Gas at $4 a fgallong may seem expensive but is still on the low side, writes Time Magazine.
It reports on wide spread unrest in Europe where truck drivers and fishermen have resorted to blockades to protest the skyrocketing price of fuel.
Already high prices, including tax, have increased in some cases by 40% since January.
Those labor protests reflect the hit millions of Europeans are taking at the gas pump. As American drivers groan over prices nearing $4 a gallon, the French are paying $8.67 for a gallon of super, compared to $7.10 in January, 2007. A gallon of diesel in French gas stations averages $8.54, up from $5.35 just a year ago. And in the U.K. diesel costs $11.50 per gallon, compared to around $3.90 in the U.S. Across the European Union, the average cost of a gallon of gas runs to about $8.70 — more than twice what Americans are shelling out to fill up.
Boat owners, entire trawler fleets, independent truck drivers and other businesses built on transportation, ranging from ambulances to private bus companies, face a very real threat of bankruptcy, potentially causing another wave of “falling domino’s” which would trigger a recession europe.
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