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It's time to end our addiction to oil and here's how we can do it:

A Twelve-Step Plan to End Oil Addiction (courtesy of The Oil Drum)

1. Stop deluding ourselves. The era of cheap, readily-available oil has ended. Prices may fluctuate, but the underlying trend is up, up, up. We have to get used to using less.

2. Demand that politicians take the issue seriously. Make it an election issue. Don't take 'we've got everything under control' as an answer.

3. Stop building new roads. They're a monumental waste of money, time and effort. They encourage, rather than ease, congestion, and besides, the growth in car travel that's used to justify them isn't going to happen anyway.

4. Divert that money and effort into measures that address the challenges of oil depletion and climate change.

5. Make a major investment in public transport. It needs to be better, faster, more comfortable, more regular, and more predictable. It needs to cater for everyone, not just peak-hour commuters — though they need a better service as well.

6. Make a major investment in broadband internet to allow more people to work from home, and change tax and business practices that discourage working from home. The more car trips we can avoid, the better.

7. Electrify transport where possible. We should be electrifying commuter rail where it is not already electric and using light rail (trams) in the cities. On the other end of the scale, electric bikes and scooters can make a big difference in our cities. And electric cars show promise, though there's a lot of questions to be answered yet.

8. Don't use cars unless there's no alternative. Take the bus. Take the train. Switch to a scooter. Walk or cycle - both your wallet and your doctor will thank you.

9. Deal with other aspects of our oil dependence. Agriculture, for example, is highly dependent on oil. We're going to need to change the way we grow and distribute food. Let's get to work on that now, not wait until supermarket shelves start to empty.

10. Stockpile or manufacture vital products currently imported from overseas. When oil runs short, will that still be possible? Let's take stock now and work out what we may need to start stockpiling or making (again) in the UK.

11. Think local. Ending our oil addiction isn't just up to central government, though it can play its part. Communities can work together to make themselves more resilient. Join or start a Transition Towns group in your local area.

12. Accept reality. The age of cheap oil is over. It's not coming back. As individuals and as a nation, we have to adapt.

The skinflint public love free stuff - so the excessive traffic chaos created by Electronic Arts' free petrol stunt was entirely predictable.

EA, a respected games developer, should be embarrassed by this PR gaffe. It has done nothing to present the company to the wider public as being responsible and respectable. The still fledgling, fragmented games industry (which is now significant to the UK economy) needs to be careful about the image it projects of itself.

Anon is wide of the mark in his criticism of Peak Oil's comments today. Many Petrolprices.com users are very concerned at the price of fuel. They are reducing their mileage; perhaps cutting out commutes wherever possible - and eager for alternatives like practical plug in electric cars (and even the intermediate advanced hybrids that are coming very soon).

Thank God the Astra Volt goes into production (for the UK and rest of Europe) at Ellesmere Port in 2009. Only 34,000 a year will be produced, and they'll be expensive: but it's a start.

For the wealthy, the Tesla (plug in Lotus Elite) goes on sale around this Christmas in the UK.

New technology always gets cheaper over time, and of course the good electric cars will eventually flow onto the second hand market.

They cannot come soon enough. I, like many, do not intend to buy another piston engined car.

No5. It is far easier to control the emmisions from a power station than it is to control the the emmisons from 1 million cars.

Hydrogen is not the panacea it is made out to be. Hydrogen is not a fuel, it's just a medium to store energy, have you ever seen a hydrogen mine?

It takes a lot of energy to make, store and distribute hydrogen, but it would be clean at the point of use like an electric car.

Interesting, oil prices have gone done and now OPEC says they are going to reduce production in order to cover "losses". I think peak oil has been a very "convenient" tool to make excessive profits.

Re No 9... I was wondering the same thing myself. Has anyone kept a record of the correlation between oil prices and the price we pay on the forecourt? When the barrel price goes up, the forecourt prices seem to go up immediately, but when the barrel price goes down the petrol companies all seem to say that the lower prices "take time to work through the system". Another example of gross profiteering?

RE No 9/10/11.
I can tell you now exactly what their excuse will be.
Oil is bought two months in advance and you are buying at the pumps what we paid for in July. So you're paying for oil at the July price. Live with it.

