When gasoline hits $4.00 plus what will you do?

[catmandu57]

First off let me say this is a flagrant plagiarism, someone posted this in the lounge last week but it really needs to be over here. I think it's a valid assumption that we'll eventually be paying four dollars and up for a gallon of gas, and we should think about how we're going to live when it gets here.

We can't move closer to my wife's work and that means saving the gas for her to go to work and back, then doing most of our shopping here. I'll probably down grade to a dial up connection and lose the dish tv.
We're lucky enough to have a little wiggle room, I know millions of people don't.

[shadowknows69]

1. Eat less

But I'm overweight anyway so that won't be too problematic.

[catmandu57]

3. We'll be a thinner nation

that's a fact, but i don't think we'll be a healthy thin.

[Horse with no Name]

65. I actually see us getting fatter because of poverty

The cheap food is what makes you fat, the cheapie mac and cheese, other starches, etc.
But the price really goes up on the healthy food (fruits, veggies) and leaves us with mainly fillers.

[JeanGrey]

84. Speaking of food! Yesterday at the Publix where I live,

a honeydew melon was 6.99!! FOR ONE MELON.

[Toasterlad]

88. Hey! Aren't You Dead?

[JeanGrey]

91. I will rise from the ashes.

LOL.

[acmavm]

2. I don't know. I worry about it. I don't know what I'll give up (and

my son).

Is not price gouging, especially on something like fuel (be it heating, gasoline, whatever) during a time of 'war' a form of treason?

[catmandu57]

6. You're way out there in the boonies aren't you?

It's going to be hard to do when you have to drive everywhere.

[acmavm]

Well, I live in Omaha. It's not exactly the boonies, but it is a whole

planet away from intelligent life forms (for the most part).

Yep, I live down on 6th Street. Everything is miles and miles out in west O. I work a long way from home. And my friggin' son couldn't have found his first girlfriend in the neighborhood. OH NO!

[LeftHander]

4. move closer to work......nt

[backscatter712]

9. I highly recommend this - I actually did this!

I recently moved into an apartment that's 4 miles from work, which is a huge improvement over 60 miles.

Heck, I'm a bachelor, I don't have a huge amount of stuff, I'm lucky enough to not have a mortgage acting as a big ball and chain, and I have a good job, so I came to the conclusion that it's easier to move me than change jobs.

Hell, if gas continues getting more expensive, I'm likely to invest in a bicycle.

[kestrel91316]

22. I have always lived within 3.5 miles of my office, since I opened 16 yrs ago.

[taterguy]

74. Why wait to buy a bike?

There are plenty of advantages to it other than financial.

It's been my primary mode of transportation ever since the first Gulf War when I felt squeamish yelling "No Blood For Oil" while consuming lots of gasoline.

I highly recommend it.

[villager]

5. Michael Ventura on "$4.00 a Gallon:"

<snip>

Gas prices can only go up. Oil production is at or near peak capacity. The U.S. must compete for oil with China, the fastest-growing colossus in history. But the U.S. also must borrow $2 billion a day to remain solvent, nearly half of that from China and her neighbors, while they supply most of our manufacturing ("Benson's Economic and Market Trends," quoted in Asia Times Online) – so we have no cards to play with China, even militarily. (You can't war with the bankers who finance your army and the factories that supply your stores.) China now determines oil demand, and the U.S. has no long-term way to influence prices. That means $4 a gallon by next spring, and rising – $5, then $6, probably $10 by 2010 or thereabouts. Their economy can afford it; ours can't. We may hobble along with more or less the same way of life for the next dollar or so of hikes, but at around $4 America changes. Drastically.

The "exburbs" and the rural poor will feel it first and hardest. Exburbians moved to the farthest reaches of suburbia for cheap real estate, willing to drive at least an hour each way to work. Many live marginally now. What happens when their commute becomes prohibitively expensive, just as interest rates and inflation rise, while their property values plummet? Urban real estate will go up, so they won't be able to live near their jobs – and there's nowhere else to go. In addition, thanks to Congress' recent shameless activity, bankruptcy is no longer an option for many. What happens to these people? Exburb refugees. A modern Dust Bowl.

For the rural poor it's even worse. They are the poorest among us, with no assets and few skills; they earn the lowest nonimmigrant wages in America, and they must drive. When gas hits $4, their already below-the-margin life will be unsustainable. They'll have no choice but to be refugees and join in the modern Dust Bowl migration. So, too, will people who live where people were never intended to live in such numbers – places like Phoenix and Vegas, unlivable without air conditioning and water transport (energy prices will rise across the board, regular brownouts, blackouts, and faucet-drips will be "the new normal" everywhere). In the desert cities, real estate will plunge, thousands will be ruined, most will leave – while all over the country folks will have to get used to "hot" and "cold" again.

But where will the new refugees go, and what will they do when they get there? They will migrate to the more livable cities, where rents are already unreasonable and social services are already strained, and where the new refugees will compete with immigrants for the lowest-level housing and jobs. Immigration issues will intensify to hysteria. Native-born Americans will clamor for work that only legal and illegal aliens do now. In a culture as prone to violence as ours, that will probably get ugly.

Meanwhile, suburbs and cities will be in various states of chaos, depending on their infrastructure. As inflation and interest rates rise, and the real estate bubble bursts, millions will see their assets plunge precipitously. In five years, many who are now well-off will live as the marginal live today, while the marginal will sink into poverty. With gas at $4-plus a gallon, real estate values will depend on nearness to working centers and access to transportation. As has already happened in Manhattan, the well-off will head for what are now slums, and the slum-dwellers will go God-knows-where. Places with decent rail service will be prime. Places without rail service will be in deep trouble.

<snip>

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A268467

[DCKit]

27. If the exurbans carpooled, they'd be spending no more than they did in 2000 to commute...

Congestion on the highways, commute times and pollution would all decrease drastically, leading to a better quality of life for EVERYONE.

We are a nation of spoiled, petulant children.

[Apollo11]

92. I agree - carpooling is a great solution!

I live close to my job and most days I take the bus.

But for people who have to travel far, car-pooling is a good solution.

Addressing climate change means reducing the number of cars on the road.

As a city dweller I did not even own a car until 2 years ago (I was 36).

I only bought a small one so we can go visit family members on the weekend.

I agree with Al Gore that we should replace payroll taxes with a carbon tax.

So I guess that means I support the idea of $10 or even $20 per gallon.

[DaveJ]

7. I wish my wife would work closer to home

Then we could dump the car or at least the expense of gas. I have taken the train for the past 5 years, and wish my wife would do the same, but she works in Republican Addison County which has virtually no bus service.

Other than that we have no need for a car since all essential stores are within walking distance.

[EV_Ares]

8. Probably continue on doing what we do except for less unnecessary

driving. Have to go to work, have to do some errands, etc.

However, for some better longterm news. On CNBC, some oil analysts/experts were discussing the situation and I guess there is not much hope or success in our producing any oil from here for our consumption. In other words our demand far out-paces whatever we will be able to produce. T. Boone Pickens was discussing this with Brent Musberger also at the Oklahoma State & Kansas game.

They are saying including Boone, that we will be paying $10.00 and up a gallon in 3 to 5 years due to our consumption demand and what is available. A lot of this is due also to the increased consumption by China & other countries who are growing.

He said there is only so much oil that can get produced and we are already at or near that capacity.

[racaulk]

10. Start taking public transport to work more regularly.

I'm lucky enough to live and work within walking distance of train stations here in Atlanta. I already take the train on Fridays to avoid traffic on Friday afternoons, but if gas prices get to that level (and I believe they will), I will start taking the train more regularly.

[spinbaby]

11. We'll probably dig into our savings

Our household consists of three adults who drive more than 200 miles a day between us to get to school and work. Moving is not an option and wouldn't help much anyway since we all go in different directions. One of our cars is a Prius, but another is a pickup truck--has to be for work. We spend more on gas than on groceries. At least the kidlet will be out of school in another year.

[MNDemNY]

12. {Pay $4.00 for gas.

