Gas Prices

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I was just listening to the news and have announced that gas prices will hit $2.00 a gallon this summer and possibly $3.00. Can you imagine what this is going to do to grocery store prices and as a matter of fact the prices of everything else. They said the rises will start in about a month or so. I filled up the truck yesterday at 29.50. If it were say 2.50 that fill up would have cost me 54.00. So, I guess stores will start puttin up hitchin posts again.

-- Gary in AL (gmattox@integrity.com), February 01, 2001

Answers

Hmm, Prices may go up in the future, but right now they have been going down. Filled up last night at $1.32.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), February 01, 2001.

$1.49 for 89 octane around here. I read that "B. Clinton" pissed off our foreign importers of oil. He "was reported" to have made the statement that they could lower the per barrel price on sit on it. From the article I read they dumped the over flow in the desert. AND RAISED THE PER BARREL PRICE. So its a fair bet that fuel will continue to rise in cost. At least until we the buying public go 7.5 weeks with no buying of gas. Then the price will fall or 45% of small distributors will fold. We have the power BUT do we have the will & disipline to use it??????????

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), February 01, 2001.

The big oil companies would love to see ALL small distributors fold. Then they would really control the market and could charge whatever they wanted. There will always be enough YUPPIES in the cities to keep the price up for the entire country. The Arabs couldn't care less if we are hurting, pissed off, or whatever as they will just keep raising the price and laughing all the way to THEIR bank.

-- Lynn Goltz (lynngoltz@aol.com), February 01, 2001.

Why dosn,t our country trade food for oil. Don,t sell them food ,make them trade. their oil wouldn,t be so vauble if they were hungry. Jay NC

-- jay vance (jay.l.vance@worldnet.att.net), February 01, 2001.

Y'know, when I think about this stuff I could get pretty worked up but hey, we bring it on ourselves. In the early seventies we had a wake-up call. We woke up briefly. Detroit started to make smaller cars with better fuel mileage. Solar and wind power started to get some attention and conservation measures were taken seriously.

Then along came the eighties. Rip the solar hot water panels off the white house, sunset the tax incentives for the solar and wind stuff, ease up on the CAFE standards, build bigger cars etc. Now here we are again. Escalating petro-fuel prices. Rolling black-outs in California with talk of them migrating eastward.

And again we have a pres. thats beholden to big oil. He sez there's no short term solution. Duhh GW. Yes there is. Its called conservation. He'll happily pour tax money into oil exploration and happily drill in environmentally sensitive areas, yet will he spend any tax $$$ to provide compact flourescent lites to replace the standard incandescent bulbs? Nah, thats too simple. How about some help for industries to switch over to high efficiency motors for the manufacturing processes? Nahhh, too simple.

As long as WE allow big business to rule the day in Washington DC with their lobbiests and campaign contributions its gonna be more of the same so get used to it and oil up your bicycle chain.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), February 01, 2001.

Jay Vance:

Unfortunately there is very little the U.S. produces in the way of food which cannot be obtained elsewhere in the world markets. Heck, like Yuppies, they don't even drive American cars.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 02, 2001.

It seems to me that about this time last year they said the same thing. And before the summer was over they were right in some places. Gas got up to $1.829 for regular unleaded here in my part of Indiana. Premium went over $2.

Unfortunately, when the media makes a statement like this it drives up demand, because people start hoarding gas. My wife and I own a gas station/convenience store. Yes, that makes me one of "them". I actually was concerned for my safety a couple of times last summer. People were really angry about the prices. I just kept trying to tell them that the only way to bring it back down was to stop buying it. Nobody wants to listen to that. You may think I am crazy to tell people to stop buying gasoline when I sell it for a living, but quite honestly, I only make 2 to 3 cents on the gallon anyway. I am lucky to make enough to pay the rent. I rely on inside sales to make a profit.

We are located really close to the Ohio state line, and many people from Ohio came over to buy gas, because it was 20 cents higher over there. They would bring barrels, and fill them up.