What should be happening is, taking into account that the forecourt prices shot up so that they could buy the expensive oil in July for sale now, the prices now *should* be lower now to reflect the buying price now of the oil we will be using in November.

But be prepared for my predicted excuse, because we all know it won't happen.

Re: 12

You're almost there.

You're forgetting that oil is usually bought in a "futures" market, where they don't pay the *spot* price (what it is now) but the *expected* price.

So if the price in November is expected to be higher than it is now, the crude will be more expensive.

Don't also forget refinery costs; if there are shortages in refinery capacity (e.g. maintenance) then petrol will be more expensive. We buy petroleum at the pumps, not crude oil.

Didn't the Government agree to reduce the taxation on fuel when the cost was high, so helping to reduce the price at the pumps, but it was agreed that "the other side of the coin" was that when the cost goes down then taxation goes back up. That is suppose to keep the cost at the pumps steady... So if the Government can do it then, why can't it do it all the time?? Reason must be GREED on their behalf.

re: 2, why is it that every blog we have has the same cut and paste from peak oil,. change the subject for goods sake.

Re: 17 - Just one more time for you Richard:


It's time to end our addiction to oil and here's how we can do it:

A Twelve-Step Plan to End Oil Addiction (courtesy of The Oil Drum)

1. Stop deluding ourselves. The era of cheap, readily-available oil has ended. Prices may fluctuate, but the underlying trend is up, up, up. We have to get used to using less.

2. Demand that politicians take the issue seriously. Make it an election issue. Don't take 'we've got everything under control' as an answer.

3. Stop building new roads. They're a monumental waste of money, time and effort. They encourage, rather than ease, congestion, and besides, the growth in car travel that's used to justify them isn't going to happen anyway.

4. Divert that money and effort into measures that address the challenges of oil depletion and climate change.

5. Make a major investment in public transport. It needs to be better, faster, more comfortable, more regular, and more predictable. It needs to cater for everyone, not just peak-hour commuters — though they need a better service as well.

6. Make a major investment in broadband internet to allow more people to work from home, and change tax and business practices that discourage working from home. The more car trips we can avoid, the better.

7. Electrify transport where possible. We should be electrifying commuter rail where it is not already electric and using light rail (trams) in the cities. On the other end of the scale, electric bikes and scooters can make a big difference in our cities. And electric cars show promise, though there's a lot of questions to be answered yet.

8. Don't use cars unless there's no alternative. Take the bus. Take the train. Switch to a scooter. Walk or cycle - both your wallet and your doctor will thank you.

9. Deal with other aspects of our oil dependence. Agriculture, for example, is highly dependent on oil. We're going to need to change the way we grow and distribute food. Let's get to work on that now, not wait until supermarket shelves start to empty.

10. Stockpile or manufacture vital products currently imported from overseas. When oil runs short, will that still be possible? Let's take stock now and work out what we may need to start stockpiling or making (again) in the UK.

11. Think local. Ending our oil addiction isn't just up to central government, though it can play its part. Communities can work together to make themselves more resilient. Join or start a Transition Towns group in your local area.

12. Accept reality. The age of cheap oil is over. It's not coming back. As individuals and as a nation, we have to adapt.

Yas gotta hanit ta de guvurmen an dem dam oil fellas. Dey takin allllllllllllllll de muny from us an givin us alllllllllllllll nuttin in retern. Dey wun clevva bunch a onanists!

Re: 22

Because institutions are designed and run to extract as much money as is possible from your pocket, oil companies, Boots, WH Smith, Tesco, the dicks that inspired this blog - you name it, no difference. The shareholders come first, not you.
And then HMG get there fingers in the till too.

Such is life. Just follow the money.

how does - £20,000 free fuel causes chaos, refer to your peak oil cut and paste, where did you copy that from, oh forgive me, you have it saved on your pc and use it on every blog we have on here, silly me for thinking anything different.

Spot Brent Crude in NW/Europe closed at $88.59/Bbl (15/09/08) Exchange Rate 1.7935.
Wholesale Petrol 95r closed at 34.07p/litre. Wholesale Diesel closed at 42.57p/litre.

Wholesale Petrol has dropped 2.77p/litre since Friday. Diesel down 2.44p/litre since Friday.

