Right winged trolls who blame President Obama for high fuel prices need to remember their own rhetoric. Why not give President Obama some credit for falling prices if you were going to blame him for rising fuel prices. Both are totally illogical because fuel prices operate in the global economy. Fuel prices have fallen recently due to the decline in demand in Europe, China, and India. Concerns over Europe's economy have also caused concern about the viability of the European. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, has said that Europe must integrate their economies more closely to ensure that the confidence in the EU itself remains strong. I agree with Christine Lagarde that the EU must succeed. I believe that a strong European Union means more trade for American businesses in the future. This aspect is important in many ways that I will explain below.

One of the reasons Spain for instance had such an awful time financially was the fact that Spain adopted America's version of capitalism. The Spanish reduced regulation on their banks which caused a decline in government oversight. The large banks in Spain started loaning money into speculative scheme in the real estate market that started a big boom. The Spanish over built commercial and residential real estate that now has gone bust. The adoption of American capitalism caused the wild boom and bust that has put Spain into a depression with 25% unemployment. The BBC reported that Spanish banks have formally asked for a bailout of 50 billion British pounds after an audit of Spanish banks. So don't listen to the conservatives when they talk about Europe. Go to the BBC News website or Der Spiegel and learn on your own. You can't just cite one story either about Europe. You have to do a lot of research just to have an informed opinion about Europe because it is so very complex. No conservative on the blog has an informed opinion about the EU or the global economy for that matter. So go to the BBC and Der Spiegel and find out for yourself what is going on before you listen to an ignorant American conservative talking about Europe.

Austerity has been imposed in a variety of different countries in Europe with mostly disastrous results. Britain is now in a recession because austerity has gone too far. PM David Cameron has imposed harsh new austerity measures that have slowed the economy by increasing unemployment. Greece has much too blame for its reluctance to pay taxes into the government. The Greeks appear to be corrupt and chisel the government out of much needed revenue. When Greek politicians of various parties, offer increasing taxes to increase revenues they run into gridlocked government when other parties oppose these reforms. All governments in society have to raise enough revenue to keep functioning and provide essential services.

The Europeans have done silly and irresponsible fiscal practices to generate this financial crisis upon themselves. America can not come and bail the EU out but certainly we should do nothing that inhibits their recovery process either. I strongly support the EU because I can see a day soon when the EU and America will have to join forces and get rid of oil consumption or greatly reduce it in coming decades. European bullet trains are just what America will have to have once fuel is $10 per gallon. Ford is bringing over a three cylinder turbo-charged 1.0 liter engine that will get you close to 60 MPG. This sort of innovation has been what Europe has done ever since the 1973 Yom Kippur war and Arab oil embargo of the 1970's and even before the Europeans always drove small cars, lived in row houses, took the bus or the train to work. The European reality of smaller is better and riding the train or bus will also be an increasing part of American life. The cost of living in America will become so expensive in coming years that the suburban utopia of expanding further and further away from the city core will reverse itself. The city core will be rejuvenated. This is what Al Gore calls "smart growth" but actually this is what Europe has done forever. Agricultural land is precious and would have been paved over years ago had every government not put a stop to it. Food production is important for all countries. We need to start doing the same here in America and protect land from more concrete development. Cities already have plenty of land to develop within their present borders. The rising cost of living will force significant and drastic changes to the American energy guzzling lifestyle in the coming years. A world at peak world oil production is a brave new world of adaptation for America. European practices will be adopted here on a wholesale scale once fuel is $8 to $10 per gallon.

Instead of wishing Europe here...perhaps it would behoove you to take yourself to Europe. The style of transportation Europe has will NEVER work in the US for a plethora of reasons. Americans will never use public trans nor live like Europeans. You could spend the INCREDIBLE amount of money in infrastructure for these things (Which the government doesn't have) and they would rust away without ridership, as the ridership is nil now, you are just kidding yourselves. Peak oil is a fantasy that has been used by the feeble minded left and has no basis in truth, and everything from liquified coal to natural gas will take it's place. And where is America running out of space? That is a crazed view to have on farmland that is ridiculous. America's farms have contracted due to the productivity of the American farmer. In closing...I get you have a man crush on the Socialist European lifestyle...but you would be much happier moving THERE as it will never be popular here, so take the next bullet train to Frankfort.