[soothsayer]

41. took the words right out of my mouth!

[EnviroBat]

13. Prius or Civic Hybrid.

I don't need performance automobiles anymore. If I wan't to fly a little, there's always the bike. I began the vehicle shopping yesterday.

[gollygee]

14. I'm not sure how this will all play out

We already live close to work and are careful to combine trips and walk where we can. I think we're in good shape.

In Australia, where my in-laws live, gas already costs that much and people still live way out in the suburbs. Melbourne has great public transportation and tons of people still drive to and from work to some far-away suburban development. I'm not convinced it will change people's behavior here. I think most people will simply pay more. Those who can't afford $4 a gallon are already in a bad place and will be in a worse place, but sadly that will be ignored. At least in Melbourne, the option of public transportation exists.

:(

[bdamomma]

44. that is the difference in other countries they use their public

transportation, they are miles ahead of us, and in Paris they use bicycles for a more safe environment. Americans just love their cars and their consumption of gas, but sadly, we will learn the hard way.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

64. Here in Tokyo, where I'm spending nine days

they not only have what is probably the world's best urban transport system but also use mostly small cars, small trucks, scooters, bicycles, and feet a lot more than Americans do.

There's none of this nonsense about people thinking they're "too good" to take public transit or that walking or cycling for half an hour is "too far." Nobody seems to "need" an SUV, and even businesses use trucks that are about the size of a station wagon.

[tuckessee]

15. I'll hop on one of my scooters or mopeds....

....& off I go!

[taught_me_patience]

16. Nothing

It could hit $8/gallon and I wouldn't change my driving habits one bit. I drive 40 miles round trip to work every day, but have a pretty fuel efficient car (Honda Accord 4cyl). I might cut back on eating out if gas stays above $4 for an extended amount of time.

[Red Zelda]

17. Drink less gasoline

Drink more booze

[lutefisk]

76. A gallon of gas is still cheaper than a gallon of Schnapps....n/t

[azmouse]

18. I don't drive much.

All the stores I need are within 5 mi of my house and I'm already combining trips as much as I can. As long as we have gas for my husband to get to work we'll get by just fine.

[RB TexLa]

19. Pay about $18 more per tank than I do now

[cynatnite]

20. The same thing we've been doing for over two years now...

watch gas consumption, consolodate errands and cut back on road trips considerably. Not much else we can do since we have so little in the way of public transportation here.

[kestrel91316]

21. Drive less, bike to work/bus to work more often, eat fewer fast food lunches.

IOW, cut the gas budget some, cut the rest of my budget some. Oh, and raise fees at my practice a little more than the standard amount in January.

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. george's real base, the haves and have mores never worry about this. Tax cuts help right?

[Ganja Ninja]

24. If I still have a job I'll probably buy a car that gets 35 mpg or better

At that point the difference between the gas I would use in my current vehicle (Mazda B3000 pick-up) and the gas I would save in a new economy car would make the payment on the new car. The only drawback is whether or not my job will last long enough to pay off the new car.

[Doctor Cynic]

25. You're missing a big assumption here

What about the cost of food? If all our vegetables come from California, then the trucking costs will drastically increase. Truckers would strike, and grocery shelves may be empty, with all the associated chaos. Then the cost of food shoots up. Of course, the agriculture industry is so dependent on fertilizers and pesticides, this would only cause the cost of food to shoot up further. Methinks the rate of poverty will shoot up soon...

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. Funny no one ever thinks about these pesky little aftershocks.

[cynatnite]

29. Truckers will not strike n/t

The rates that trucking companies are paid will rise to cover their fuel expenses and the suppliers will raise prices to pay for the shipping and so it's passed onto the consumer.

[EnviroBat]

32. Exactly. We all seem to be focused on "how we will get around".

It seems that we glossing over the days of the empty grocery store, you know, the REAL scary stuff. I've got some plans for a greenhouse, but I'm not sure I know how to grow a weed.

Slow Down Hillbilly!

WalMart's open 24 hours...

