LA Prof Discovers New World on Foot

As US drivers complain, those overseas think we're lucky

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are climbing again, which means people are complaining, which means it's time for a spate of stories showing how relatively cheap gas remains in the US. Here's a rough estimate of world prices per gallon, courtesy of CNN :

• US: $3.53
• Norway: $9.28
• Europe: Between $7.50 and $8 for most, including Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.

We survived three years ago, and we'll survive now: 'Chicago Tribune'

(NEWSER) - Everyone is freaking out about $5 gas , but the Chicago Tribune has an idea: Take a chill pill, it asserts in an editorial. "All those bad memories of oil soaring to $147 a barrel three years ago tend to crowd out the vague recollection that, oh yeah, prices came tumbling down just as fast." Fear, not supply and demand, is mostly to blame for the rise in oil prices as we worry that the unrest in the Middle East could "threaten the oil production of Saudi Arabia and other nations that pump far more crude than war-torn Libya." We need to squash the impulse to overreact. More»

BP, Statoil have pulled out of country

(NEWSER) - Trips to the gas station could get a whole lot more painful soon, now that the unrest sweeping the Middle East has hit an oil-producing nation. Crude prices shot up 7% yesterday, and were still rising this morning, after BP and Norway’s Statoil evacuated workers from Libya, USA Today reports. “If this thing escalates, and there’s a good chance that there’d be a shift in supplies, $5 gas isn’t out of the question,” one senior energy analyst says. More»

Study puts us way behind Australians and the Swiss

(USER SUBMITTED) - A new study in Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise confirms what many already knew: Americans don't walk much. In fact, Americans walk an average of only 5,117 steps per day. That compares unfavorably to Australians (9,695), the Swiss (9,650), and the Japanese (7,168). One mile is about 2,000 steps, and Americans need to average about 30-40 more minutes of daily walking to close the gap. “Five thousand steps is really pretty inactive," says the lead author. Read the full article . More»

Driving less not great for gov't coffers

(NEWSER) - Americans are driving less and burning less fuel, but it could be too soon for conservation fans to celebrate. That dip, and global economic gloom, has sent oil and gas prices spiraling down, Joseph White writes in the Wall Street Journal, depriving the government of taxes it needs for transportation infrastructure—and perhaps sapping consumers’ motivation to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. More»