Before you buy in to the moaning and hysteria associated with the current ‘fuel price crisis’, it might help to consider the following…
1) Increases in the price of the petrol and diesel that we put in our cars may be the first thing we notice as fuel prices rise, but (as a nice man from the BNP smuggly points out on mytelegraph!) almost everything we use has to be transported in vehicles that use fuel, so increased fuel prices, don’t just mean paying more at the pumps, but at the checkout too. So to moan about petrol prices alone, is deeply illogical.
2) The underlying cause of the rise in global oil prices may not simply be that the oil is running out. It might have more to do with some hysterical trading in crude oil futures.
3) Whatever the cause of the price rise, the oil will run out eventually, and there are in any case plenty of environmental reasons why we should be trying to use our vehicles less, and move to greener, cleaner technologies. Friends of the Earth has some sensible-sounding ideas for how we could sieze this opportunity to help wean the UK off its dependency on fossil fuels.
4) One of the most promising alternative ‘clean’ technologies for powering cars is that based on the hydrogen fuel cell. It’s exciting to see that mainstream car companies like Honda and BMW are close to launching new vehicles based on fuel-cell technology.
5) Recent increases in fuel prices are the least of the haulage industry’s problems: it is inefficient, slow to adapt to new technologies and greener ways of working, a
nd long overdue a major shake up and shake out.
6) If you don’t care about the big issues and just want to fill up as cheaply as possible, price comparison sites like whatprice can help you compare prices at your local petrol stations.
7) Remember: any campaign that unites the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the Daily Express, such as the current petrol price moaning, is one that you should avoid associating with at all costs. So think before you join the collective whinge.
8 ) Lastly, never forget it’s not about the price of petrol, Stupid. Don’t forget we live in a culture of fear: a world that prefers panic to contentment, fear to peace. Choose sanity, and refuse not to buy into the latest mass panic.
