In Japan the Ministers from the G8 nations met to discuss oil security amid soaring oil prices. The G8 nations were joined by the ministers from China, India, and South Korea. The eleven ministers discussed oil and gas markets, energy investment, and climate change.
While the top five consumers called on producing nations to increase capacity it was clear that there was no quick fix and even US Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman said it will take some work. "We have been three decades without really working on this issue, and it’s only been the past three or four years that we have really focused on it," he told reporters Saturday. "This has been a long time coming, and it’s not going to be something we’re going to work our way out of in a matter of months or even a year or two."
Strong words from the US Energy Secretary, as the US has long had its head in the sand regarding energy security and arrogant when it comes to its energy demands. The US is in the top ranks of consumers and an ease in demand does not seem to be coming anytime soon. For the most part the surge in gas prices has not affected consumption in the US except for the few citizens who have taken a stand against gas prices and have given up their vehicles for more energy friendly forms of transport.
In an article in the National Ledger out Apache, Arizona written by Vincent Gioia, he blamed high oil prices on US Democrats and environmentalists. Gioia wrote “Left-leaning politicians and, unfortunately too many Republicans, are more concerned with erroneous beliefs in man-made global warming to focus on the real needs of our country. As we switch light bulbs, create a huge additional bureaucracy for cap-and-trade "carbon credits, and make inferior additions to dilute the gasoline fuel, our economy will undergo an enormous destructive effect and our way of life will be irreversibly altered for the worse.”
The author goes on to say how the US is blessed with an “almost limitless” capability to produce oil, and adds “but we are prevented from recovering and producing it.”
Despite the country’s past stance on its energy use, some in the US are trying to come up with a way to lessen the burden, and one idea thrown around is to shorten the average American’s work week. The idea is taking root on various levels across the country. In Birmingham, Alabama city officials decided to implement a four-day week for municipal employees and later in the year for around 1,000 police and firefighters. According to an AFP article the switch could save up to $1 million annually in fuel costs alone. In Minnesota the four-day work week will start at the Maccray School District with the new school year, saving 1% of its budget in transportation costs.
While these steps are initiated more to ease the economic burden that high gas prices are inflicting more than ease the strain of global warming on the planet, these steps will also benefit the planet. However it will take a whole lot more initiative to make a dent of any significance in lessening oil prices and reducing the pace of global warming.