One of the most disgusting things about last summers fiasco was our beloved governor. This guy pulled some energy emergency law out of the books and stopped the sales tax on gas for 3 1/2 months. This of course got him reelected. What it also did was hand an extra 12 million dollars to the oil companies. Twelve million dollars that could have been used to help these poor pathetic Indiana highways. The repeal of sales tax in Indiana did not save the consumers one red cent. But the public swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

They may try to blame the arabs for these prices, but the oil companies are making record profits. The barrel prices aren't that much more than they were twenty years ago. But, new laws intended to help the environment are also said to be causing a lot of increased processing costs. The oil companies are selling off their processing plants to independents. The processing plants are lossing their a**es, and the oil companies are getting rich.

Is there gouging? I am sure there is. But it is a hell of a lot higher on the chain than I am. The important thing to remember is that gasoline is a commodity. It is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Reduce the demand, and you reduce the price.

-- Wayne (plefor@hotpop.com), February 02, 2001.

In England we have a bigger gallon than US, 20 fl oz not 16 fl oz but our fuel would now be equivalent to $5 a US gallon for unleaded fuel, leaded is even more expensive. Most of the money we pay is on tax. Alison

-- Alison UK (sandybeach@bournemouth.co.uk), February 02, 2001.

Sounds like its time to buy a deisel and learn to extract veg oil from our compost to make biodeisel fuel the way some magazine article recently said to. Wish I could remember which magazine carried that article :>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Hey Jay: I don't know if you get or have seen Home Power mag but there was a big article in it a few years ago on Bio-Diesel. You can read the article on-line if you want by going to www.homepower.com

All their back issues are archived there with a search engine.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), February 02, 2001.

Everytime this subject comes up, no one compares the amount of labor that it takes to buy a gallon of gasoline compare to that figure in the past. Based on labor per gallon, I think that $2 or $3 a gallon gas today is a bargain. What has happened to high gas mileage cars? Mileage hasn't improved in the last 20 years, as far as I can tell, and people are buying bigger cars that get lousy mileage, and then complain about the price of gasoline. Get those bicycles out, and don't drive unless you have to. We live close to town partly because we don't want to spend much on gasoline, no matter how cheap it is.

Jim

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

For info on bio-diesel and a book to buy:

www.veggievan.org

-- Michael Olson (olsonmr@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

I own 2 American trucks, Fords, one was made in Canada, the other was made in Mexico, I don't know where our Ford Escort was made but my New Holland Ford tractor was assembeld in Mexico, the engine was built in Italy.

A friend of ours just returned from Australia and gas, (petrol) there was $3-3.50 per gallon but they can also buy Toyota & Nissan pickups that run on diesel, 50 MPG.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 03, 2001.

Us homesteader types should be able to understand about pigs at the trough. Difference is,pigs would probably be a bit smarter. Way back in '68 i had a car that got 34 miles per gallon. This great country that put a man on the moon etc can do no better than we have regarding efficiency? Who are we kidding. Its obvious here who's running the show and it's all of us. Oil companies who are going to do anything they can to keep us reliant on oil. The government who is bought and paid for by big business, and lastly all of us spoiled consumers who dont give a damn about so many things until it hits us in the wallet. So lets get busy and start thinking energy smart.Ya I know it all costs money but most everything turns out much cheaper in the long run if we consider pay back over the long term. :)

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), February 04, 2001.

gas in montreal quebec canada 2.10 us.gallon feb.5 01

-- nick (raymondetdesrosier@smpatico.ca), February 05, 2001.

We live in the central California foothills. Gas this summer was $2 per gallon for regular (89). I work for a businessman that has a gas station and everyday we get a price quote from our supplier. As of late, the past week, the price has been going up daily. Today it was up 4.8 cents over yesterday. So watch out ! It has started already. Our propane here is at $2.12 per gallon delivered. Thank goodness we heat with wood. But I feel sorry for others that don't have a choice. I heard that the gas prices in California would rise to $3 this summer. Wouldn't surprise me. And what of electricity?! Time will only tell.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), February 06, 2001.

If prices here get to the $2 mark it will seriously hurt hubby as his job uses a lot of gas. He works in the woods as a logger. Oh well the boss will have to buy it. It's at $1.52 here for 89 octane.

-- (noneofyour@biz.com), July 13, 2001