“U.S. oil demand during the first half of 2008 fell by an average 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same period a year ago, the biggest volume decline in 26 years…

Total U.S. petroleum and other liquids consumption is projected to shrink by almost 500,000 (bpd) in 2008 based on prospects for a weak economy and continuing high crude oil and product prices extending into 2009,” the EIA said.

U.S. daily oil use fell by a slight 7,000 barrels last year and is forecast to decline by 480,000 barrels this year and then by another 120,000 barrels next year.

The EIA is now forecasting that U.S. oil demand in 2009 will average 20.08 million bpd, the lowest level since 2003.”

“As summer vacation season kicked in, Americans got out of their cars, driving 12.2 billion fewer miles in June than the same month a year earlier.

Overall, Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles November through June than they did over the same eight-month period a year earlier…

…larger decline than the 49.3 billion fewer miles driven by Americans over the entire decade of the 1970s, a period marked by oil embargoes and gas lines…

…motorists consumed 400 million fewer gallons of gasoline and 318 million fewer gallons of diesel in the first quarter of 2008 than in the same period in 2007.”

Of course the analysts and media are playing the numbers game rationalizing how Exxon is not taking advantage of the market, etc. Are we really that naive?

“Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May compared with a year earlier, according to a report Monday from the Federal Highway Administration.

“We have seen the longest decline in vehicular miles traveled since we started collecting this data,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters in a conference call with reporters.

Peters said that in the first four months of this year, Americans traveled 40.5 billion miles less compared with the same period in 2007. She said the decline in usage means less tax revenue for highway system.”

There are ways to augment the gas mileage without removing gas from the equation. If we can double, triple, or even more, the mpg for a vehicle, that is the exact same as lowering the price per gallon as we know it. There ARE ways, they are just being made out to be too difficult to implement or too expensive to sustain.

We are in a game of chicken and the consumer is the one who will always be on the losing end.

A good friend of mine was in the military during the latter part of WW#2 through 1946 or 1947, I can’t remember which but it doesn’t matter that much. Anyway while he was stationed somewhere in Indiana, he witnessed a 1946 or 1947 Ford car, only powered by an electric motor that ran for 24 hours non stop 65 miles per hour with the lights and radio on.

Now 60 odd years later they still say that it can’t be done. How many BILLIONS of dollars do these oil people need, to say that they have enough???

“During the dramatic price increases in recent months, refiners and retailers shouldered margin losses rather than pass the higher cost of crude to motorists. They will try to hang on to recent margin gains, but softer U.S. gasoline demand makes that very difficult… says Trilby Lundberg”

Margin losses? Where are the margin losses when Exxon reported $40+ Billion in profits for 2007? How about the millions of dollars being sucked out the pockets of American citizens while Exxon and their compatriots are “shouldering” the losses of the oil industry? I’m sorry, but that’s a joke of a statement. It’s called profiteering.