Combating the gas price hikes... an idea (not from me)

[mithrandir2001]

<< Didn't take much to figure it was from an email... duh. Chain letters mean you should forward them so they in turn can forward it. I'm just asking for your opinions on this idea. >>


What they suggest will not work. If you want to lower price, you need to reduce aggregate demand. If the nation still consumes, say, 300 billion gal a year - even though none of it is bought at Exxon-Mobil - prices will not go down. Heck, they'd probably go up since the amount of "eligible" fuel outlets will decrease. Terrible idea.

Ticked off about gas price hikes? Tell people to give up their SUVs. They're the problem. Our nation's fleet has seen its fuel economy decrease because Americans have a (misplaced) love affair with the truck. We drive more and more each year and now we own vehicles that go less distance with the same amount of fuel, despite improvements in engine technology. Multiply the two together and you get accelerating demand in excess of population growth.

And if I'm (falsely) dubbed a tree-hugging liberal then I'll tell people to support oil drilling in Alaska. If they don't want to support that, then I'll tell people to drive less. If you want your fuel-thirsty SUV, then combine your trips to reduce your miles (and fuel consumption/demand). Walk your lazy butt to the video store 2 blocks away to return your video rental.

I have a right to b!tch about SUVs because my fuel costs are higher because all the truck owners have pushed up the demand curve and subsequently moved the market price up the scale. If trucks would make up 30% of all new vehicle sales instead of 50%+, we wouldn't have spiking gas prices like we've had in the past several years.

It seems Americans want their cake and eat it too: we want fuel-thirsty vehicles but we don't want to use domestic sources of oil to power them. Something has to give.

 

[kaiotes]

<<
What they suggest will not work. If you want to lower price, you need to reduce aggregate demand. If the nation still consumes, say, 300 billion gal a year - even though none of it is bought at Exxon-Mobil - prices will not go down. Heck, they'd probably go up since the amount of "eligible" fuel outlets will decrease. Terrible idea.

Ticked off about gas price hikes? Tell people to give up their SUVs. They're the problem. Our nation's fleet has seen its fuel economy decrease because Americans have a (misplaced) love affair with the truck. We drive more and more each year and now we own vehicles that go less distance with the same amount of fuel, despite improvements in engine technology. Multiply the two together and you get accelerating demand in excess of population growth.

And if I'm (falsely) dubbed a tree-hugging liberal then I'll tell people to support oil drilling in Alaska. If they don't want to support that, then I'll tell people to drive less. If you want your fuel-thirsty SUV, then combine your trips to reduce your miles (and fuel consumption/demand). Walk your lazy butt to the video store 2 blocks away to return your video rental.

I have a right to b!tch about SUVs because my fuel costs are higher because all the truck owners have pushed up the demand curve and subsequently moved the market price up the scale. If trucks would make up 30% of all new vehicle sales instead of 50%+, we wouldn't have spiking gas prices like we've had in the past several years.

It seems Americans want their cake and eat it too: we want fuel-thirsty vehicles but we don't want to use domestic sources of oil to power them. Something has to give. >>



very nicely writte, brownies to someone who knows the real prob

 

[hojl]

I am tired of you whiners out there crying about gas prices ram prices crap prices..
If you don't like it DON'T buy it
gee wiz.

 

[etech]

"how long will gas last in the US before we ran out of the supplies?"

The 2015 world, according to the CIA

13. Energy
The global economy will continue to become more energy efficient through 2015. Traditional industries, as well as transportation, are increasingly efficient in their energy use. Moreover, the most dynamic growth areas in the global economy, especially services and the knowledge fields, are less energy intensive than the economic activities that they replace. Energy production also is becoming more efficient. Technological applications, particularly in deep-water exploration and production, are opening remote and hostile areas to petroleum production.

Sustained global economic growth, along with population increases, will drive a nearly 50 percent increase in the demand for energy over the next 15 years. Total oil demand will increase from roughly 75 million barrels per day in 2000 to more than 100 million barrels in 2015, an increase almost as large as OPEC's current production. Over the next 15 years, natural gas usage will increase more rapidly than that of any other energy source - by more than 100 percent--mainly stemming from the tripling of gas consumption in Asia.

Asia will drive the expansion in energy demand, replacing North America as the leading energy consumption region and accounting for more than half of the world's total increase in demand.

China, and to a lesser extent India, will see especially dramatic increases in energy consumption.

By 2015, only one-tenth of Persian Gulf oil will be directed to Western markets; three-quarters will go to Asia.

Fossil fuels will remain the dominant form of energy despite increasing concerns about global warming. Efficiency of solar cells will improve, genetic engineering will increase the long-term prospects for the large-scale use of ethanol, and hydrates will be used increasingly as fuels. Nuclear energy use will remain at current levels.

Meeting the increase in demand for energy will pose neither a major supply challenge nor lead to substantial price increases in real terms. Estimates of the world's total endowment of oil have steadily increased as technological progress in extracting oil from remote sources has enabled new discoveries and more efficient production. Recent estimates indicate that 80 percent of the world's available oil still remains in the ground, as does 95 percent of the world's natural gas.

The Persian Gulf region - absent a major war - will see large increases in oil production capacity and will rise in its overall importance to the world energy market. Other areas of the world - including Russia, coastal West Africa, and Greenland - will also increase their role in global energy markets. Russia and the Middle East account for three-quarters of known gas reserves.
....


The price of gasoline...
Cost of Gasoline
Energy Price Trends ? U.S. Gasoline Prices since 1950


Sometimes the facts just destroy a really good rant.

 

[RU482]

Hell, just stop buying gas all together. I hear a mixture of bleach and sugar will allow your car to get 80MPG.

 

[Squisher]

You'll have to pry the speedpass out my cold lifeless hands.

 

[desertdweller]

Amazing,

Lots of whinning about SUV's
Lots of whinning about the companies that make the gas,

Not one mention about the amount of taxes that get charged on every
gallon of fuel.



DD

 

[Chaotic42]

I really like my Ford Festiva, not because it is especially stylish or fast, but I literally get about 50 miles per gallon. I have an 8 gallon tank, and if I don't go crazy while taking off, and put a bit of effort into it, I can get about 400 miles on a tank.

My dad used to have a 2002 Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer. It used to cost him $50 to fill up.


Viva los Economy Cars!

 

[FoBoT]

nice spam

if you want to spend less on gas, drive less

 

[Zebo]

I just love when someone cuts and pastes an article and has no comment other than "not my idea". Dude read it -form a thought-then state your opinion if you want some else to read it.

Gas prices are very low even now relative to inflation so the article is baseless. Personally I would love to see gas at about $10 a gallon perhaps so I don't have to take out my contacts when I'm in LA becasue the air is so bad I can't brethe and my eyes water.

 

[QTPie]

If the jets stop flying, the gas price will drop (just like after 9-11)
We should pay more $$ for gas to support our president. Most of his income is the devidence from the oil companies.

 

[yakko]

$1.50 is not super cheap to me because I am only paying $1.63 for premium right now.

 

[Siddhartha]

I know the follow work:
1. only buy cars that get 40 or more miles to the gallon.
2. Walk or ride a bike as much as you can
3. Carpool or ride mass transit as much as you can