$7.50 gallon gas

[GordoJay]

Definitely not going anywhere. Oil was being pumped when naptha (the precursor to gasoline) was considered a waste product. Aviation and shipping industries aren't going electric any time soon, and you can't seal a driveway or shingle a roof with electrons. Well, not just electrons. And until cars hover, they'll need tires and manufacturing those uses oil.

Of course, we could start cutting back on single use plastic. I know, I know, crazy talk that'll crash the consumer economy, but remember when bottles were reused? Replaced with plastic and the lie of recycling.

Everything takes energy. There's the stuff you mention that uses petroleum directly, like plastics and fertilizer, and then there's everything else. Literally everything. Fuçking food. Yes, it grows in the sun for "free". But it has to be watered, fertilized, worked, harvested, processed, stored, transported multiple times. And that's if you eat it fresh. Add in layers and layers if it goes into a factory. Shit, when you go to the hairdresser to get your man bun groomed, what you pay covers the energy cost of the groomers food, housing, and transportation. So even straight services cost energy. A country's standard of living is in direct proportion to it's energy use. Cut back energy use and you lower your standard of living. Europe is a great first world example. Little houses, little cars, expensive food, crowded conditions in comparison to the US. The only way the díckheads in Washington can sell this stupidity is by turning concern for the environment into a mental illness. Someone was just apologizing for a rant. I guess it's my turn. Sorry.

 

[deblas]

On an island approximately 20mi long by 5 mi wide, how much driving does someone actually do there?? I mean I drive 35mi each way to work.
I bet my fuel costs are still more at just under $5/gal than the avg Joe in Aruba at $7.50.
Life is different on the island mon!!!

 

[CruiserClass]

This would have been before Cyprus joined the EU then; after that happened prices went down quite a bit though I still found gas more expensive in, for example, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, etc.

Cyprus is a beautiful country but I couldn't stomach living there for more than two years; I was 24-25 years old at the time, on an island that takes 2.5 hours to drive across, with a population of around 1 million where half that amount of people were retirees, pensioners, etc etc. During tourist season, it would fill up with tourists from all over Europe, Russia, etc etc and would become cramped and obnoxious. Outside of that season, it would be dull and boring, as all the activities would shut down until tourist season started again. 2 years was the most I could handle before moving to Pennsylvania and then later, Montana.

Definitely pre-EU. I can see the concerns for a younger man looking for a nightlife and that sort of thing, but for my interests and habits it was fine. Of course, you always see things as more interesting as a tourist than as a resident.