Your Comments

We can bleat on about Global Warming, who's to blame, what is the correct price of diesel, socialist lemmings, tree huggers, ad et al ........

My burning question is this,

When is this unelected buffoon, we mistakenly refer to as Prime Minister going to "Sling his hook", taking the incompetent Alistair Darling and the rest of the mottley New Labour Crew with him?

Just been browsing back over the blog and came across this comment -

Free tip Chemistry 101:- We brew so much beer. News flash. Ethanol is a by-product of this process. It is up to 30% more efficient (performance) than petrol and would not take a lot to modify existing petrol engines. Watch the Discovery Channel - Saab did a documentary on this subject.

I just returned from Brazill about 3 weeks ago. In Brazil this technology is SCIENCE FACT, they have a product at the fuel stations they call "ALCOOL", an ethanol based fuel substitute, it's half the price of normal fuels too.

Now that petrol prices have dropped below the one pound per litre level it is easy to forget that the world still faces peak oil. This is the point where half of the world's oil supply has been pumped out of the ground. From here on it will be a diminishing resource.

Extracting the first half of oil from a well is the easy bit, as the lighter fuels are found at the top and are under pressure so that the oil just gushes out. Then the pressure is less and more serious pumping is required. Deeper down the oil is thicker and harder to pump up.

Water and sometimes gas is pumped into the oil well to raise the pressure. All of these problems and techniques make it more expensive to get the remaining oil out. Once the oil peak has been reached oil prices will inevitably rise.

So peak oil has profound implications for us. Oil is the basis of our energy supply, oil is the basis for worldwide intensive agriculture, oil is the basis of plastics and synthetic materials. Our economy can only grow with the growth of energy supplies. Once peak oil is reached everything changes.

The Transition Town movement in the UK starts out with the recognition that we are at, or very close to, peak oil. Taking that as the starting point the movement then asks how will our towns adapt to a low energy future? What will we have to do to make the transition as easy as possible? How can we start the process of transition?

For us in the UK the journey starts with a growing awareness of the situation and by asking questions.

Where will our food come from? Where will our energy come from? What work will we do? How will our towns look 20 years from now? Will there still be cars and supermarkets? What will be the basis of our local economy?

The solution?

Stop whining and whinging about current fuel costs and start preparing for a life of austerity.

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Stay healthy. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

Hi
I just think the government and i mean every single one of them,preaches that they are trying to help everyone, no instead they are up to every trick in the book, they always give you a false sense of security, the way they are treating us moterests is just beond words. Surely someone somewhere can do something about these liars and theves,i no any member of the public would not get away with it. They hammer us every road and direction, the sooner they are out the better. I can not even watch the liars and theves on the tv i detest them all so much. Can someone tell me who we can turn to, My mother told me some years ago when labour got in you will all no about it now with paying higher taxes for everything, oh how my mother was right thank god she is not here to see it, this complaint is to the liars and theves of the government. Same on you all..

Wee Gordon had planned to take £X million off motorists to balance his books. His books now have no way of being balanced so he takes it off motorists anyhow.
I cannot understand how any motorists in UK can vote for this government

I am very disillusioned with the so called free world.

We work so hard, we live one of the richest economies in the world and we are being permanently screwed by those we elect to represent us and act in our best interest.

How is it possible, we are excessively taxed, we get substandard services or no services at all unless we pay, constantly bombarded with supposed choice of which we have little, and then try to deceive by saying we get good value?

I am being conned every month, I know I pay more than my share.

Is there anyone in government interested in the ordinary person trying to make and enjoy life.

Labour you are out, you are not for the common man.

Whats wrong with the people in this country. the people of the country own the goverment, so its about time the people spoke up and told them what we want and not the other way round.why should the motorist pay more for there petrol for labors MESS. KEEP PETROL PRICES DOWN BLAIR, DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ONCE.

Glad to see Peak Oil is still posting (or should I say cut and pasting) his rubbish.....

Ya allllllllllllllllllllllllllll betta starta lisen ta dis Peak Oil fella. im nos wat goin on in de wurld. Ya alllllllllllllllllllllllllll gotta stop usin de cars an lorrys an start ta wurc local. im macin alotta sens ya nos. Forget dem tax an stop complanin about everiting. Ya allllllllllllllllllllllll needs a simpla lifstile if ya nos watta min.

