NationStates Jolt Archive

I've heard that by Memorial Day, gas will be at $2.20 a gallon. It will have risen something like 70 cents in a month at that rate. I feel that we are the victims of extortion and emotional blackmail at the hands of the government and the oil consortium. They tell us that "whoops" they lied about the size of reserves, and hey, we all have to tighten our belts for the war effort.

Why should we suffer the consequences of their mistakes? I believe that we shouldn't have to pay more because somebody lied. They can take a hit to their profits for the sake of that lie, and the government started this war with no provocation and a flimsy excuse, and almost no approval from those of us who must fund it, and suffer in addition appallingly high gas prices.

The long and short of it is that I will not be able to do much more than drive to work and back and do essential errands within long. I feel that we should not just sit back and assume that there is nothing we can say or do to change the situation. I think we should complain and protest this treatment at the hands of opportunistic, mercenary powers.

I'd like to hear from those of you who have something to say about it.

That's getting as expensive as the UK... Wait, no it's not.... er It's about 80pence a litre and there's roughly 3.8 litres to a gallon so call it £2.50 a gallon so it's about $4.00/$4.50 a gallon here..... And it's going up again. My maths isn't good btw.


I forgot to add this link.......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3698015.stm

Protest and have some fun!

It's at least $5.50 per gallon in the UK, in fact.

That's what I'm saying. There was a failed attempt at a petrol price protest in the UK, and I know the price is twice what it currently is here, but the main reason the UK pays more is because the EU forced the UK to sell in liters and not in gallons, and the british simply accepted this. When they tried to blockade the depots and protest, the silly bastards all went into panic mode and it was hard to get anywhere due to the queues around the block for petrol. The stations never made such a profit. I'm wondering how we could avoid that problem and yet get the price problem solved at the same time.

I feel that we are the victims of extortion and emotional blackmail at the hands of the government and the oil consortium. They tell us that "whoops" they lied about the size of reserves, and hey, we all have to tighten our belts for the war effort.

Why should we suffer the consequences of their mistakes? I believe that we shouldn't have to pay more because somebody lied.
Sadly, that's the laws of supply and demand, and the phenomenon of market confidence for you. They have been dishonest, yes, but you have to pay the price because that's the inescapable way the system works. Because at the end of the day, you need the oil, and you have to compete against the same people for a smaller supply.

Christ. Protest about the erosion of civil liberties under the Patriot Act. Protest about the economic policies mandated by the IMF and World Bank that heap even more unnecessary suffering on poor countries. Protest about the rise in religious fundamentalism in the US and the Islamic world. Protest about the greasy acceptance in the West of tyrants like Putin and Hu. Protest about corporations and governments gang-raping the atmosphere with their pollutants and hypocritical rhetoric about reducing emissions.

Gas prices? Come on.

I've heard that by Memorial Day, gas will be at $2.20 a gallon. It will have risen something like 70 cents in a month at that rate. I feel that we are the victims of extortion and emotional blackmail at the hands of the government and the oil consortium. I'll worry about gas prices after I see that we are paying more for gas than premium bottled water (which we aren't - and how exactly can bottled water have a Premium version?!?) or Pepsi/Coke products sitting on the store shelves.

That's what I'm saying, if you want to talk about pollution. Myself, I'm favoring finding alternatives. I'm not saying go back to hay-burners, but maybe modifying diesel cars to run on vegetable oil. Fast-food places currently throw it away.

Christ. Protest about [much social injustice].

Gas prices? Come on.
To be fair, I doubt any Americans will protest about fuel prices. But some Europeans might, because of the additional tax burden that the US doesn't have. It will be limited to a few sections of French and British industry, though, assuming it even happens.

"I'll worry about gas prices after I see that we are paying more for gas than premium bottled water (which we aren't - and how exactly can bottled water have a Premium version?!?) or Pepsi/Coke products sitting on the store shelves."

People don't usually have to buy 20 gallons of bottled water or coke to get to work. I have to work to afford the gas to get me there. I don't HAVE to buy bottled water to get me anywhere.

That's what I'm saying, if you want to talk about pollution. Myself, I'm favoring finding alternatives. I'm not saying go back to hay-burners, but maybe modifying diesel cars to run on vegetable oil. Fast-food places currently throw it away.

I know someone who has made a converter for vegetable oil and can produce 1000 litres a week. He runs his Land Rover on it.

I know someone who has made a converter for vegetable oil and can produce 1000 litres a week. He runs his Land Rover on it.

