America is HUGE. We use stupid amounts of fuel. I work in Grocery Supply Chain. I can unload half a truck in IL, and see the next stop is LA, literally 1000 miles away.
As much as I don't like to give Americans credit, this is a very good point that a lot of people either miss or intententionally ignore to make an argument.
Not only is the country not set up for walking, cycling or inter-city public transport, the distances between places is enough to break the minds of most Europeans.
If people had to pay what we pay in Europe the situation would be so incredibly fucked - way more than it already is.
It's not just getting people around either. Freight trains, trucks, and planes don't run on hopes and dreams (neither do their refrigeration units). Every product you buy in the store from towels to organic pasture raised eggs uses oil to get to you.
Indeed. That's actually the bigger part of the issue. People don't travel long distances personally all that often (further than Europeans, sure, but relative to the size of the country, it's small potatoes). Goods on the other hand... they ship coast to coast. Literally thousands of miles isn't uncommon. If diesel cost you over $10 a gallon, your already expensive food and other goods would be significantly more expensive.
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u/PafPiet 26d ago
Oh that's neat, for diesel we're up at 12,29 USD per gallon here in the Netherlands.