The root cause of our current situation involves two primary issues: refinery capacity and overall consumption rate:

As has been the case for many weeks, gasoline consumption continues to run above last year, a series of refining problems have kept gasoline output well below the utilization needed to build stockpiles, and the US seems to be unable to find enough refined gasoline in the world markets to make up the difference (1)."

Despite our best efforts to use more fuel, the national ability to turn unrefined oil into gasoline has hit a bottleneck. This doesn't really slow down consumption, it just tends to drive prices up and eat into national reserves:

Last week, US gasoline stockpiles dropped for the 12th straight week by another 1.1 million barrels as US motorists continued to burn up gasoline at a rate 1.6 percent higher than last year (1)."

In reality, we are just using too much fuel. I understand that this is not exactly a new concept, especially to GO readers. But it's an issue worth reconsidering today, and probably every day for the foreseeable future:

. . .if present trends continue, the U.S, will be burning 290 billion gallons of gasoline by 2050 (up from 140 billion gallons today) (2). "

Not only are we using too much oil, but scant consideration is given to exactly where all this money goes. The serious rumination garnered by socially and environmentally certified products is seldom extended into the realm of transportation. But there is little justification for such a psychological disconnect: If every dollar spent is a vote, then most of us are all still voting for Big Oil:

Demand for oil has increased significantly in the last few years, and world production is close to full capacity. According to Resources, "Global oil supply stands at 84 million barrels per day, while spare capacity is only 1 to 1.5 million barrels per day–the lowest level in three decades." The United State's oil import bill in 2005 was over $240 billion dollars, much of which flowed out of the country into so-called terrorist regimes."

Today, the world’s oil frontier includes a list of countries that mirrors a catalog of global trouble spots, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Nigeria, Sudan, and Venezuela. Most of these countries rank disturbingly low in many measures of political liberty, human rights, and corruption (3)."

The whole idea of financing the corrupt industries of Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Nigeria, Sudan, and Venezuela (among others) is ethically bankrupt. It is inconceivable that consumers purchase fair-trade and organic products, while simultaneously sending supporting this international oil industry (4)."

Now I won't go so far as to condemn the American People, because I think oil consumption is a product of lack of consciousness and/or viable alternatives. But why don't gas purchases carry the same weight as buying fair-trade coffee imported from Ecuador? How much does it take to push us into changing the way we live? Each day, 300 million of us choose how to get around, and if we question it at all the most likely point we come to is, "well, what else are we going to do?"

There are several underlying problems behind the growing [fuel] shortfalls, none of which seem susceptible to immediate solution. The automobile is so deeply embedded into our lifestyles that gasoline will have to go much higher * some say $6+ a gallon - before there will be any significant slackening in demand. Sales of gas-guzzlers probably will continue to drop, but major changes in lifestyles will not come until actual gasoline shortages and gas lines develop. Here in America, there are simply too many other ways to save money before we cut back on driving. In the meantime, the struggle among demand, prices, refining, and imports will continue. Every Wednesday morning the Department of Energy will update the score card and the picture of how much longer we can all continue business as usual will become a little clearer."

My question to you, the reader, is: what can we do right now to really start moving away from using gasoline and diesel for transportation?

I know we write a lot here about alternative fuels and new resource-conserving technology. But sometimes the real important message, the call to action, the part where we actually start doing something and implementing these new solutions into our own lives - sometimes this gets lost in the text.

So let me turn this obscure dicussion on oil consumption into a call to action: When you finish reading this post, take a few minutes to think about the gas you use and the driving you do. How much of it is necessary? How much is not? Is there a bus-stop nearby, but you've never taken the time to learn the routes? Is there an opportunity to carpool to work or other activities? Is it possible to ride your bike or walk for at least part of your trip?

If this bit of reflection reveals anything to you, or even if it doesn't, please take a minute and post it as a comment. I am eager to hear about any steps you may have made to drive less. If you haven't taken any steps yet, that's ok - all I'm asking for is a few minutes of reflection.

What part are you playing in the world we live in today?

(1) Energy Bulletin: The peak oil crisis: Week twelve. Tom Whipple. (May 3, 2007)
(2) Grist: A Bridge to Somewhere? What we've learned from the biofuels series. (Dec 15, 2006)
(3) WorldWatch Institute. American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security. (Sept. 2006)
(4) For more information on Nigerian Oil, see National Geographic Magazine's Article.