I'm seriously considering this as an option. The only thing to wonder about would be whether the fast food restaurants might want to make a profit if enough people were asking for their used oil. Heh. "and what would you like to drink with your combo? Will you be adding a fill-up to your order?"

I know someone who has made a converter for vegetable oil and can produce 1000 litres a week. He runs his Land Rover on it.

I'm seriously considering this as an option. The only thing to wonder about would be whether the fast food restaurants might want to make a profit if enough people were asking for their used oil. Heh. "and what would you like to drink with your combo? Will you be adding a fill-up to your order?"


Well, at the moment in the UK, companies have to pay to have removed and disposed of so at the moment my pal doesn't pay anything. Can't see it staying like that though.......

Well, at the moment in the UK, companies have to pay to have removed and disposed of so at the moment my pal doesn't pay anything. Can't see it staying like that though.......

I know what you're saying, but as a renewable resource, or a non-polluting recycled resource even, I don't see how it could ever become as expensive as our current rarified source of power.

Christ. Protest about the erosion of civil liberties under the Patriot Act. Protest about the economic policies mandated by the IMF and World Bank that heap even more unnecessary suffering on poor countries. Protest about the rise in religious fundamentalism in the US and the Islamic world. Protest about the greasy acceptance in the West of tyrants like Putin and Hu. Protest about corporations and governments gang-raping the atmosphere with their pollutants and hypocritical rhetoric about reducing emissions.



Nah, I think I'd rather protest gas prices. The other stuff doesn't piss me off as much, (if at all)

Rant


Nah, I think I'd rather protest gas prices. The other stuff doesn't piss me off as much, (if at all)

Ha! You'll be first against the wall come the revolution, mark my words...

I know what you're saying, but as a renewable resource, or a non-polluting recycled resource even, I don't see how it could ever become as expensive as our current rarified source of power.


Well, if it ever happens, it wouldn't surprise me...... Did you hear about the Coca Cola's "pure water" drink sold in the UK ? The one that was tap water? And full of bromite? Needless to say it's been recalled... It was being sold for £1 (nearly two dollars!) and cost about 4pence to produce.

Yeah, I heard about the tapwater. I guess it's why I drink tapwater, in spite of my misgivings.

I just want to be able to afford to go to work, and to visit my folks when I get time off, and not having to limit myself to going into town only to buy groceries. I'd like to be able to take a vacation and be able to afford to go someplace.

Rant


Nah, I think I'd rather protest gas prices. The other stuff doesn't piss me off as much, (if at all)

Ha! You'll be first against the wall come the revolution, mark my words...

:lol:
Do I get a last cigarette?

Yeah, I heard about the tapwater. I guess it's why I drink tapwater, in spite of my misgivings.

I just want to be able to afford to go to work, and to visit my folks when I get time off, and not having to limit myself to going into town only to buy groceries. I'd like to be able to take a vacation and be able to afford to go someplace.

Looks like it's a pushbike for you then......! :(

Rant


Nah, I think I'd rather protest gas prices. The other stuff doesn't piss me off as much, (if at all)

Ha! You'll be first against the wall come the revolution, mark my words...

:lol:
Do I get a last cigarette?

Yeah, you can smoke it right by the leaking gas pump, hombre!

Even at $2.20 gas is still a lot cheaper in the U.S. than it is in other industrialized nations. If you still need a car, just don't get an SUV, get something fuel-efficient. I'm kind of hoping that the rise in prices will get people to stop buying SUVs, which are frightfully wasteful as cars go, but I think it will take a lot more than that for Americans to give up their love affair with the stupid things. :roll:

I'm not really upset at the government for doing whatever it was that made the gas prices rise, although I agree that the oil consortiums are deliberately pumping (excuse the pun) customers for all they can get. It's not a huge problem to me because I don't own a car and I hate to drive, but I'm sort of in the minority here.

I am upset about some other stupid things the American government did and is doing. Gas is just a minor issue by comparison.

Not a chance. I work the overnight shift, and I don't care how much reflective and protective gear I wear, a four-lane highway with a 70mph speed limit at 11pm will never happen on a pushbike. Ixnay on the bus too, since there isn't one. I have no place to park a horse either. The folks live 50 miles away too. I'd spend most of the weekend just getting there and back.

I don't think a pushbike is the answer to this dilemma.

Well I for one, beilieve that gas prices should be expensive. If that was, then more people would go to mass transit systems. It is also a fact, that, all of the worlds oil reserves will be finished by the year 2032. And because mining has been banned in the antartic region it is a large insentive for us to save oil. Also the one thing I do not like about the USA is that we make only 5% of the population and we use around 25% of the worlds resources. Isn't it time we use less oil?

