So i take it this man doesn't have a car nor does he ever get in a car???, but what about people who rely on cars for their jobs, wake up Mr Bryan

"This idiotic obsession with the car and Gordon Brown will be able to do nothing; that's a fact."

No, that is a subjective opinion.

Without my car I couldn`t get to work (too far and too long on public transport). If I cannot get to work I cannot earn a salary. If I don`t earn a salary I cannot afford to pay my mortgage, pay the bills etc or pay my taxes. Without taxes, schools, hospitals, pensions etc will cease to exist and we will be back to the pre victorian times. I don`t necessarily enjoy working for a living (I suppose not many people do), I don`t necessarily enjoy sitting in the traffic I do, inorder to go to work. I don`t particularly enjoy paying the amount of tax I do to run the car...but while I agree we all have an opinion and life is subjective...I am SICK TO DEATH of always getting the blame because I have a car and have to run one. We all have an obligation to the environment, and we all do the best we can, with what we have...but most of us are doing what we can by working, paying the tax and living the independant life we want and, in this country, have the right to have.....try blaming someone else for a change (that will be a novelty)...or better stll...dont blame anyone at all and let us all live the lives we want without the criticism.

While I agree to freedom of speech...can we manage to do this without knocking someone elses life style, way of life or ability to do something other than moan.

I would say that my personal association with the car is no so much an 'obsession' but more a necessity; given that i need it to work so i can feed my family and pay my way. I would argue, therefore, that my necessity is far from 'idiotic'. How about you expend some of that anger of yours in coming up with a feasible alternative to the internal combustion engine?

Then again i suppose it's far easier sitting high atop that self-righteous hobby-horse of yours, decrying all those who aren't bicycle-riding, hemp shirt-wearing composters.

Barry Leotard, not only is his final sentence a subjective opinion, it is also both structurally and grammatically retarded.

"When China awakes, the world will tremble" Napoleon Bonaparte.

What we are seeing, here in the west, is the beginning of a seismic shift in political and economic power - to China and the East. Crude oil will continue to rise, probably to $200 per barrel within the next 12 months.

Sure, our economy is dominated by oil and sectors surrounding it. The technology is there to change, but the costs will be huge.

The reason that oil prices are on the rise is because OPEC refuses to increase production. OPEC has a monopoly over oil and thus when it chooses to limit supply it can demand higher prices. Interestingly gutter rags such as the courier choose not to report on OPEC, i wonder what the relationship between the top men of Britain's media companies and the oil barons of OPEC is?

Did we need the car before the last 50 years of the 20th century? NO - do we really need it today - NO. I think the point is not the car but the way we organize our lives today or the way we are forced to run our lives by the demands placed on us by society. The point is we can make the car a thing of the past by reorganizing our lives so we again live in local communities like we did in the past. This has to be done at a political level making each community sustainable with local jobs and services so people will not need a car. The current political trend of centralization of services is making this problem worse.

Agree with you BM4260.
OPEC has increased production, but believes there is sufficient supply for demand.
We're not in danger of running out of oil, but we are in danger of excessive speculation over shortages of oil, because of danger points - ie Iran/Iraq.
However, demand will continue to rise in the East.

i dont really need my car but what if the busses get the chop shall i order a taxi and bill mr.. brian
sorry but all this planet saving guff is becomming
an expensive taxpayers pain