In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Worse, the growth of regional political monocultures has a desiccating effect on national politics. Parties learn about people's concerns by representing them.
And I found this sentence " Being able to undertake research on animals in zoos where there is less risk and fewer variables means real changes can be effected on wild populations."