Petrol 34.07p/litre + 50.35p/litre/Duty + 5p/litre(50/50split) + 2p/litre(Additives/Delivery + 16p/litre VAT = 107.90p/litre. Avg Retail Price.

However, this Fuel bought on this day, has yet to reach Petrol Station Tanks.

Diesel 42.57p/litre + 50.35p/litre/Duty + 5p/litre(50/50split) + 2p/litre(Additives/Delivery) + 17.49p/litre VAT = 117.90p/litre. Avg Retail Price.

This Fuel also, has not reached Petrol Station Tanks.

Each Station has its own "Throughput Formula" this may increase or reduce the retail price.

"Supermarkets" buy in huge volumes, and receive discounts plus 90 day credit terms. They also use "Creative Accounting Methods" to establish their prices.

To account for "Market" swings, Fuel is usually averaged over a number of days rather than one.

RE:28

An increase of 2% after a tumble of 13% is hardly "rallying"

Nice to see Learjet back with his informed comments

Well I am tired of moaning. The fuel price at the pump will go down eventually and even more closer to the elections.

In the mean time who wants to join me for a sunday drive?

Given today's prices fuel should now be around 94.9 for unleaded and 96.9 for diesel.

Even taking taken the dollar/pound into account we are being ripped off.

For the week ending 14/09/08 the average cost of a Barrel of Brent Crude on the Spot Market for NW Europe cost $96.93/Bbl. The average exchange rate was 1.7703.

This equates to 34.44p/litre for the base commodity.

It is then shipped, and refined into Petrol. This operation averages 6p/litre, for Petrol.

This makes the "Petrol" Product Price 40.44p/litre.

40.44p/litre + 50.35p/litre(Duty) + 2p/litre(Additives/Delivery) + 5p/litre(50/50split) + 17.11p/litre VAT = Avg Retail Price 114.90p/litre.

The average across the UK, at the moment is 2p/litre below this figure.

Why would people think they are being ripped off, when they are not?

When will Gorgan get out his shoues and Walk the short distance Downing St to Parliament. Or even use an eco car not only for BUSINESS BUT FOR TAKING HIS FAMILY TO SOUTHWOLD ETC.
Free car No tax yet he understands the drivers plight . Pull the other one Gordan

What is going on in the wolrd stock markets are hitting 3 year all time lows. Oil per barrel is under $95 and yet the price at the pump have only come down a fraction since oil hit $147 a barrel. Yet again rip off Britain and ripped off by the petrol suppliers. Can anyone enlighten me is to why we are still paying over £1.09 a litre?

I don't think Learjet is an oil magnate but he is definitely an enormous apologist for the greedy oil companies. I'm tired of him and others waving the exchange difference argument at us. The dollar has strengthened but by nowhere near as much as the 40% fall in oil prices. Does anyone recall a corresponding reduction when the dollar weakened badly earlier this year, ending up at $2.10?

The truth is, Mr Learjet and the Petrol Retail Association can always rustle up a plausible sounding explanation as to why prices can rise daily when the price is going up (and don't they just) but remain static for weeks when it falls away. In one week in July the prices at my local station changed 5 times!

The oil companies are making money hand over fist at the moment and this will be reflected in their financial results. When there is the inevitable outcry, they will issue statements telling us about the need to invest heavily in the business (the standard response from any Chairman upon reporting obscene profits!) before chucking about some huge bonuses and paying an enormous dividend, whilst having a good laugh at the plebs like me who have to actually worry about the price of petrol.

The only good thing to come out of the last few months is that it has demonstrated that people are NOT prepared to pay anything for fuel. As the price peaked demand fell away sharply and some commentators are now saying we may see levels fall back as far as $60 a barrel. Let's hope so.

@39 -> "Can anyone enlighten me is to why we are still paying over £1.09 a litre? "

Yes. You don't buy Crude Oil at the petrol pumps. You buy petrol/diesel which are refined products.

"Can someone explain why prices at the pumps have not come down???
Oil is now $95.73 (15/09/08) "

Note, I am not defending or attacking oil producers, refiners, petrol station owners... but just to point out a few quick points:-)

Motorists have shown they are prepared to pay the higher prices, so who generally reduces their prices? i don't know anyone who willingly asks for less pay.

When prices were at their highest I still saw cars, vans and trucks sitting with their engines running not going anywhere so drivers still willing to waste fuel.

