If we don't have enough incentives to commute already, maybe this will help.
Here are some interesting facts from the CIA factbook. I've only chosen
comparisons between the US, Europe and Australia.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications...rderguide.html
Population (2005): EU: 457 Million, US: 296 Million, Australia: 20 Million
Daily Oil Consumption: EU: 14.5 Million BBLS, US: 19.6 Million BBLS, Australia: 796,000 BBLS
GDP: EU: 11.65 Trillion, US: 11.75 Trillion, Australia: 612 Billion
Dividing some of these figures:
Daily Oil Consumption per person: EU: .032 BBL/person, US: .066 BBL/person, Australia: .040 BBL/person
GDP/BBL of oil: EU: $800,000 / BBL, US: $600,000 / BBL, Australia: $769,000 / BBL
If we tried to run a business, and our competitors held this kind of advantage on us, we'd fail miserably, and probably go bankrupt.