Re: 10907

And your take on things is that all is rosy in the garden?
Would you care to refute any of Peak Oil's reasoning?
Is his view a little too pragmatic for you?

typical of a government to off-set a positve (however small) of reduced vat, to prompty give a negative (that could reap more) by increasing fuel duty.
although they state it is a neurtal cost, the oil companies will increase the cost of fuel as so to maintain their profit margin, natural law of economics.

as someone who commutes by motorbike to work, this fuel rise will cost me more than i will save from the VAT reduction. so yet again the motorist is forced to suffer the burden of government money making policies. (don't get me started on going for a pint at the end of the day!!)

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE HAVE CONTINUED TO VOTE THIS PARTY BACK INTO POWER . INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET VALUE FOR MONEY BY ENSURING THE EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES THEIR ANSWER SEEMS TO BE TO KEEP THROWING OUR MONEY AT PROBLEMS AND THEN TAXING US MORE WHEN THEY RUN OUT.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR A PARTY TO ACT RESPONSIBLY WITH PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCES . IF THIS LOT WERE RUNNING A BUSINESS IT WOULD HAVE GONE BUST YEARS AGO.
NEVER MIND JUST PUT MORE DUTY ON FUEL AND KEEP SQUEEZING US TIL WE SQUEAK

Whole swathes of government and public service are costly and inefficient. Transport is only one example. You can fill a 4x4 tank in Dubai for about £10, USA isn't much more . Only a proportion of the money we pay in UK for road tax and fuel duty is spent on transport, and there is little governemt imperative to imporve the driver's lot. We are considered planet destroying pariahs. We need stronger representation.

I would like to know why we have to pay VAT on the Fuel Excuise duty, if you look at your VAT receipt when you buy your petrol you will see that VAT is charged on both the actual cost of the fuel and the duty.

Why is the Government allowed to charge a tax on a tax? I'm sure the same holds true for purchase of alcohol as well!

It would be fairer if the government raised its necessary revenues through progressive income tax rather than deceiving and confusing the public with the present snowstorm of different taxes.

No surprise there with our Gordon!
He says No Boom or Bust. He's going for BUST!

What hypocrisy from the Labour Government. Whilst the PM strongly urges the petrol companies to reduce the cost of petrol, he fails to inform us that the majority of the cost is tax that goes to the Government! He must think we are all totally stupid not to realise that.

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10924 Dave Barnett...

SNOB; someone who adopts the worldview that some people are inherently inferior to him/her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect.

Even more apt, a pseudo-intellectual is a type of snob.
Such a snob imitates the manners, adopts the worldview, and affects the lifestyle of a social class of people to which he or she aspires, but does not yet belong, and to which he or she may never belong.
Dave Barnet, you most certainly are a SNOB.

Lets face it folks, the will always use the motorist to get their money!

Yet another 'con' job by this incompetant Labour Goverment, they give with one hand whilst picking your pocket with the other.

We need to remember all their 'Bash the motorists' policies when the next election is finaly held.

Jeff

With regard to the 2p tax on petrol, defered it may be, and the reduction in VAT, we are not going to be any better off, where is the extra money from? The average household? I travel 50 miles per day to earn my crust - public transport would take me 4 times longer and cost more than running my car. May I sugest to our right honerable PM (who is niether right or honerable) that he takes himself and his financial advisers off to his local supermarket and buy a new calculater to replace the abacus they are currently using as this one seems to be short of a few beads.
Whilst there could he offer the use of said abacus to the checkout assistants to calculate my shopping bill as I am sure it would be less than I am currently paying.
Gordon you need to re-do your sums, you are bleeding us dry. Perhaps the urine you are extracting has been put to some better use, can you run your car on it? Enough is enough.

No surprises there then - in this climate where we need to travel further to find employment, where the cost of living, housing continues to rise who would expect the government to actually do something for the average working person / family?