[catmandu57]

43. Weeds are easy

Worst case we move to my MIL's who has a house sitting right on the junction of two rivers, she grows a huge garden every year and cans most of it. The rivers are full of fish and the country filled with game so we would make out pretty well.

[IDemo]

42. Other assumptions:

-That you will always have a job, even if it means walking, biking, or riding the bus to get there. Many businesses will be unable to survive when (not if) oil prices move much higher.

-That there will always be gasoline available, even if at 6, or 8, or 20, or ?? dollars/gallon. The biggest oil fields on the planet have all topped out. Unless we can politely (or otherwise) convince India and China to return to their pre-1990's lifestyle and give up the car culture, there is simply going to be less and less fuel available at the pump at any price in the years to come.

And yes, truckers absolutely will park their rigs when their fuel costs exceed, or even come close to, their profit margins.

[cynatnite]

46. The owner/operators of those rigs will park their trucks...company drivers will not...

if the company they work for can pay them and pay for fuel. That's why if gas continues to rise, they will raise their rates to cover shipping expenses and suppliers will have to raise their prices to cover the costs of getting product on the shelves. That's how it works. I've worked as a shipper and a dispatcher. My husband is also a truck driver.

[IDemo]

49. Same difference

The trucks won't roll when the total cost of moving product to shelf exceeds what the market can bear.

[cynatnite]

51. No it is not...

Owner/Operators are responsible for all the expenses of their trucks which can add up to thousands of dollars per month. Company drivers get paid to drive and don't have to worry about paying for fuel and other truck expenses.

They are no where near the same which is why there are so few owner/operators on the road compared to company drivers.

[IDemo]

52. I don't care if the driver or the owner is buying the fuel.

It's utterly meaningless whose wallet is actually providing cash at the pump. That cost will ultimately, directly or indirectly, get passed on to the consumer of the Kitchen Widgets being delivered to Target. When customers no longer want to pay ridiculously high prices for a power lemon zester, the profit motive will not exist for delivery, whether or not by an independent or trucking company. The end result will be the same no matter who is keeping the book(s).

[cynatnite]

68. Consumers will however continue to buy food no matter what it costs...

They may not buy crap they don't need anymore, but other products that are necessities will have buyers which they'll need to transport. What is more likely to happen if things contitinue is that the smaller trucking companies and owner/operators won't be able to absorb the costs. They'll go out of business first. The larger ones can absorb the costs and in the long run press for higher rates. The larger ones also have a tendency to buy out the smaller companies and could squeeze the independent owner/operator into non-existence.

In the end, bigger and more money wins every time.

P.S. We've been in this industry a long time and know only too well how it works.

[Ghost in the Machine]

47. 80% of our winter vegetables come from South Florida... I worked in the produce industry

in Homestead & Florida City for several years doing everything from working for the farmers in the fields to running loading docks at a packing house. I've worked out in the fields at the "wash barrels" and I've loaded trucks with green beans, squash, zuchinni, peppers, tomatoes, wax beans, october beans, pole beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, etc., and drove them in to the packing houses. I remember the christmas freeze of '89 when all the crops were lost. We had beans in the cooler that were selling for $7 per 35lb crate before the freeze and they went up to $49 per crate within two days after the freeze.

Gas prices will have a small affect on prices, but not really too bad. We're already seeing an increase in the stores now, but as long as nothing catastrophic happens with the weather during growing season that diminishes the crops, we should be fine. It's natural to raise prices of goods & services during a prolonged increase in gas prices. You usually don't see it if it's just a temporary situation, but as it becomes a more sustained increase with no indications of subsiding, businesses *have* to pass that increased cost along to their customers. I've been trying not to have to raise the prices on my menu at my restaurant, but it seems that I'm going to have to if I want to stay in business. Prices from my suppliers have been increasing due to gas prices..... I can't eat the cost anymore, it's killing me now....

[Dukkha]

26. nothing because I'm not part of the problem

I have a small fuel efficient car, live very close to work, carpool and ride share with my s/o, and use a bicycle in the spring and summer a lot. But yet I will still suffer from the inflation and escalating cost of living just so others can own their SUVs and live their gluttonous self-indulgent lifestyles. I really wish they were the only one's being punished for it then I'd hope for $5/gallon gas. But unfortunately our economy is heavily based on transportation through tourism and shipping goods and e-commerce. So the many will suffer for the selfish wants of the few.

[Xenotime]

50. Perhaps there should be a large vehicle tax.

[AZBlue]

75. What a fantastic idea!

I wish I could K&R a post within a thread!!!

[wtmusic]

30. laugh

http://www.mpelectriccar.org

[KansDem]

31. Here...

http://www.electrabike.com/cruiser/
The "Coaster 7"

This is coming to KansDem's house soon after the first of the year. It's 7.5 miles from my house to work and I'm figuring I'll ride 2-3 times a week.

I'm hoping to get it with fenders and a rack! :D

[catmandu57]

33. We have an abandoned railroad bed

That runs to the next town over ten miles away that the majority of people living here work and shop in. We could build a light rail to a station there, where people could meet up with public transportation there.
We could do this, if we had federal dollars to do it, trouble is all the federal dollars are being thrown down a shithole and given to the war profiteers.

[toadzilla]

34. I'm working on getting rid of my current car and buying a diesel

a vw golf tdi gets 50+ mpg, and can run off of biodiesel. i have friends who make their own that i can buy it from.

[tammywammy]

35. I have a Beetle TDI

I highly recommend going diesel. :)

[toadzilla]

38. cool! my friend who makes the biodiesel has one of those

great little car! its a little quirky looking, but very efficient and reliable.

[Strelnikov_]

57. May want to perform some due diligence on the TDI's capability to burn bioD

VW only warrants up to B5 the last time I checked (over a year ago).

One 'bad' batch of BD can cause $1,000's of damage. Improper washing/drying seems to be the major culprit.

Last time I did detailed research at TDIClub forum, the consensus seemed to be increased injector fouling rate from use of 100% BD. There seemed to be a consensus that 100% BD and particularly WVO was not a good idea in PD series engines (04+).

If one is a mechanic, the increased injector fouling rate may not be a problem. One thing to remember is that capable mechanics for the TDI powerplant are few and far between, and most VW dealership service departments are not competent on this powerplant. A good management strategy may be to baby the engine, including not pushing fuel beyond manufacturers recommendations, and enjoy 40+ mpg that shits-n-gets.

Based on my research, once my TDI is off warranty, I will not hesitate to run up to D50 of 'commercially produced' biodiesel. From the stories I have read, I am a little leary of home brew/small producers. Another problem that seemed to crop up in my research was management of the inventory by small vendors. That is, cleaning/drying the tanks, etc.

People seem to forget that these are precision, high tech engines. They are not the diesel on my Grandfathers 50's vintage tractor, or early 80's vintage Mercedes. I do wish the Engineers in Wolfsburg (and Detroit, and Toyota, etc) would back off a bit on horsepower and bump powerplant durability/fuel tolerance as a priority. In the coming storm, flexibility in fuel will be a huge plus.

[toadzilla]

61. yeah, i was looking into an older vehicle

diesels run forever, like 400k miles I've heard if they're well taken care of. That way i get the car for a price I can actually afford, and wont be thinking about a warranty.

Its the new common rail diesels that cant handle veggie oil. They're more efficient and clean for petroleum based diesel though. not that i am planning on running a car on svo, but i like the idea of knowing that I could if it was necessary. you know, just in case the world ends. ;)

[tammywammy]

70. And the next VW diesel will be common rail

I think they're coming out in the spring.

If you're looking at pre-owned, go with a pre-2004 TDI. That way it's not the TDI-PD.

[toadzilla]

82. yep, the diesel jetta is comming after the new year.

I want a golf mk4!

[tammywammy]

72. VW warranty is up to B5

because the US bio production is all over the map, including people making their own.

I've run B20 in my TDI just fine, but I'm hesitant to use anything higher as of now. I have a 2006, so it's the TDI-PD. Like you, I'm waiting for my warranty to expire, and that's in another 2 years.

I'm interested in the injector fouling rate. I just had my injectors flushed and then replaced on my Beetle. I haven't used a bio-product in over a year (the station is just too far away, so I've been using regular diesel). My check engine light kept coming on, the thermostat was off (though the car wasn't overheating or anything). They replaced the thermostat like 4 times, and then finally decided to replace the injectors. :shrug:

I'm lucky, my tech is awesome with my car (it helps that I work at the dealership) and they had sent out the VW specialist tech to look at it as well.


I haven't seen the latest stats on the new diesel engine that's coming out next year. I'll have to track down a salesman and ask later tonight. I know VW's going common rail and that it's boosting torque, but I don't remember the exact numbers.

[DemoTex]

36. I drive very little (< 10 miles per week normally) and I drive a Prius.

My car sits unused for days at a time. I can easily walk to restaurants, banks, stores, doctors, veterinarian, etc., for just about anything I need. When I buy gas, I buy it at Costco, where it is usually about 15-cents cheaper than the cheapest available elsewhere.

[LoZoccolo]

37. Keep riding the bus and train, lol.

I haven't owned a car in eight years.

[whistle]

39. $4.00 per gallon would drive my monthly fuel cost up to $80 as I have

...cut my driving to the absolute minimum 20 gallons and 400 miles per month. I can not lower my driving any further. So my demand/consumption has become inelastic relative to my capacity to pay.

The next tier that will in fact break my budget is when the fuel cost hits $5.00 per gallon and that will be when I have to give up driving except for emergency situations. The nearest bus stop for me is a twelve to fifteen minute walk taking into account traffic lights and the direction I would need to go.

[crispini]

40. I work out of my house, so not much.

I'll probably make sure to combine my errands.

My sweetie, though, will probably start train commuting instead of car. That should help his gas budget some. :)

[spanone]

45. spend more on gas

[Xenotime]

48. You can expect the economy to fail as people stop shopping.

[Lilith Velkor]

53. Grumble about fare hikes some more. n/t

[walldude]

54. I'm gonna bash Hillary!!!!

Then I'm gonna pay 4 bucks a gallon.. ugh.

[shanti]

55. same thing i'm doing now, i guess

:shrug:

[RebelOne]

56. Nothing much different.

I can't take public transportation because it is not an option where I live. And it would not be safe to ride a bike on the busy streets. But I only live 13 miles from work, so I really don't have to drive too far. I can't buy a car that is more gas efficient because I am in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and am not allowed any credit for the next few years.

[yella_dawg]

58. This is one weird discussion

Food directly reflects the cost of fuel for transportation, plus a lagging cost for ag fuel. This doesn't just hit the consumer. We've already lost our biggest grocer in this 30,000 population town.

Everything you buy or use has a fuel cost associated with it. General energy costs will reflect rising gasoline prices as natural gas usage rises to offset fuel oil costs. Lots of electricity is generated with natural gas.

The big problem is that our economy is highly dependent on transportation. Literally everything you purchase is either transported or constructed from transported raw materials. The system depends on a certain range of transport/energy cost. As energy costs rise, the sales volume required to keep most business models working will falter. Most chain stores bumped out mom-and-pop because their volume purchasing gave them an advantage. At some point, I suspect around $4-$5 a gallon, sales in many stores will fall below the profitable threshold, primarily because the threshold will rise with energy cost.


This isn't a matter of adjusting your transportation budget. This will hit every aspect of life, economic or not, including many jobs.

[mnhtnbb]

66. Europeans would love to pay $4./gallon gas. Take a look at

their arrangements and expect to see similar adjustments here.

[Deja Q]

67. With or without the big benefits they get in return?

:think:

[mnhtnbb]

73. LOL. We never should have let GM run the country.

[toadzilla]

85. and I would love to have their public transportation systems!

our system here in Baltimore SUCKS. I live in the city and it is really not possible to get to my job without a car.

[Initech]

59. Pay it.

It sucks, but as a courier, I need to rely on my car. There's no choice I have but to suck it up and pay.

