Comments on: 4.599/gal I found my comfort zone

By: frazgo

frazgo — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:06:29 +0000

What Ruth666 said.

By: Burns!

Burns! — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:07:49 +0000

Um, yeah. What Doran said.

By: thunderboltfan

thunderboltfan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:27:51 +0000

I now choose which friends to maintain contact with by the distance they live from me.

By: ruth666

ruth666 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:58:27 +0000

Doran I agree with everything you say (and was about to say it myself) up to the part where you blame the oil companies -

Oil companies are all publicly held, which means they share their record profits with their shareholders.

If you’re looking for a villain here it’s the speculators – who frantically drive up the oil prices, and the damned LOBBYISTS who are really making policy in Washington (while people elected to office are out on the campaign trail trying to get a new job when they won’t even bother to do their current one).

By: doran

doran — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:33:55 +0000

I always find it curious when people are pleased with high fuel prices. Where does your food come from? How does it get from field to shelf? How about that chair you’re sitting on? Farmers and truckers and many industries don’t really have the option of using buses, bikes, and car pools. Who would be the first to go hungry? Which schools would be the first to cut back on new equipment?

Why is doubling the price of fuel better than doubling fuel efficiency in vehicles? Do you really think car makers have been maximizing the economy of their vehicles? If they aren’t doing it now, why should they change if consumers must pay the difference? Why the push for consumers to give stuff up, rather than manufacturers to do better? Why must we pay a premium for efficiency? Simply because it’s desirable? Must our ecology rely first on maximizing profit?

For that matter, how much of the current price spike has to do with actual supply and demand, versus speculation regarding future prices? Fuel has more than doubled over the last four years. What happens to public transit when it doubles again? What happens when our $5 day pass starts costing $10, $15, or $20 because diesel fuel has quadrupled in price? Might the Metro become the province of only the middle class? What then of the poor?

Oh joy at higher fuel prices!! Lets make people suffer!! That will show them!!

Why is it a good thing that oil companies are making record profits (distinct from revenue) while we, the consumers, must curtail vacations, comfort, and reconsider career paths? Using a bike, walking, or taking a bus are wonderful things, when it’s a choice. It’s quite another when it’s a requirement.

I’ve given enough to the oil barons recently, I’m not particularly enthusiastic to concede even more just because their economic model requires that they made more money next year than they did this year.

But your mileage may vary.

By: WILL•I•AM CAMPBELL

WILL•I•AM CAMPBELL — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:13:04 +0000

Owing to all the biking I’ve been doing I fought and won the “petronoia” battle today coming back from a Home Depot run and filled up for the first time in since May 27. It was $4.69 a gallon and ended up being $50 or so to fill up my 1/4-full tank. Sorry to be so late to this dance but: WOW!

To be sure had I not had to make roundtrips to Granada Hills at the end of last month I’d still have been able to put off the refill another month or so, but I guess better now than then when it’ll be $0.25 9/10 a gallon more.

By: Bert Green

Bert Green — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:09:43 +0000

I’m thinking $7 by next summer. Luckily I walk to work. Everybody ought to try that. Might mean you’ll have to move.

By: galaxiekat

galaxiekat — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:07:45 +0000

quite honestly, i would like the gas to be a little more expensive. i know it hurts, but people won’t drive less because it’s the right thing to do. they’ll only do it when it becomes too expensive to drive. c’mon $5/gallon!

By: dhosek

dhosek — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:56:33 +0000

I don’t really worry about the price of gas since courtesy of the bus for commuting, I fill my tank about once every 3-6 months.

By: doran

doran — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:05:56 +0000

You’ve fallen for their plan. “Oh good, it’s only four and a half bucks a gallon.” Of course, the actual plan is to get it to $5/gal, which is where the tar sands in Canada, and older oil wells around the world become profitable. So enjoy this interlude while you can.