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ORIGINAL: Marc2b

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If we had taken the 300 Billion flushed down the toilet trying to bring freedom and liberty to Iraq, and instead used it for developing our own energy independence, the market for oil would have tanked, oil would be 10 bucks a barrel, and you'd be paying 80 cents a gallon.

Just curious, while I've all for serching out alternative fuels and energy sources (and for conservation), would your program for energy independence include increasing domestic production by drilling more in Alaska and off shore?

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ORIGINAL: babyboyk

heck, over in the UK wed prolly kill for cheap gas (or petrol) most of the cost in England, goes to Gordon Browns (get used to the name, he could be our next Prime Minister) back pocket, in the form of tax...... we pay roughly 90 pence (sterling) for a litre of petrol, roughly £4.50ish an english gallon= with the exchange rate at roughly $2 to the pound, thats a heck of a lot......
 
i wonder how much tax is paid in the US for gas????

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No, it involves a network of Geosynchronous satellites which convert Solar Power into microwaves, and beams it to groundstations we place in whatever nations we wish to grant our beneficence upon.

We need the oil to make tupperware and rubbermaid.

But until the plug in cars get widespread, since we wouldn't need coal, oil or natgas to fuel power plants, the market for fossil fuels would drop.

300 Billion is the pricetag people always attached to it, but we just never had the will.

This isn't "Short Term" thinking. This is "Long Term", the US owns the world, access to space, and free power for our friends.

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ORIGINAL: Vendaval

"Gas prices rise to average of $2.55 a gallon"
"Pump costs have soared over 40 cents over the past six weeks"

"But Nymex gasoline futures have been soaring due to U.S. refinery glitches, declining inventories, and traders betting that demand going into the driving season will be strong enough to support higher prices. Gasoline futures, up more than 20 percent for 2007, rose 0.84 cent to settle at $1.9105 a gallon."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17577255/

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ORIGINAL: Marc2b

Still the question remains, what can we do to alleviate the situation now?

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am I missing something?

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ORIGINAL: dcnovice

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am I missing something?

My economist friends would probably say that you're missing supply and demand curves. Gas costs what it costs because people are willing (perhaps for lack of options) to pay that price.

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ORIGINAL: Griswold

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ORIGINAL: dcnovice

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am I missing something?

My economist friends would probably say that you're missing supply and demand curves. Gas costs what it costs because people are willing (perhaps for lack of options) to pay that price.

Unfortunately...you are correct.

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Pour a billion dollars... etc.

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ORIGINAL: farglebargle

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ORIGINAL: Marc2b

Still the question remains, what can we do to alleviate the situation now?

Pour a billion dollars into the little aerospace companies that think big. I'm thinking Burt Rutan, etc...

Pour five billion dollars. Offer it as a prize for the first company to build a usable ( 3+ flights on the same airframe w/in 8 weeks, say... ) SSTO heavy lifter.

Once we got that, it's just a matter of lifting the satellites into orbit. Being able to get ENGINEERS to/from those satellites ( maybe build a real space-station for them to have some R&R... MMM... Orbital Booze and Hookers... Wait, did I say ENGINEERS? Scratch the hookers... ) is key, but we'll have that technology for the first 5 billion dollar investment.

Then setup ground stations.

Then it doesn't matter how many electric cars you have, b/c electricity is raining from the sky, and we done finally got ourselves a bucket!