World angst over rising oil prices

Heating up
In China, bars and karaoke parlors were ordered to keep air conditioning off until 6 p.m. Factories there have also been told to shift some production to off-peak hours to reduce strains on the electricity grid.

In Thailand, the government has asked motorists to drive more slowly and has appealed for less air conditioner use.

Japanese civil servants have been told to follow the example of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who showed up at his office May 31 in a long-sleeved blue Okinawan shirt with white trim.

"It's so comfortable not to have a necktie," he said breezily.

Air conditioner thermostats in office buildings have also been set at a warmer-than-usual 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit).

Another big change since the 1973 oil crunch is that many appliances use less electricity than 30 years ago. Homes are better insulated and heated with furnaces that use a fraction of the energy than they did back then.

Energy-smart building technology that can dim lights when it's sunny outside and turn off air conditioners when a window is open could soon become even more intelligent. Windows could trap the sun's energy to heat hot water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide exhaled by people in a room could determine whether air conditioners need to be turned up.

France and Germany use about 20 percent less oil now than before the first oil spike in 1973, through a combination of high taxes on gasoline, alternative energy sources and a philosophy of conservation that rewards recycling and scorns air conditioners.

U.S. consumption fell at first in response to expensive crude, but it has crept upward again so that Americans use about 16 percent more now.

But even if today's developed economies — more resilient and diversified — can absorb more shocks to their system, some livelihoods are being threatened.

Darren Guard, president of the fishermen's association in the New Zealand port town of Nelson, said that with 40 percent of income spent on diesel, it was becoming unprofitable to fish.

"It's crippling. It's at the stage where boats are being forced to tie up," he told The Nelson Evening Mail.

Associated Press writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand, James Prichard in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo, Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, David Rising in Berlin, and Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.

MORE FROM OIL & ENERGY

Oil & Energy Section Front

Crude advances after Iran seizes Iraqi oil field Exxon Mobil to buy XTO Energy for $31 billion Iraq hails oil auction but risky sites shunned Iraq opens big slice of oil riches to bidders Price of gas drops, but not by very much Saudi oil minister says oil is at ‘perfect’ price Newsweek: New market bubble is brewing Chevron 3Q profit slumps 51 percent BusinessWeek: The coming energy revolution Solar power outshining Colorado’s gas industry Oil & Energy Section Front   Add Oil & Energy headlines to your news reader: