I keep seeing this silly one day boycott idea and it makes me wonder how stupid the sender thinks I am.

If folks want to pressure the wallets of the oil companies the answer is fro every American to reduce his or her consumption permanently. Drive 10% less, or get a more fuel efficient car.

Even better, drive 50% less and also get a more fuel efficient car.

During the cold war we justified a lot of meddling in the middle east because we had strategic interests there. Back then that meant both the fact we were trying to limit Soviet "expansion" as well as, of course, the oil.

Of course Bush I made a good case that our strategic interests included helping out Kuwait.

However, under Bush II the only interests we have is the oil. Now that the neo CONS have killed the goose that laid the golden egg, we are going to have to live with higher fuels costs. Period! As this article points out, this is not such a terrible thing in the big picture sense, but it will be painful in the short run, particularly among certain strata.

At this point it really does not matter what we do in the middle east, not only have we killed t he goose that laid the petroleum egg, we've also destabilized the entire reasons and set back the Palestinian Isrealie situation by decades as well.

We can only hope that America still has the ingenuity to make Lemonade from lemons, as Lemons is all that is in sight for some time.

from an economic standpoint. Inventories are dropping, which always produces an increase in price.

But who controls the inventory levels? That, my friend, is the rub. The people who stand to make the most off the commodity are the ones who set the entire market. The consumer has very little to say in the matter of pricing, since the vast majority of gasoline is burned by people who have no choice. The big oil companies control the product from end to end.

Oil companies report what they want in terms of earnings, like any corporation. Sandbagging the numbers is an age old tradition. They first claim that prices are rising because they haven't invested in physical plant which results in lower inventories, then claim razor thin margins because of the cost of investment in physical plant. Profits are an abstraction, and they decide how much they want to share with the shareholders.

Treat them as a protected monopoly, like any utility, because that's what they are and always have been. Regulate pricing, and force them to invest in development of alternative fuels if they want to continue selling their commodity. This is not a free market problem, because oil in this country has never been subject to market forces.

maybe what's happening is that some people have the luxury of indulging their disinclination to feed the maw of bloated oil companies? or switched from their SUVs to their economy car (the Prius).some people actually do need to drive to get to work, or school, or pick up the kids, or get grandmom to the doctor, or pick up prescriptions because we don't live in a city where we can grab a bus -- and the supermarket is not in walking distance and - guess what? - does not supply free delivery... this crisis is about america and the way everyday people live. gas prices mean higher food prices, mean higher prices for everything, and it is only getting harder and harder for those who can least afford it. i'm glad gas consumption is down -- i'm hoping to get a hybrid car if there ever is one that's affordable - i hope to have access to wind power -- i want the earth cleaner, livable for the next generations. BUT i'm also glad sen. shumer is outraged, someone should be. these corporate oil citizens should start acting like good citizens, and if they won't, there should be laws that make them. these companies have done their best to maximize profits irregardeless of the consequences of their behavior, have polluted and compromised the health of our kids and our planet. though we'd like to think so, they have not invested in new, less polluting refineries - in their own sub-structure. and they have consistently obstructed the exploration of alternative energy sources -- and they have the i.q. to know what those consequences are -- unlike some people in washington. why is it a dark day? because the bully isn't in the school yard anymore, he's moved in and sleeping on the living room couch. he's taking your job, he's eating your food, he's taking your vacation, he's wearing your new clothes. the highest price paid is being paid by those who can afford it the least. period. schumer sees it. and this pollyanna, 'o life is getting better' essay makes me think more of Candide that a decent essayist on the subject. Schumer isn't wearing rose-colored glasses (though they do look kind of silly when he's reading at a hearing) he hears what life is like from everyday working people who pay for gasoline with money they hoped to have to feed their families - or save for college for their kids. mr. leonard sees the silver lining in this crisis, well, i hope we can all look past a bad time to a better one --but the argument is convoluted. when there's a group of kids in the schoolyard taking a toll on your kids' lunch, if you are sensible, you're not delighted your child is losing weight....you break it up -- or at least make them give your child back part of the lunch they can't manage to eat...THEN you can put your kids on a diet yourself...

Pick a number for 2 wheeled vehicles. Whatever it is make it easier not harder for people to use. I don't find licenced drivers to be all that good at that either by the way. And a 100cc or 125cc scooter is barely going to make it up to highway speeds with an adult on board.

As for Rickshaws, The Bajaj 4 seater has a 175cc one plug 8.5hp motor, goes 40mph loaded. Carries 1000 lbs, has a windscreen, canvas top, side curtains. Is it designed for Upper Michigan winters? Of course not. Dunno - figure something out, build a better one like one of those old Cushman metermaid wagons, swap out the 10" wheels for 13"?

Anyway the point is simple. These halfway or quarterway approaches to making 6000 lb trucks for personal use a little more efficient or making a $30,000 hybrid Honda Accord more efficient as a side effect of having low emissions is a waste of time. We shouldn't be worrying about whether the family land ark can get 17mpg with the electrically cooled cup holders running at warp 7. We're not going to get the government to force car companies to come up with a 40 or 50mpg CAFE average. And if you don't live in one of the 15 largest US cities then your neighbors loathe and detest the idea of mass transit and won't pay for it. So some other tact is needed.