High oil prices are not at all funny. They are to be hoped for as much as possible. Remember, our current prices are only as low as they are due to huge subsidies and externalities. At nine years old, this report is a bit dated. However, I doubt the numbers have improved any with time.

http://www.icta.org/doc/Real%20Price%20of%20Gasoline.pdf

As for high fuel prices, at least in the U.S., I find it humorous that people even find them that high. Yes, I know they're at a record. However, I was glad to hear mainstream news (NBC) reporting that the prices had broken the previous record, adjusted for today dollars, of $3.14 from (I think) 1986. So, $3.20 or so is not that much over the previous record.

What we really need is to pay the true cost of gasoline, along with a tax to cover all of the externalities, at the pump instead of in our tax bills. I'm tired of subsidizing all those SUVs. Let's all pay our own costs. Perhaps our vehicle choices will be different when we see that we are really already paying $15 per gallon.