that relies on US food production would be SOL, and they would bid up the price of what food they can get. US dollars and other hard currencies held overseas would flood back to this country as foreign nations begged us to sell them something to feed their starving masses, and as we stop buying ANYTHING from them except whatever oil we still need. As ethanol replaced gasoline significantly, our demand for foreign oil would shrink by another 20 to 25% on top of the efficiency gains. Eventually the dollar would strengthen and the price of oil in dollars would drop, maybe by half or more as it has in the past. In 1998 oil was $12 a barrel, which is part of the reason we are in this mess today - we just got spoiled.

This is just my opinion, but there's a part of me that says "Go ahead world, ***** with America and see who it ultimately screws over the most in the end. We put a man on the frigging moon almost 40 years ago and most other countries can't even design a passenger jet that can fly over the Pacific ocean. Right now America is fat and lazy, but in a real crisis we will figure out a solution. And when it really comes down to it we can live with $7 gas and adjust painfully, but can the world live without US food? Not for very long.

Not a bad assessment.

Currently, the prices of virtually all commodities are determined by trading on an open market. Therefore, no matter where the commodity is sourced from, the price remains the same. If Saudi Arabia's citizens are bidding up the price of corn to $1,000 per bushel, then that's the price Americans are paying as well.

The main problem is that our world depends so much on the free movement of low priced goods across borders, if global trade gets stopped, then we descend into chaos. If people are starving in the streets because they can't get food, revolutions start popping up. The really dangerous part is when the nukes start getting lobbed. Say we cut off food shipments to India, and they threaten to nuke us if we don't send food. What do we do?

[motorman]

good news as my neighbor up the street has 5 cars in the driveway,4 of them are for their kids.

[Family Man]

Originally Posted by CaptainDan

How does opting for smaller cars equal fewer cars?

It's two different reports: one says fewer cars while the other says smaller cars...

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by wescoent

Not a bad assessment.

Currently, the prices of virtually all commodities are determined by trading on an open market. Therefore, no matter where the commodity is sourced from, the price remains the same. If Saudi Arabia's citizens are bidding up the price of corn to $1,000 per bushel, then that's the price Americans are paying as well.

The main problem is that our world depends so much on the free movement of low priced goods across borders, if global trade gets stopped, then we descend into chaos. If people are starving in the streets because they can't get food, revolutions start popping up. The really dangerous part is when the nukes start getting lobbed. Say we cut off food shipments to India, and they threaten to nuke us if we don't send food. What do we do?

Tell them we'd nuke them back. (duh)

No rationally run government would risk such an "everybody loses" proposition. (plus it wouldn't get them any food)This is the "Mutual Assured Destruction" doctrine that kept the US and the USSR from destroying each other (and the rest of the planet) throughout the cold war.

You really just need to worry about the NON-rationally run governments lobbing nukes. You know, the psycho, nut-job dictators. Not the ones that talk smack, the ones that REALLY might do something that stupid. There are only a few of them, and we know who they are. And even THEY haven't been dumb enough to start lobbing nukes so far.

[wescoent]

Originally Posted by CaptainDan

Tell them we'd nuke them back. (duh)

No rationally run government would risk such an "everybody loses" proposition. (plus it wouldn't get them any food)This is the "Mutual Assured Destruction" doctrine that kept the US and the USSR from destroying each other (and the rest of the planet) throughout the cold war.

You really just need to worry about the NON-rationally run governments lobbing nukes. You know, the psycho, nut-job dictators. Not the ones that talk smack, the ones that REALLY might do something that stupid. There are only a few of them, and we know who they are. And even THEY haven't been dumb enough to start lobbing nukes so far.

Correct, and I'm assuming that people in the streets would have brought down the "rational" governments, and installed the nut-job nationalist maniacs who would rather go down in flames for the glory of their country than have it die a slow starving death.

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by Family Man

It's two different reports: one says fewer cars while the other says smaller cars...

Yes, I know, but one report's conclusions are a bit contrary to the other's.

[MOGI]

In all honesty, I think it's all the black top in the developed world that's heating the planet...

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by wescoent

Correct, and I'm assuming that people in the streets would have brought down the "rational" governments, and installed the nut-job nationalist maniacs who would rather go down in flames for the glory of their country than have it die a slow starving death.

They may try for glory, but nuking your (potential) food source will just get you a FASTER starving death.