The fire is sweepin' our very street today.

There is no denying anymore that the fuel situation in this country is getting out of control. In fact, the fuel situation is hitting hard in other countries as well. Today, truck drivers across Spain blocked roads and halted deliveries in protest of rising fuel costs. The length of the protest is indefinite, so Spaniards are stocking up on food and fuel in fears that soon they will be hard to come by. In Barcelona, 40 percent of gas stations have run out of fuel and it is reported that markets are running low on food supplies in other parts of the country.
In the U.S. gas is now more than $4 a gallon on average. I have watched the numbers climb day by day as I dread every trip to the gas station. It was $4.07 yesterday at a local Sunoco, this morning, $4.15. Industry analysts are expecting the frenzy to peak at $5 a gallon over the summer. Though the issue of fuel cost has been in the background for the past decade, it is only now coming to the forefront and changing the way people live.
According to a CNN/Opinion Research poll, 66 percent of Americans have changed their driving habits to cut back on fuel purchases. Seventy-one percent are considering buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle. This percentage -- especially in a country full of ride big, live big good ol' folk -- is mind blowing.
Every avenue of our lives is seeing the sting of higher fuel prices. The price of food is beginning to dramatically increase from week to week due to the fact that truck drivers are finding it harder to fill their semis with diesel. With diesel at more than $5 a gallon, it takes approximately $1000 to fill an 18-wheeler's tank. At what point will it all be too much?
People are currently -- and have been for some time -- cutting back on recreational spending, but now it seems that soon they will have to cut back on necessary spending. A Principal survey released today found that 56 percent of workers have cut back spending because of economic challenges. Is there a quick way out of this fuel fiasco?
Even if people start buying more fuel-efficient vehicles tomorrow, our dependence on oil would not be significantly tamed. It's like the leaders of this nation have been sucking the bank account dry and now the rent is due. Many people in this country want to keep their eyes shut to the fact that we are in a serious situation that cannot be easily remedied. Every single person in America -- and across the globe -- needs to wake up now, in the hopes that though we may not be able to stop anything in our time, our efforts today will at least assist the next generation. So many think that global warming is a joke and sort of associate the idea of fuel-efficient vehicles with that. It's unfortunate, because despite whatever you may think about global warming, oil dependency is real and serious and will soon steal the bread from your children's mouths.