Fuel protests - reactionary rioting

Back in February of this year I broke off discussing aviation to talk about how extending the congestion charge zone was drawing protest from those affected by the new charge. I said at the time that "If you want to live a lifestyle which relies on excessive consumption of fossil fuels, then expect to pay" - a not unreasonable suggestion, given that our CO2 emissions are causing all sorts of climatalogical problems.

Almost a year later, and rising fuel prices have brought out the spectre of fuel protests and blockades. Last time the hauliers forced the Government to scrap the fuel duty escalator, which deliberately pushed petrol above the rise of inflation to check rising car use and fuel consumption. As the BBC noted in 2003, removing the escalator made sure that, contrary to popular belief, the real costs of driving continued to fall - particularly in relation to public transport costs.

As the BBC points out, between 1977 and 2003 incomes rose 28.8%, bus and coach fares 24.6%, rail fares 18.6% and motoring costs just 9.7%. In other words, if you earnt £100 a week in 1977, and spent £10 a week on your car, you'd now earn £128.80 and spend £10.97 - leaving you £27.83 better off. Hardly a wallet crunching asault on 'our right to drive' (copyright the Daily Mail, Telegraph and most other right-of-centre newspapers).

Leaving the number crunching aside, let's bring this back to aviation. Whether pilots (the hauliers of the skies) and passengers like it or not, the industry is under attack for its wanton disregard for the environment and its ever-increasing climate change impact. It's also suffering from rising fuel costs: as BA showed this week, the price of crude is starting to take its toll, and the cost of tickets will have to keep rising.

If you fly a lot, or have been suckered into the 'cheap flights' ideology, you're not going to like it much, but I'd recommend you start accepting it. The golden age of petroleum is over, and whether you're a road-hog or a frequent flyer, your addiction to oil is going to keep on costing you - till you kick the habit, anyway.