Even at $2.20 gas is still a lot cheaper in the U.S. than it is in other industrialized nations. If you still need a car, just don't get an SUV, get something fuel-efficient. I'm kind of hoping that the rise in prices will get people to stop buying SUVs, which are frightfully wasteful as cars go, but I think it will take a lot more than that for Americans to give up their love affair with the stupid things. :roll:

I'm not really upset at the government for doing whatever it was that made the gas prices rise, although I agree that the oil consortiums are deliberately pumping (excuse the pun) customers for all they can get. It's not a huge problem to me because I don't own a car and I hate to drive, but I'm sort of in the minority here.

I am upset about some other stupid things the American government did and is doing. Gas is just a minor issue by comparison.

You make it sound as though you're not familiar with the American lifestyle. We aren't all rich, and we don't all live within easy reach of anything. It's not a love affair so much as a neccessity. It's a BIG place. A lot of us are spread out, and in order to access anything we need, we have to have transportation. The alternatives aren't coming, and nobody I know or admire has an SUV. We can't afford new cars, let alone that much gas. All due respect, but we're not all riding around in gas-guzzling monsters at our leisure, and complaining because it won't let us get a manicure this week if we funnel our resources to gas.

The amount of money spent by the average American on gasoline, as a percentage of their total disposable income, is still less than it was in the 70's and 80's.

Eventually, we will adjust to these prices. It will get worse before it gets better, though. Since everything you buy gets deliverd by truck, and those trucks require gas, the cost of everything will go up to compensate,
(inflation). As inflation goes up, companies are forced to give their employees cost of living increases, which gives the average American more money to spend. Unfortunately, this takes years to trickle down to the working poor, but most people are able to work their way out of that situation eventually.

Maybe I should do phone sex part-time to supplement my income, so that I won't have to spend the money to travel to an additional part-time job. :twisted:

Here's a way of looking at it.

Gasoline prices have risen. Most of the analysts out there are pretty clear that the current oil prices are pretty much the new plateau for the coming decade. Dollar prices in the 20s for a barrel of oil - it's not going to happen, ever again.

There are two ways that American motorists can deal with this. They can keep paying the higher prices, or they can buy a car with 1.5x the fuel efficiency of what they are driving right now. It might be an inconvenient up-front expense, but it will pay off in the long run.

And if they don't want to ditch their trucks for more efficient vehicles, and get ruined by the higher prices - too bad. That's just the market's way of telling you that you are uncompetitive.

Well, hypocritical as it may sound, I need to jump in my car to run get something to smoke. I've taken to rolling my own in order to cut costs, and I figure I might as well stock up on papers and tobacco while it's still only $2 a gallon.

I'll check back later.

Protest about the greasy acceptance in the West of tyrants like Putin and Hu.

Who are you calling a tyrant? :twisted:

Even at $2.20 gas is still a lot cheaper in the U.S. than it is in other industrialized nations. If you still need a car, just don't get an SUV, get something fuel-efficient. I'm kind of hoping that the rise in prices will get people to stop buying SUVs, which are frightfully wasteful as cars go, but I think it will take a lot more than that for Americans to give up their love affair with the stupid things. :roll:

I'm not really upset at the government for doing whatever it was that made the gas prices rise, although I agree that the oil consortiums are deliberately pumping (excuse the pun) customers for all they can get. It's not a huge problem to me because I don't own a car and I hate to drive, but I'm sort of in the minority here.

I am upset about some other stupid things the American government did and is doing. Gas is just a minor issue by comparison.

You make it sound as though you're not familiar with the American lifestyle. We aren't all rich, and we don't all live within easy reach of anything. It's not a love affair so much as a neccessity. It's a BIG place. A lot of us are spread out, and in order to access anything we need, we have to have transportation. The alternatives aren't coming, and nobody I know or admire has an SUV. We can't afford new cars, let alone that much gas. All due respect, but we're not all riding around in gas-guzzling monsters at our leisure, and complaining because it won't let us get a manicure this week if we funnel our resources to gas.

Okay, let me clarify - I'm not talking about all Americans, just those who can and do get SUVs instead of something more fuel-efficient. And the thing is, I don't think SUVs are as popular in any other country as they are here. That says to me that something in the mentality of most of the American population needs to change.

Okay, let me clarify - I'm not talking about all Americans, just those who can and do get SUVs instead of something more fuel-efficient. And the thing is, I don't think SUVs are as popular in any other country as they are here. That says to me that something in the mentality of most of the American population needs to change.

