I'm not a bleeding heart greenie, far from it in fact, but I actually DO believe we need to curb our fossil energy usage on a global scale. It's simple supply - a non-renewable resource MUST have an end point, or at least a point where it's simply too expensive to use. Nobody needs a 5L V8 engine in their car, most people really can get away with a small runaround, and I'm well aware that bigger cars make driving longer distances more comfortable but it's still far from a necessity.

On a global scale, we're simply using too much. Cheap energy has been the call of the last 100 years, and we're beginning to pay for it now.

Part of the reason fuel prices have jumped in the past couple of weeks is because of the actions described here: online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303863404577283532862521716.html

In a nutshell, SWIFT, the global inter-bank commerce agency, has de-listed all Iranian banks after a EU/US joint directive. This means they are unable to easily conduct foreign cash transactions with other banks. It also means foreign countries are unable to buy Iran's oil. Which means that Iran is selling less oil, and there's pressure on the other suppliers to make up the short fall. Supply, demand. Supply can't match global requirements right now, prices rise, people complain, it becomes the new normal.

Interestingly though, as I said our petrol prices have been above $1 a litre ($4 a gallon) for as long as I've been driving. In 2001, they were around $1.10 per litre, but the $AUD was worth $0.5 USD. Therefore, we were paying around $2.20 USD per litre for fuel, or ~$9 per gallon. These days, $1 AUD is worth anywhere from $0.95 - 1.10 USD, yet our fuel is $1.50 per litre right now. On an international scale it's gone down, yet to the pocket it's gone up.

The fuel excise on petrol in Australia is $0.38 per litre. GST is also charged on top at 10%. This means, out of $1.50 per litre, 15c is GST and 38c is tax, or 35.3% of the total cost goes to the government.

That leaves a hell of a lot going to foreign oil companies, and frankly I don't blame governments for trying to cut that. The trade deficits due to energy around the world are massive, and I really do think need to be reigned in.