If you want to be an American, stop and think, just stay the @!$%# out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott: You seem to think you can arrogantly wish away the global economy where the BRIC's and the Asian-Pacific rim countries will be producing more than 200 million cars in the coming decades. Rising oil demand from the BRIC's and the Asian-Pacific rim countries is an absolute fact. You need to go to the library and read about the amount of industrialization that is going on in all of these countries. Don't bother telling me about the recession either in these countries because its temporary. I am talking about long term trends for conventional oil. Forget about tar sands and oil shale because that is a whole different discussion that can fill a book.

Peak oil is a reality. Professor Kenneth S. Deffeyes, wrote a book "Beyond Oil". He has 50 years as an oil geologist, uses Professor Hubbert's statistical analysis methods that accurately predicted U.S. peak oil production in 1970 and peak oil production in the Former Soviet Union back in the 1980's. Hubbert predicted peak world oil in the fall of 2005. Perhaps he may or may not be a few years off but essentially, no oil man of real significance or oil geologists argue about peak world oil just when it will happen. Old oil men like T. Boone Picken's don't believe that we will be able to produce more than 85 million barrels per day when demand goes up. Peak oil means that we won't run out of oil tomorrow, but we won't be able to produce 90 million barrels per day when we want. Generally, people have tried to dispute Hubbert's bell shaped oil curve analysis and have failed to do so. About 80% of the world's oil comes from oil fields found before 1973. This fact despite tens of billions spend on drilling technologies. More cost inputs for drilling but less return and finds of new oil as old fields dry up. Here are some facts for you to ponder:

1. Out of 54 oil producing countries in the world 40 of those countries have long since reached peak oil production. Peak production has occurred despite increasing investments in technology for drilling including hydraulic fracturing. Officials in the other 14 oil producing countries are saying they don't think that more oil can be produced at current levels let alone produced at increased levels (Truecost blog website, "Is Peak oil real? A list of countries past peak", 2009).

2. The International Energy Agency has said that the age of cheap conventional oil is over with. We are entering a brave new world where demand for oil outstrips supply. The World Energy Outlook 2010, by the International Energy Agency concluded that peak world oil happened in 2006. Some argue that is will happen before 2020. The variable estimates come from OPEC countries that keep their oil reserves secret. Saudi Arabia is believed to have already reach peak production many years ago. The International Energy Agency is made up of experts such as petroleum engineers whose business it to apply the best science to these questions. Currently conventional sources of oil is at 85 million barrels per day. Many experts expect this level of production to start falling off soon, especially after the world recession ends.

3. The International Energy Agency also concluded that unconventional sources of oil production (tar sands, oil shale) are increasingly going to have to make up the difference. This statement is an extremely dubious proposition and almost widely optimistic scenario. Future projections anticipate 96 million barrels per day of demand. Unconventional sources of oil will have to meet the demand in coming years will have to make up more demand for oil as the 85 million barrels of conventional crude oil drops off steadily. Unconventional source of oil such as tar sands and oil shale have huge environmental challenges. Huge amounts of fresh water are consumed in these processes. Arid places like Colorado, have no extra fresh water to waste because they are short fresh water for people, food production and livestock. Alberta has massive issues with toxic waste from its tar sands production. Birds, wildlife die from polluted waters. People are thought to get cancer. Also tar sands oil is very acidic and corrodes steel in oil pipelines causing horrible oil spills that are hard to clean up.

4. Hydraulic fracturing has at best a limited future. Hydraulic fracturing will consume about 2.5 million gallons of water for one well. Pollution and the question of toxicity aside, the supply of water is a very serious question. How sustainable is hydraulic fracturing when it is reported that after a few years of fracturing the oil well starts to dry up dramatically so new wells have to constantly be drilled. Regulations and lawsuits are expected that will slow or diminish the fever of "fracking".

I lived in Europe for four years while in the military. I also traveled widely and read volumes of information. I road on their train system everywhere and it was wonderful. You could get on a fast moving British train and get wherever you wished to go. The buses were excellent too. The British also live in row houses with small yards in front and back. The British have nice parks everywhere for families and the public to walk in. You will see French TGV bullet trains, lots of mass transit, and Americans driving small turbo-diesel cars that get 50 MPG soon right here in North America. Peak world oil production is probably already past and Hubbert will be proven right. Oil geologists are already arguing about what can be done to make up for the decline in oil production. The age of cheap oil is gone forever and so is the American love affair with the SUV and four wheel drive pick up trucks. The Ford Fusion 1.0 liter three cylinder turbocharged engine is a model of America's future as is the French TGV bullet train and the commuter bus. The American energy future can be found in Europe because the Europeans have been dealing with this energy problem for many decades because Europe has little oil. Welcome to the 21st century global economy.