what is the problem, we pay 8 dollars a gallon here as well. Somewhat 80 per cent are taxes.
Gas prices soon to pass $4.00 mark
by free2beme 37 Replies latest jw friends
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The Humper
I guess now could be a good time to invest in technology researching alternative fuels and hybrid car.
what?! you dont think some one or some people already havent. im positive that they have but then if was released tot he public the oil companies would lose out big time. so they buy the rights to it, and of course the poor sap who invented it sells it for alot of $$$. then the inventor is rich, and he doesnt care about his invention becuase he can afford to buy whatever he wants. and since opec, or the oil company has the rights to such technology no one can manufacture that alternative fuel or technology.
its not like oil companies need to charge as much as they do. they dont, they have a huge profit margin. why else could they afford to pay a retireing ceo $400 million!!!! but its in high demand, theres not much we or anyone can do to stop it so they get richer and richer. they could build more refineries, but why would they do that? then they wouldnt have any reasons to hike up the price and get more hard earned money from us.
once it gets up to $4 a gallon, then theyll lower it to $3.75 and thatll seem like a bargain because well be so used to it being $4+ !! just like it has in the past. it will never get below $2 again. and after this summer it wont go below $3 ever! so theyll have to raise the minimum pay rate so that people can afford to go to work. imagine that! and to be a consumer. but that means that we have more money to spend, so guess what?! gas prices will raise again.
oh yeah, and once it hits that high, the dumbass american public, and i do mean dumb, will freak out and go and buy all the gas they can. just like after katrina, which just drives the price higher! which makes the demand is higher, so the prices go up again! we do it to ourselves people! and the oil comapies know that, so thats exactly whats going to happen. you can mark my words! why do you think they do it? it just gives them another reason/excuse to use against us to raise prices. so sad!!!!
another thing, if we are at war over oil then wouldnt you think the price would have dropped considering we're in somewhat of control over iraq? so that means we should be in control of the oil. so we send it back here right? but thats not the case is it?
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done4good
Y'know you are allowed to drive more efficient cars!
... that is what the rest of the world does anyway.
Even though, sense a bit of "stupid Americans", sentiment here, I can't disagree with Simon. The American public has largely done this to themselves, (or at least allowed the commercial auto giants, ((and not just Detroit, btw)), to do this to us. We really don't need cars that are getting <20 MPG. We just think we do. I'm no better at this than anyone else, although my next vehicle will almost certainly be a hybrid.
I don't neccesarily buy the "death of suburbia" argument, either though. Our energy problems ARE solveable. We need to get heads out of asses though, stop wasting time with "alternative sources", (at least as a total solution), and start looking into REAL, working, practical energy sources: i.e. nuclear. We made a fatal mistake in 1979 by ending our nuclear plant buildout. The rest of the world, (a good example is France), has accomplished quite a bit along these lines. We are still stuck in "China Syndrome" mode. We cannot afford to be.
Nuclear energy will make the electric cars, (not hybrids),finally practical. One of the major reasons for the conecptual abandonment of electric cars has to do with the fact, that most of our current energy sources in use now, (coal, hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and 20% nuclear), cannot meet the consumption needs of electric vehicles. A nuclear based infrastructure could easily meet the demand of electric vehicles, with almost infinate room for growth.
j
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LittleToe
I would suggest that one of the most efficient cars owned by an American on this Board is probably owned by Elsewhere. He owns a new Cooper Mini. Its still not that efficient compared to many of the cars we have in Britain, though. I have a friend who recently bought a car that can do 65+ miles on a gallon of gasoline (Citroen C3 - I just love Citroens, having owned many over the years).
Our gas prices are about the $10/gallon mark, so $4 would be a god-send.
As was outlined in the original post, there has been gross underinvestment in the oil industry over the last few decades, combined with the lack of interest in efficient cars in the USA. There's a complete re-think needed on energy strategy, that needs to be driven right down to the consumer! Welcome to a world where the bottom line of each year's balance sheet is the main thing shareholders are interested in
I would contest the Chinese threat to gas use, however, as the more recent glitch was more to do with their dearth of coal for their power stations (I had to write a Masters paper on this a few months back). They switched out to gasoil as an expensive alternative, for a wee while, because their industry needed power. They simple haven't got enough cars to even compete with Europe, far less the USA, when it comes to their demand.
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Reefton Jack
In this discussion about gasoline / petrol prices per "gallon", posters from the USA will no doubt be talking about US gallons (i.e. 3.78 litres).
What about those making a comparison from the UK and Europe?
Are the "gallons" mentioned there US gallons, or Imperial gallons (i.e. 4.54 litres)?
Just curious.
Trust someone who has worked 11 out the last 18 years in Industrial Measurements to come up with a question like that! -
RubaDub
There will be major changes in the near future, and the Powers That Be will use every trick in the book to maintain their power. Now is a good time to look into what makes our civilization function the way it does. It is very dangerous to assume that the way things are right now is how they will always be, or should always be.
Primate ...
You sound like an alarmist ...
I heard George Bush on TV the other day and he said everything is good.
Who should we believe?
Rub a Dub
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juni
Doesn't matter who is in political office. Comes down to supply and demand and oil producing country's inner conflicts.
Juni
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sammielee24
One of the major issues in the USA is the lack of alternate transportation ie public transportation. The ability to get around via public transportation is primarily centered around the major cities and it is unrealistic for many people to live in those locations. The USA is a maze of freeways and that is the base of their transport system which is unlike many other industrialized countries - if they were serious about alternate fuels, the environment et al - there are many, many options that they could implement but the governments, which are owned and managed by corporations, choose not to. I've driven a very small car on some of the freeways and there is no feeling of safety when wedged between huge semi's or trying to drive amongst massive trucks and SUV's. Thats one reason people don't use the Mini and other small cars.
I believe that higher gas prices often hurt those who have the least money. A dollar increase for those forced to drive an old car as their only means of transport, hurts more than it does for someone who can afford to drive a luxury SUV. Many of us have already stopped any unnecessary driving because it simply costs too much.
I guess we could start by eliminating kids driving themselves to school and force busing. Do kids in England and other countries use their own cars to drive themselves to school every day? We could place heavy or heavier taxes on the purchase of those vehicles that consume greater quantities of gas. We could begin a new planned infrastructure within communities using only small electric cars and allow no gas powered vehicles within the core - which would also make it easier to get around cities, less noisy and safer. We could spend more on alternate fast, efficient public transportation systems and less on building new freeways and widening current ones in order to hold more cars. We could reduce the speed on the freeways which wastes less fuel.
By the way - China is set to send it's cheap cars here next year. I have no idea what the gas consumption per mile will be, but they'll be no frills and cheap. sammieswife.