U.S. consumers could be shelling out big bucks for gasoline during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with pump prices expected to soar another 20 cents over the next few weeks according to the government's top energy forecaster at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) - due to somewhat of a lag after the recent jumps in crude oil costs.

From what I understand, gas costs around $3 a gallon in many parts of the USA currently, which is up about 80 cents more than a year ago.

Couple of quick calculations...

Aussies are paying around US$ 4.52 a gallon - that's what I paid on the weekend anyway.

In Britain, they are paying approximately US$ 7.89 a gallon!

I guess what I'm trying to say is.. we best get used to it - it's likely not going to get any better.

There's some interesting things going on behind the scenes in the world of oil and probably a great deal that governments don't tell us in order to avoid a panic, but Peak Oil has a lot to do with what we are seeing I believe. Regardless of what it says, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) doesn't pump more oil because it can't and major discoveries of easily obtainable oil are pretty rare these days.

Oil reserves that in the past haven't been tapped due to the cost and difficulty of extraction are now becoming attractive; such as Canada's oil sands. The processes used there makes normal oil extraction look environmentally friendly by comparison - it's really, really bad.

I feel sorry for the families that really struggle with these increasing prices, but we do need to face the fact that there is no magic pill for our energy woes just yet that's easily obtainable for the majority of us.

We need to learn to get by with less and to alter our lifestyles so the upcoming energy crunch isn't such a shock - not just for the sake of our wallets, but for the sake of the planet as the oil we're getting now and in the future is going to cost the environment even more dearly. Pick up some gas saving tips.