In the typical American house the roofs over our heads, the flakeboard sheathing, the structural beams, the floor underlayment, the carpeting and vinyl flooring, the cupboards, the paints, the pipes that supply our water and carry away our wastes; and even the insulation on our wires are all made from products derived from oil.  The fertilizers that we apply to our lawns and to our agricultural fields are derived from petroleum and natural gas, as are virtually all of the medicines and other pharmaceutical products that we take to preserve our health.   Detergents, the base of all of our cosmetics, and even "baby oil" and mineral oil are all petroleum products.  Our "wash and wear" clothes depend upon polyester fiber made from petroleum, as are many other synthetic fibers used in clothing, an other fabric products.  The tires on our cars and bicycles depend upon petroleum as does the asphalt surfaces that they travel on.

Introduced in January 2008, by the mammoth Indian conglomerate Tata, the "Nano" will be the worlds cheapest car and among the smallest when it goes on sale this fall. Meeting the design target of a "1 lakh (100,000 rupees) Peoples Car" the Nano will cost the equivalent of $2,400 USD or 1,554 euros at today's exchange rates. While a small car, the 4-door Nano is not merely an enlarged motor scooter but rather the result of some outstanding cost-reduction engineering.