"Roy Shroyer" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Cory Dunkle" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>
>> As far as fossil fuel use... The majority of our fossil fuel use in this
>> country is not for automobiles,
>
> Cory,
>
> You may want to read up on fossil fuel use in the US. Transportation is
> the single largest user of crude oil in this country. Period. Roughly
> 40% of the 20+ million barrels a day that we in this country consume every
> day. By the way, that's roughly 25% of the world's total crude oil
> production. And don't forget that the US makes up only 5% of the world's
> population.
>
> http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_libra...ne_cou_840.pdf
>
> As a country, we are extremely wasteful of energy. Not just in what we
> choose to drive, but in what we eat, and how we live in general. How many
> posters on this group could get by without a personal automobile for more
> than a few days? Not many I would bet.
>
> Our whole way of life is designed around cars.
>
> SUVs have become a target for the un-informed because of their obviously
> wasteful nature (ie seats usually vacant).
>
> Once gas prices start creeping up past $4, lower to middle income people
> will start to either curb their use of fuel, or dump the gas hogs for more
> efficient vehicles, similar to what happened in the 70's and early 80's.
>
> I've already traded my wife's gas guzzler for a 45mpg Jetta TDI, sold my
> muscle car, and purchased a cheap commuter motorcycle.
>
> I'm just trying to stay ahead of the curve right now so I won't be stuck
> with an inefficient vehicle that I'm upside down on due to its declining
> value in the face of high fuel prices. I've already changed my lifestyle
> to be less reliant on automobiles and gasoline in general.
>
> Should other people do the same as me? I hope that they do. But that's
> not my concern really. This is a free country after all, and people are
> still free to be complete dumb asses as we all know.
>
> I'm not trying to save the world, just to save my own ass from a lot of
> hardship and grief once the inevitable does happen (ie gas prices head for
> the stratosphere).
>
> If gas goes back to $1 a gallon then I just freed up more money for more
> worthwhile pursuits than impressing my friends and neighbors with my huge
> shiny gas guzzler.
>
> My 2¢
>
> .
>

Transportation yes, but this includes trains, planes, and trucks (18
wheelers). Actual personal automobiles is under 5%