On another post, satisfaction said:
This gasoline nonsense, although quite a shock right now, will soon pass over much like it had in the 60's 70's 80's and early 90's. A change of the socio-political landscape should cure it.

Over a beer, I'd be curious to learn how you think a "change in socio-political landscape" will combat the increasing demand (and thereby, of course, the cost) of a dwindling and finite natural resource such as oil. Just what change in the "socio-political landscape" do you see coming such that world-wide demand for oil will drop and/or the supply of this resource will expand?

Further, in case you didn't know, the current "high" price of gasoline in this country is actually closer to a historic LOW, adjusted for inflation (which is the only meaningful way to compare historic prices). So it's not "nonsense," but merely the law of economics and supply and demand catching up to the American consumer. We could (and no doubt, will) be paying over $3.00/gal and STILL not be paying anything close to a historic high for gasoline. Check this graph out to see what I'm talking about: http://www.ghg.net/stuart/gasprice/gasprice.html

Why do you think this will "soon pass over?" Just because? Do you or anybody else have any information to back up what I believe to be a naive faith in gas prices coming back down?

Bricklovers: keep those engines tuned, filters changed, tires inflated, A/Cs off, and easy on the pedal. It's entirely possible to get within spitting distance of 30mpg even in a Swedish tank.