As someone who has a mobility car, and lives on benefits I think it is disgusting that people, like myself who is dependent on a car has to get taxed, I think its bad enough others get taxed like they do anyway

As a motoring journalist with more than 40 years driving throughout Europe where fuel prices have always been lower than those in the UK and where they
have come down rapidly in line with world oil prices, the UK Government seizes every opportunity to penalize the poor old motorist and here we are once again having got petrol below the £ and diesel just over £ per litre the Government immediately add 2p per litre. The Chancellor and PM should be ashamed of themselves and should try living in the real world of being an ordinary motorist instead of swanning around in their chauffer-driven limos! Still, the next election is not far ahead "Darling!

This latest Government fiasco of giving benevolently with one hand and snatching back more with the other is a step too far for the majority of the long suffering British public. In my view the Chancellor has got it completely wrong again and is failing to raise taxes in the area where he needs to - from the obscenely Rich.

We have just had our economy, jobs, homes and lifestyles destroyed by the rich fat cats who manipulated the financial markets and made trillions of pounds out of re-packaging sub-prime mortgages as triple A investments and selling them world wide. In the process they have bankrupted some small countries and major investment banks and very nearly destroyed the capitalist system of the World. This is criminal and it's called fraud - it should be treated by World Governments as fraud - and the perpetrators brought to justice and have their assets confiscated and given back to the idiot bankers who fell for it all in the first place.

My point is this: temporary VAT change and bringing forward of the 2p hike in petrol duty is the Chancellor's pathetic remedy for stimulating our failing economy in answer to the national and global recession brought about
by the mis-selling I have mentioned above.

He's completely wrong; it hasn't got a chance of working because no one but the rich have any spare money to spend in the quantities that would make any difference, and not only the that - once again it's unfair. The poor, especially the motoring poor, get hammered yet again while the rich are so rich they just don't care.

It's not about Labour or Conservative - it doesn't seem to matter what the political colours of the Government of the day are - there is for all of them only one section of society that they select to pay for everything with their taxes and that's all of us who are not rich. One answer would be for everyone to bombard their MP with protest letters and leave them in absolutely no doubt that if you don't hear of them raising questions in the house of Commons condemning this latest fiasco and forcing a vote against the Government then we'll be voting them out of office at the next opportunity. Shake their own security - it's the only thing they understand.

I agree with most of the comments on the blog, but sometimes I have to wonder if we British secretly enjoy being ripped off when buying petrol or diesel. For instance, all the filling stations here on Wirral get their supplies from Stanlow and therefore all pay the same price, but the prices we pay at B.P. and Texaco stations are always between three and six pence per litre higher than at Shell or Murco,yet they seem to get just as many customers.
And what about the big rip off that B.T call LINE RENTAL. What has line rental to do with the price of oil you may ask, so before you think I've been eating 'magic mushrooms' let me tell you.
In 1973 Israel was having a war with Egypt, the yom kippur one. The Arab oil producing countries placed an oil embargo on all those countries that supported Israel, including Britain.
Within a week or two oil prices had rocketed and created a world oil crisis.
The British government under Ted Heath were worried that the budget set for oil for the power stations may be exceeded so they put an Emergency Fuel Tax on all our utilities bills. Gas,Water,Electricity,and TELEPHONES which were all still nationalised at that time.
A year later (1974), the war was over. Oil prices had come down and stability was much improved, so the government, now under Harold 'this will not affect the pound in your pocket' Wilson ended the tax, but he allowed the utilities to keep taking the money except they could not call it a tax. This is when things like Standing charge,and Service charge first appeared on all your utilities bills. B.T eventually decided to call their share of this bonanza Line Rental, and you have been paying it ever since. For the past 34 years in fact.
It is estimated that B.T.has around 30 million lines,so if all these lines bring in twelve pounds per month in line rental,that implies an income to B.T. of over £ FOUR BILLION per year, in line rental alone.
Oh dear, I almost forgot to mention, you have to pay VAT on it as well.
And that's why I have to wonder. I have never heard anyone complain.

the price of petrol per barrel has practically halved yet the reduction in petrol at the pump is barely a quarter... this does not add up and we are all suffering. The government must make the petrol companies charge a fair price or they will keep getting away with this scandal.

