Those of us around in the '70s heard all the fear mongering before. We were supposed to be all pedaling bikes by 1980, but shortly thereafter, 15 second cars returned and engine sizes once again became respectable. I am also still waiting for Y2K.
The fellow who climbs the ladder at the gas station every other day is not some deity or law of physics that we accept like the sun rising every morning. The spikes come from greed, plain and simple. Nonetheless I agree there is a lot of wasteful nonsense going on today and a little tempering wouldn't hurt.
