How We Got to $3 Gas: SOME of the reasons

This Newsweek article points out some of the reasons:

"Whatever happens, the larger question is how Americans build on this episode. It may feel good to vilify the major oil companies and the oil cartel. But that won't help. We now import 60 percent of our oil; large imports will continue indefinitely. So far, we've escaped a true calamity. We may not be so lucky in the future. We could minimize our vulnerabilities to supply interruptions and price increases. We could open up more acreage (including Alaska) to drilling. We could orchestrate -- through tougher fuel economy standards and a gradually rising energy tax -- a big shift toward more-efficient vehicles. Once again, we've been warned. Will we continue to ignore it?"

As I stated in another, recent post, how we address the long-term energy policies this country should have, is far more critical than what we do to "fix" gas prices today. Taking politics out of the policy is a great start, but don't hold you breath. Remember, there's a strong lobby (environmentalists) who begged for this day. High gas prices would force us out of our cars. Force us to mass transit. Force us to urban planning. They just didn't think it meant the same for them!