e are sitting in a traffic jam on Las Vegas Boulevard. Yes, hypocrites all, rumour has it that Las Vegas is the number one destination for thousands of Bermudians.

We are surrounded by massive pickup trucks and SUV?s including a three-quarter size Hummer. Gas prices in the Nevada area are now anywhere from $3.20 to $3.65 per gallon. That means that the group in our stalled line are now operating at a $200 to $300 per week cost. Granted US cars have larger gas tanks, but the fuel efficiency on these goliaths is abysmal, eight to 12 miles per gallon if you are lucky.

It is hot here, very hot with temperatures hovering around 95 Fahrenheit. Full desert summer heat has not even begun where daytime highs can reach 120F. This means air-conditioning in cars running full tilt. Guess what that does to gas consumption?

If the Nevadan average commuter is driving into work (and should be so lucky) with only round trip mileage of 60 miles per day, not including idling at stoplights, the cost of gasoline per month for a household (estimated average $600) may end up being the single biggest family cost, more than mortgages, rent and food. One can only imagine the distress that the 90 miles one-way commuter is feeling. This spiralling cost will have (and and may already have) a negative effect on consumer confidence.

The pain is being felt, although not acknowledged, as a couple of weeks ago General Motors announced that it will terminate production of the hulking Hummer H1, flagship of its line, and to its critics, the ultimate in environmental incorrectness. This high end model, costing more than $140,000 and a fuel consumption of less than ten miles to the gallon, was a favourite for Hollywood stars and other very well oiled customers.Las Vegas is on a desert plain, approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. We look off from the valley to the surrounding mountain ranges, the tops of which are still covered in snow. Our view is vague to say the least, with the brown topography indistinct and blurred from the heavy smog line that is almost -opaque already. It is just 10 o?clock in the morning. This acrid pall hangs over the valley just about every day, another by-product of gasoline consumption and millions of cars.

Well, we Bermudians and the Europeans have been disdainful and look upon this recent American penalty, if you will, for excess consumerism with some amusement and cynicism. After all, we?ve been paying high prices for oil for years, and frankly, some may feel that all this comeuppance is long overdue. The thing is, though, it is all relative. Oil prices climbing higher spreads a wide blanket and will continue to effect everyone on a global basis, except perhaps for the Brazilians, who have little dependence on fossil fuels. Their ethanol from corn has been so successful that perhaps the rest of us should be thinking about corn futures for investment, not oil.Oil and its components are also used to produce many other consumer products: various plastics, commercial equipment, flooring, fabric blends, housewares and items too numerous too mention. Will the continued higher cost of the basic ingredients push those formerly inexpensive products higher?

Will we have $100 or $120 a barrel oil in the next couple of years? Who knows? Can anything be done on a corporate level to slow this accelerating cost? In a recent news article in the US, price gouging as been refuted as the cause of unprecedented increases at the pump. Guess that the major oil companies earned almost unheard of profits from some other methodology?

Granted when so much of this consumption is driven by unprecedented demand from emerging markets, it is not easy to point a finger at any one specific target. Additionally, underlying all of this oil and gas volatility are continuing concerns about terrorist activities. According to NewsUSA , oil wells, drilling platforms, loading terminals, ports, tanker ships, storage tanks and refineries are all prime targets. The 200,000 miles of pipeline in the United States and the 10,000 miles of pipeline in Saudi Arabia are particularly vulnerable, especially as most of the pipelines are above ground and poorly guarded. More than 6,000 oil tankers travel through the Dardanelles (the only connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean) annually. And 80 percent of all Persian Gulf oil ? 40 percent of the world?s oil production ? travels through the Strait of Hormuz. If you don?t know where these geographical locations are, look them up. They are vital to most of the world?s oil supply.Tiny Bermuda will never have any say on the world oil consumption platform. In that respect, we are very vulnerable indeed to so many vested interests dominoed with each other. But, we can attempt to conserve as best we can while keeping in reserve survivor tactics that our forebears used very very successfully.

Conserving will become preservation when the cost of driving (and parking in Hamilton) alone reaches unaffordable extremes for many.

For instance: hang clothes outside instead of in the dryer. This saving measure alone will shave significant amounts from your utility bill. Of course, if you live in a condominium that forbids the use of a clothesline, you have a problem. Sorry, but I could never understand how taking away that glorious sun-dried laundry smell somehow elevated the status of a housing project! Use air conditioning only when absolutely necessary and recycle the air inside with small internal fans for better cooling effects. 24-hour a day lights, dryers, dishwashers, heated pools, televisions, are we entitled to use these things without recourse?

Our Government needs to do more now for sidewalk construction all over the Island for those wishing to use foot and leg power instead of accelerator power. Additionally, if our roads were policed more effectively, we would not feel so timid about riding pedal bikes. The Public Transportation schedules need to be revised to reflect the reality of our 24/7 workday world where many employees must report to work long before the first ferry leaves at 7.30 a.m. This suggestions will not be palatable for many, but regrettably, our days of overconsumption may be coming to an end. We?ll all be healthier for it.

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