March 14, 2008

Think You Got It Bad? $9 Gas In The UK!

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This CBS News video not only explains just how much more gas costs in the UK compared to here in the US - $9 a gallon! It also explains in layman's terms some of the factors behind the surging oil prices and the sagging dollar.

So it's not just you America that is struggling to live with crazy gas prices, Europe has always had expensive gas - but this is getting ridiculous, especially for the cab drivers.

The main difference in how the two landmasses are handling this crisis is that much of Europe has very good public transportation as well as established freight rail. Even though there are more trucks on the road than ever, Europeans are not nearly as dependant upon their cars and trucks as the US. Many Europeans do not even need to own a car, and those that do are not driving 8 cylinder Cadillacs. Here in America not only does everyone own a car, but many of us would be stranded without them - public transportation is a joke outside the largest cities. Not to mention that giant, dirty and inefficient Semi-Trailers haul a major portion of our food and goods that were once hauled by freight rail.

So it may not be a picnic for the UK and the rest of Europe as they cope with gas prices, but I think they have the wherewithal to ride out this storm. If $9/gallon gas ever hit the US I really don't see how our economy could survive.

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