We've been robbed again re the fuel duty and VAT and we're being ripped off even more when it comes to diesel. How come that when prices were going up a litre of diesel on cost 5 or 6p more than a litre of unleaded but now prices are going down, my diesel costs 14p, yes 14p a litre more than a litre of unleaded? somebody's making extra money somewhere along the line.

I cant get a job where I live (unless I want min wage) and have to travel 62 miles round. if I dont get stung at the petrol pump I get it with the trains, they dont run on time very often, then there is the signalling isues etc. then when I arrive at work late, its chat time with my manager. the only ones laughing is the fatcats in Downing street. I remember when petrol was the more expensive fuel, I drive a deisel car, low emissions, better for the environment ( in our drive to save the planet), but there you go the deisel costs more than petrol. The thing is we will never beat them and they know it.

Has the government forgotten that fuel also plays a big part in the economic crisis. If we can sustain reasonable prices for fuel, the markets financial trouble will ease.

But OH, of course... we are forgetting that if we lower the tax/duty/VAT on one thing, we not only have to increase it on something else but we also need to increase national insurance and any other unnecessary and economically-destroying fees on top.

How dumb. You know, other countries are suffering from the crisis, but they must be looking at us and thinking, "how the hell are they coping when they are doing stupid things like this".

This country is an embarrassment to the world.

This is typical with today's government. Give a little but take a lot. In order to help every one surely cut the amount of tax or duty on fuel. This will help bring down all commodities.
Once the 15% VAT is finished it will not go back to 17.5% I would estimate that 20% plus would be more like the greed that the Government will be looking for. And yes the big fat cats of society can then have even more money.

Recipe for disaster.

The government is the mixing bowl.
Diesel is the recipe.
VAT, tax, duty and a large bottle of brandy are the main ingredients,

Add a small amount of supply with a large dollop of demand (do not overdo the supply)
Mix the VAT, tax and duty until mushy and hard to see, add the small amount of supply and demand and stir.
Using excuses, blend some refineries together (only use half)and pour into the mix then throw the other half away (too much refinery will make it non profit palatable)
Leave to stand until April (topping up with supply and demand if necessary) then add 2p worth of duty, mix, cover and leave to settle.
In October, repeat April's mix.
On Jan 1 2010, you can stir in the 2.5% tablespoons VAT and some more duty if you feel the taste is not quite right.
Your dish is ready, it will be far too rich for 90 percent of the population but the remaining 10 percent will swallow whatever the government serve and say "thank you".
Oh yes, the brandy. This is for yourself, I think you may need it!

If you haven't heard the term 'Peak Oil'; brace yourself as you'll be hearing it a lot more in the years to come. It's been a whispered term for many years, much like "global warming" was back in the 60's.

In 1956, geophysicist Dr. M. King Hubbert predicted that oil production in the USA would reach its peak around 1970 and then go into a state of decline. He also predicted that global oil production would peak around the late 90's/early 21st century. He plotted the increase, peak and decrease of oil production on a graph; and his theory is popularly known as Hubbert's Peak.

Dr Hubbert also flagged with the world the issue not only of declining oil production, but the increasing cost associated in extracting what oil remained after the "low hanging fruit" had been picked.

There is no doubt that the cost of oil production in recent times has been huge - not only in the exploration and production itself in financial terms; but also in terms of environmental damage caused. Added to that has been the huge military expense and associated human suffering caused through wars that have been pushed on the public by their governments as being issues of national safety rather than their true motivation - control of oil reserves. The war in Iraq is a classic example of that.

Dr Hubbert was ridiculed by many when he released his research; but his predictions appear to have come true. USA oil production did indeed go into rapid decline around 1971.

Fact: we are consuming more oil globally and the trend will continue

Fact: it is not a renewable resource in relation to our consumption levels

Fact: countries go to war over control of oil reserves

Fact: oil consumption has a negative impact on the environment

Fact: gas at the pump continues to, generally speaking, increase in price

Fact: many plastics and other trappings of the modern world are made from oil

Fact: the world is running out of easily sourced oil; i.e. production using current technology has peaked, and what oil is left will cost more to pull out of the ground using methods most likely to be even more unfriendly to the environment.

Paints a rather grim picture for our oil addicted society doesn't it? If we're willing to invade a country for oil, how much more aggressive will we be when supply really gets tight?

