THE price of fuel is again creeping steadily upwards, something drivers will have noted with growing concern. Over the past year it has soared by 20p a litre, making car ownership more of a luxury than ever.

I've often wondered what I would do if, for whatever reason, I could no longer use my vehicle. First I would again have to learn to walk. Then would come a frantic search for the bus pass which has been hidden away somewhere for more than six years.

Finally, and most importantly, I would need to reorganise my life. The prospect is not pleasant, as it would be impossible for me to continue with one of my two jobs. I don't fancy travelling to gigs by bus, even if the operator, and the other passengers, were willing to wait the eternity I would need to load, then unload, my drum kit.

These sombre thoughts were triggered by an article in one of the more serious-minded daily newspapers which carried an in-depth article by Jeremy Leggett, an expert on fossilised fuels, whose book "Half Gone: Oil, Gas, Hot Air and the Global Energy Crisis" is a damning indictment of how world leaders are refusing to face up to, and adequately prepare for, the prospect of a world without oil.

Mr Leggett insists that demand will exceed supply much sooner than anyone is prepared to admit. One reason being China's burgeoning economy; another is America's massive dependency on oil. The United States consumes a quarter of the current global demand. This argument has long been advanced by the anti-war lobby as the strategy behind the invasion of Iraq and America's continuing, and unwelcome, presence in the Middle East.

Much of the world's oil and gas fields are located in unstable areas: the Middle East and Eastern Europe. This was brought home with the spat between Russia and The Ukraine over gas prices, which could have seriously affected supplies to the UK.

With Iran threatening to take retaliatory measures with oil supply if the West continues to protest over its nuclear programme, there is every chance that the current price of crude, which seems to rise with every news bulletin, will keep on so doing. Because we have allowed oil to become a vital part of virtually everything we do, would it not be a good idea to try to find an alternative? Sooner rather than later.

The same newspaper revealed a couple of days later that thousands of motorists in the UK were now using vegetable oil to power their previously diesel-driven vehicles. Some have been invading supermarkets and emptying the shelves of oil, which is cheap and eco-friendly. However, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, never slow to wrest income from whatever source, were quickly on the case and have whacked up the previous 27.1p litre fuel duty by an extra 20p. Terrific. So much for the Government's Green policies.

I had considered switching to cooking oil but 47.1p a litre in tax is off-putting. So I'm going to buy a dog and let it take me for a walk to ready myself for the day when driving will be a thing of the past.

However, I will need one big enough to carry a drum kit on its back. Me, too, very probably.