"The Energy Department, in a monthly report, indicated that high prices are cutting oil consumption more than expected in the industrialized world. Consumption is now expected to fall by 240,000 barrels a day in 2008; last month, the department forecast consumption would be unchanged from 2007 levels." "The IEA, in its own monthly report, cut its demand growth forecasts, projecting that global demand for petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and heating oil will grow by 0.9 percent, or 800,000 barrels a day, in 2008. That's down from the 1.2 percent, or 1 million barrels, the IEA forecast earlier this year." Keep trading in your SUVs for hybrids, everyone! :welcome: Oil reverses course, falls on strong dollar: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
With all due respect, a decline of only 240,000 barrels per day is just a drop in the bucket. To put things in perspective, the U.S. consumes between 20 - 21 million barrels of crude oil per day. Of that figure, we import approximately 13 million barrels per day. We have got to try harder... (Keep buying those Prius automobiles.) Keith
I think when you balance that against the constant increases in consumption over the past years, it truly is remarkable to see an actual decrease!
This is great news. The sad part is that from a few people I have talked to dealerships aren't taking SUV'S for trade in's. They were told by the dealerships that they could never resell them so they would not take them. So what we need is an SUV recycling program. Melt them down and turn them into Prii.
That's true but let's not forget that the pop'ln isn't declining either so there is something offsetting our gross gains.
There are some rebated recycling programs in Canada, and more are being considered: Clean Air Online - They seem to be getting aimed more at older, more polluting vehicles though, rather than newer gas suckers like SUVs. I doubt these programs would give more than $1-2K, but that's a start...
"The IEA said demand for fuel for reconstruction work in the aftermath of May's earthquake will boost Chinese oil demand by 5.5 percent this year, a slightly higher forecast than in previous reports. "A 5.5 percent increase in one of the largest consumers of oil in the world is a lot of barrels of oil," Ritterbusch said. "Perhaps this explains why the "industrialized nations" are predicted to decline, yet "global consumption" is expected to increase by 0.9%. I'm sure a 5,000lb vehicle contains plenty of steel that can be easily removed from the vehicle. The frame, axles, struts, and drive shaft could be melted down directly off of the vehicle. The engine and transmission could be melted down after degreasing and removing an electrics plug or two. Those components account for a significant portion of the vehicle's weight! Let's start a rumor that SUV frames are made of copper, and are worth more when melted down. Haha.
And I haven't even gotten my Prius yet! I have definitely noticed a trend of more employees eating in our cafeteria instead of going out for lunch this week. I'm sure a lot of folks are foregoing those little daily jaunts in order to save some at the pump.
Here is another solution. The more solutions to the SUV problem, the better. http://www.phaster.com/road_trips/suv_rollover.jpg