If OPEC reduced their output by say 50% then the price would MORE than double, so they would get more money for selling less for longer (until it runs out). So OPEC could do much more to increase the price.

In the US they have been having inquiries into speculators and with the credit crunch this has caused lots of speculators to have to pull out (unwind their positions). China also shut lots of factories over the Olympics and Paralympics so less demand.

Bush/Republicans know they have the greatest chance of a Republican (mccain) being elected if "gas" prices come down. Thus they have been doing everything they can to get prices down, KSA favours mccain over the democrats obama so has helped by pumping more. They an probably only do this for a few months.

Unless we have a world-wide depression the demand for oil will increase so pushing prices back up. In China and India a small percentage of the population owns cars but there is a great desire to own a car, they don't want bikes any longer. Chindia has 2.3 billion people, that's about five times as many as US, Europe and Japan combined.

It's fairly simple really, taking a graph the price will go from bottom left to top right with a lot of wiggles in between - sorry if that's a bit too technical:-) The question is, do you wait until you are priced out or try and do something about it beforehand or is it just too hard to think about so go back to looking at celebrities until you go over the cliff with the rest of the lemmings?

Best hopes for thinking longer term than the end of the month.

Why have airlines not removed some of the fuel duty surcharge?

Why have cruiselines not removed some of the fuel duty surcharge?

I noticed that several garages around here have lowered prices by around 3p per lite - all except Tesco's!!!

Oil prices rally on demand hopes 107 a barrel now enjoy drop why it lasts as the idoits are bidding it up again

Presumably those who talk up pump prices on this site have a trade interest.

As this is a consumer site, nearly everyone else using it will retain a consumer focus. This is important as industry and investor interests have their own fora elsewhere.

Previously Petrolprices.com members have talked about forms of action.

The most practical form action right now would be to lobby for UK, US and other western governments to outlaw the practices that lead to extreme speculation on the oil price.

The same sort of spivs that went short on HBOS, Lehman, Merryl Lynch, Bear Stearns etc. (helping to put the world's financial systems, economies and ordinary peoples' livelihoods at risk) are today again active in oil speculation.

Petrolprices members should lobby Governments to outlaw this greedy and destructive form of corporate crime.

YES YES YES!!!!!!!!
Diesel is below 1.20 ltr, what am I going to do with all the money I save?
I can almost afford a ticket to park my car in the city centre now, or save enough to get it back from from the pound when it's towed away while getting change.
The possibilities are endless.
Happy motoring.

This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

RE 54
Yes it did.
If the pound was as weak as it is now then fuel would have been 7 pence a litre dearer at its peak.

The oil price is tumbling but this is to some degree offset by the falling pound against the dollar. Oil companies are quick to tell us how the oil price does not have an immediate effect on the pump price as there is stock in the system purchased at the higher value. This makes logical sense, however what hasn't been discussed is the fact that the oil companies hold significant amounts of currency as dollars in forward hedging and when the pound was $2.07 they would have extended their position heavily. So comapring the spot dollar price agianst the oil dollar value is not exactly fair as the supply will most certainly not purchased with dollars bought at 1.76.

The other factor to consider is margins, if the industry maintains the same margin as it did in Nov 2007 then the petrol price of £1.089 per litre is about right if the oil and currency are purchased at spot prices. Contrary to this the diesel marin has increased by some 11p per litre. This is an increase in industry margin from 12p per litre to 23p per litre. This is exclusive of VAT.

I would be interested if anyone could explain why this margin has extended to this level as far as I am aware the raw materials are the same and processing costs have not increased since November; at least not in any proportion over petrol processing.

asda and morrisons to drop petrol to 99.9p.

I think this advertisment was a good way of helping lots of people save money with there fuel bills whilist times are tough, whilist advertising a new product. I think the company acted in a responsible way and helped people out. I would welcome the offer from more companies of free fuel, anyone stuck in the queue should have taken a different route and besides wasnt like they where doing it in the height of rush hour and they could have got free fuel too. As for electric cars what rubbish, they cost a fortune and the range is poor, this has no relation to free fuel.

Bring on more free fuel and price drops!

No doubt my previous comment will get removed. And Peak Oil's spam in every single bloody thread will still be there. Fine. Another good site down the drain from spammers.