Fair enough. I'll admit that we don't tend to pick the car that best suits our everyday means and the rest of the world. Most people don't actually need all of the space of an SUV every day. I thought about something like a minivan, but I can't afford the gas for it (we come back round to that again), when I'm not moving furniture or whatever on a regular basis. It would be more economical to have a car with good gas mileage, and borrow a bigger vehicle when I need to move a heavy object. This happens rarely.

Well, hypocritical as it may sound, I need to jump in my car to run get something to smoke. I've taken to rolling my own in order to cut costs, and I figure I might as well stock up on papers and tobacco while it's still only $2 a gallon.

I'll check back later.Hell, gas has been around $2.30 a gallon in California for over a year (maybe longer--that's what it was when I moved here), and I saw one station in San Francisco yesterday that was selling regular for $2.80 a gallon and premium for $3.00 a gallon. I'll bet it averages close to three bucks a gallon before the summer's over.

It's at least $5.50 per gallon in the UK, in fact.

Yes sir. So count yourself lucky. Of course we have a strong and efficient National Health Service etc. Despite what the Thatcherites on the right of house will have you believe.

It's at least $5.50 per gallon in the UK, in fact.

Yes sir. So count yourself lucky. Of course we have a strong and efficient National Health Service etc. Despite what the Thatcherites on the right of house will have you believe.

Ummmm...my experience with the National Health Service was less than stellar, since I don't appreciate coming in with a fractured arm and being treated like a hypochondriac....but anyway, yeah...

The NHS is losing qualified medical staff to other countries that pay better. It's going to come under attack before long, and the question will be whether it should be privatised. Look out. Wrong kind of leaves today. This hospital is out of service. ;)

Still, I reassert my case that the UK gas prices were set by both the consortium of oil producers and the EU, who chose to force the UK to sell in liters and not gallons, and the gas retail outfits decided to take advantage of this by not changing the prices when the change in units occurred. You've been gypped, basically. Don't feel bad, though. The entire EU has gone through this with the change to the Euro, since the majority of currencies weren't worth the same as the Euro, and the retailers decided to stop putting both prices on items, and something that once cost 10 guilders, for example, now costs 10 Euros. Neat trick.

Gasoline is not the only product that oil is used to make. There are many other products made from petroleum that contribute to it's consumption. Reducing fuel use would be a great place to start. As a matter of fact reducing all fossil fuels would help. Safe, efficient nuclear energy is the best choice for generating electricity and the fuel can be reprocessed and used again reducing the need to mine more uranium. With increased generation and falling costs electricity can be used for more applications. Using waste/garbage to generate methane or burned to produce electricity is another route. Oil is used to generate electricity as well as coal and natural gas, this is a waste of these resources.

SUVs have gotten out of hand as far as how many there are on the road. There are also too many tractor trailers out there as well and they use lots of fuel as well. Rail is more efficient for transporting goods outside of a 500 mile area.

Gas prices have been artificially low in the US for a long time, and the North American economy has profited considerably from having cheaper gas than Europe or Japan or other more industrialized places. The sudden rise in gas prices hurts, but I am more worried about the domino effect as airfares, food prices, and all of the rest goes up as well. Pretty much any product that needs to be physically transported will see a price increase sometime soon, and the piddling 0-1% wage increases I've been getting over the last few years aren't even enough to cover cost-of-living increases, let alone sharp inflation.

That being said, I'm secretly a little happy that gas prices are increasing, even if I don't like the way it is cutting into my meager bank account. America has built up a culture that centers around having a car--in most places we literally can't do shopping or anything unless we have a vehicle to take us there. Our culture has designed everything to be spread out because we have the cars to shorten the distances, and as we design cities with shopping areas completely separate from residential areas and downtowns separate from suburbs, America has become even more dependent on cars. It would take prices jumping a lot more than they already have, but if fuel costs end up being a larger percentage of our budget, Americans may start designing their cities and neighborhoods more sensibly.

What is more, Americans flocked to their SUVs while the economy was strong a few years back, even though hardly anybody really needs a car that large and inefficient, and now the people who bought them are starting to have to pay for it. Generally, if higher gas prices push more people to watch their gas consumption by driving less and using more public transportation (or even walking or riding a bike...gasp!), I can't be entirely against it. Higher gas costs will also make alternative energy more affordable, which might lead to a little more R&D money and serious implementation of measures to make America less of a worldwide energy hog.