I'm not altering my life any differently to pay for gas, though, because that's exactly what those greedy, Neanderthal motherfuckers want us to do.

[Javaman]

60. The return of the pony express via bicycle.

you think I'm kidding?

[Initech]

87. It could happen!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - we'll either go into another Great Depression or another French Revolution because of the insane gas prices. Personally I'm hoping for the latter.

[guitar man]

62. quit my job

It has gotten to the point where it is already almost not profitable for me to go to work, when it hits $4.00, it certainly won't be. I can work and be flat broke or not work and be flat broke....I think I'll choose the latter :(

<edit typo>

[Lydia Leftcoast]

63. Drive even less than I do now

By Minneapolis standards, I have good public transit (although not by international standards).

[RiverStone]

69. Seeking Honda Civic - sold my small pick-up 2 weeks ago..

Anybody in Washington/Oregon state want to sell me an older Honda Civic Hatchback (1990's something), please PM me.

Will pay cash :hi:

[lovuian]

71. conserve

its the only way

[AuntPatsy]

77. End up filling up the kids tanks as well.

[Beelzebud]

78. Bend over and take it like a Happy Consumer.

What else can we do? Elect people to represent our interests? LOL

[Timmy5835]

79. We are NOT paying the true price of oil

Oil should only be about $50.00 per barrel. The reason it's pushing $100.00 per barrel is because of all the worldwide instability Bush is causing. Don't be surprised once he's replaced by a Dem President, you see the price go down.

[Apollo11]

95. Wishful thinking

The reason oil is pushing $100 per barrel is because demand is increasing year-on-year as the number of cars on the road also increases (worldwide). The supply of oil is limited so OPEC and the oil companies can basically charge whatever price people are willing to pay.

As the world's supply of oil gradually runs out, the price will continue to climb.

Why would the oil companies decide to reduce the price of gasoline? :eyes:

In the capitalist system - their goal is to make as much money as possible.

[lutefisk]

80. Email Junior and ask him to "jaw-bone" OPEC to lower prices

What's Bush the oil-man-CEO-pResident waiting for? He told us back in 2000 that he would just jawbone OPEC to increase production, right? I'm starting to wonder if Junior is really as competent as the media led us to believe.

[slackmaster]

81. Put more air in my tires and ask my boss if I can start telecommuting 1-2 days per month

:shrug:

[JeanGrey]

83. Eat less is right. Probably not much though more than we do

now. We're both disabled and don't work, and our driving is limited but I will make a stronger effort to coordinate dr's appts with friends (we do this now). Plus I'll be going shopping less. Sometimes I just go to Walmart (okay don't flame me), get a cart and ride around because I can't walk very far. Those will be stopped.

Just try to conserve gas. I can't ride a bike and can't see myself on a scooter either.

[ozone_man]

86. If the dollar is worth 0.45 that of the 2000 dollar

gas will cost $4.00.

If the dollar is worth 0.60 that of the 2000 dollar, gas will cost $3.00 (present).

If the dollar is equal in worth to the 2000 dollar, gas will cost $2.00.

It's not the gas that is becoming more expensive, it's that dollar is becoming worth less.

[MrSlayer]

94. Excellent point.

I never thought of it that way but you're spot on.

[NNN0LHI]

89. I am going to drive less and bitch more n/t

[Homer Wells]

90. I've had the good fortune to have been

able to go to Europe twice in the past three years, (once to Ireland and once to Greece), and both times the price of gas was in between EU1.10 and EU1.30 per liter. I'm not real familiar with the metric system as applies to the liter and Imperial Gallon, but I think it figures out to 5 L. to the Imp Gal.

Using those figures, that would be around EU 5.50 per Imp Gal, or around $8.00/gal.

I HATE that the price is getting so high, but it seems our friends overseas have been suffering this exorbitant price for one heck of a long time. Guess we are just joining the rest of the world now.

:shrug:

[MrSlayer]

93. Continue to not care.

I don't own a car. I live in a city where it is almost completely unnecessary to have one. The only way it effects me is by the two or three cent increase on the price of everyday provisions.