For my fellow Americans who might be bemoaning the fact that they are paying $3 a gallon for gasoline, consider the fact that most European drivers have it a lot worse. Here in the UK, drivers pay 90 pence for a litre of gas. Americans pay 36 pence for that same litre.
Note: 1 litre = 0.26 gallons. Today, 1 U.S. dollar = 0.561892454 British pound.
Yeah. This has always been the case. What we REALLY need is better public transportation (which Europe has MASTERED), better city/neighborhood planning, and of course alternate sources of fuel.
Americans groan about this all the time, but environmentalists have been telling us for many, MANY years that a situation like this AND global warming would come if we don't adjust our expectations and behaviors. We were told. We did not change. We can not expect a different outcome.
I can say this because I take the train to work every day!
All the European cities I've visited so far(Prague, Barcelona and Amsterdam) have great public transporation systems that are reasonable priced. London also has a good transit system as well, but its rather expensive. I know, what else is new about this city!?!