Hope?

No being forced to change deeply embedded lifestyle is easy but sometimes it is necessary. And so, for the sake of the world, I greet this news as hopeful, whil acknowledging the painful decisions it will mean for some.

The current American obsession is not Iraq, it is not NSA wiretapping or even the never-ending abortion debate. It is quite simply petrol prices. Americans are being squeezed at the pump, now paying more than $3 a gallon. That is still cheap by most European standards but the shock is palpable in America. It also undercuts the economic model of the exurbs, rendering commuting costs so painful that suddenly, at long last, living by the car alone is starting to become unattractive.

The Observer | Comment | I love driving in my car:
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