How does food get to your table? Do you grow it in your yard, or is it trucked in to your supermarket? How do you collect it; do you walk to the supermarket or drive? How do you get to work?

How many affordable alternative energy vehicles are now on the market?

When the Iraq war and other geo-political issues pushed the price of oil to record levels; people stopped buying SUV's. Within a couple of weeks of a drop in prices; they went back to buying them again. It just goes to show how little we learn. We had a taste of what really expensive petrol was like, yet as soon as the pressure was backed off a little; we went straight back to our previous oil-greedy ways.

We won't learn, oil will have to run out or become so horribly expensive that only few can use it to any degree. What will it cost? How much will it impact on the cost of other items? How many more people will have to die and how much more will our environment suffer while we squeeze out the last viable drop of oil that the planet has to offer?

These are important issues to think about - don't rely on governments to provide the answers to a world without oil as they've all been in denial for way too long. Yes, there are renewable/alternative energy programs in place; but given the major role that oil plays in our lives; permeating just about every aspect; whether these new, cleaner technologies can be rolled out before we hit the real crunch is another question.

The time is now to start thinking about and making changes to the way you live so your life is not so oil-centered. Remember that a lack of oil extends far beyond just not being able to drive your car - so many other products, services and industries are based on oil.

Start preparing for a life of austerity. NOW!

Find local employment. Reduce your debts. Reduce your fuel consumption. Grow your own vegetables or buy from local suppliers. Exercise regularly. Insulate your home. Help your family, friends and colleagues to understand the implications of Peak Oil.

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End of Turkeys Could Fuel 'End of Civilization as We Know It. By Jackson, Kellerman, and a Peak turkey Live Science Senior Writer:: 23 November 2008

Opponents in a long-running debate over when the world will run out of turkeys squared off Tuesday in a crowded room of extremists, reaching only one conclusion: The supply of turkeys are fixed and the world economy will eventually have to wean itself from them.

The most dire and perhaps speculative forecast calls for global turkey production to peak next year -- specifically on Thanksgiving.

"Beyond Turkeys: The View from Hubbert's Turkey Peak" (Gobble and Wang) is due out in March. most scientists agree it is impossible to accurately pin down the amount of Turkeys in known fields and how many more will be found.

"This is not science," said Michael Lynch, a political scientist and energy consultant. "This is forecasting on a global scale regarding the continued production of Turkeys."

Lynch agrees there are problems with relying so heavily on turkeys, and he sees more price volatility ahead. But he argues that many smaller deposits will be found and they will add up to "a lot of turkey" over time.

If, as predicted, peak turkey has been passed, the super powers will be vying for supremecy, so controling any remaining turkey fields.

The possibility of using nuclear weapons is high on the agenda of all powers.

Even the most optimistic predictions of the effects of a major nuclear exchange foresee the death of billions of civilians within a very short amount of time;
more pessimistic predictions argue that a full-scale nuclear war could bring about the extinction of the human race or its near extinction with a handful of survivors (mainly in remote areas) reduced to a pre-medieval quality of life although any remaining turkeys will be unafected.

It is also thought as a result of meltdown a massive influx, from the earths core, will result in copius amounts of mince pies.

The taxation proposed on Gasoline/Petrol/Mogas/Diesel is to be commended. The people who use/abuse energy (and all such consumables) should be the ones who pay the tax. The users should pay and non-users should NOT pay. All Governments need funds to govern properly (and the discussion is not if the Present Government govern properly or efficiently, but how they raise income to govern and from whom this income is generated). This fuel tax ensures that people (and in the UK there are far too many) who escape the tax net using methods that amount to tax evasion , and should probably end up in jail for their practices, will at least pay this fuel tax. 2p is far too little . maybe it should be 20p or even more. Of course this needs to be offset by tax reduction for the "ordinary person who works hard and pays taxes already. UK public transport maynot be the best but is very acceptable (compared to worldwide standards. Use it those who are energy hogs and beleive their time is so valuable, but will spend hours watching TV and in the pub

Typical Noo Labour and their taxing policies.

Its rediculous I need my car being a homecarer between the road tax and petrol tax increase its getting harder for me to keep my car