Walt Starr
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Tue Apr-12-05 11:45 AM
Original message |
A better idea for bringing gas prices down. |
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The "Don't Buy Gas Day" and "Don't Buy Gas From Exxon or Mobil" ideas will never work. Plain and simple, they will not work becaue they do nothing about demand.
Start a Don't Drive Day. That will have a bigger effect. your demand by a bit over 1/7th by making Saturday Don't Drive Day. Promote staying at home with the family. Promote being healthy by only riding a bike or walking (or running) on Saturdays. No other movement nor any form of public transportation that use fuel on this one day each week. You know you drive more on Saturdays because you go shopping, to the park or whatnot. Walk or ride a bike to activities instead. Hold off those purchases until Sunday, then make one trip.
Hit them in the pocketbook effectively. Cut your personal demand and prices must drop!
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tubbacheez
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Tue Apr-12-05 11:49 AM
Response to Original message |
1. Also, if you must drive, drive smoothly. |
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Hard acceleration and braking is the least efficient way to drive. Accelerate evenly and brake evenly. Coast when you can.
Every time you tap the gas pedal, you're burning money.
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maxsolomon
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Tue Apr-12-05 11:55 AM
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given that saturday is the only day i have to do any errands whatesoever, and given volume of traffic on the streets on saturday, i wager i'm not alone.
sunday would be a better choice. but then you couldn't drive to church, so christians will claim its unfair.
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sui generis
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Tue Apr-12-05 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #2 |
3. I can change my "errands" to during the week |
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after all, it does help clear out Saturday. Plus I HATE shopping for groceries on the weekend. I can hit the post office on the way to work when I need to. I could make this work.
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Freddie Stubbs
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Tue Apr-12-05 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #3 |
7. If you drive the same distance, but on a different day, you will still use |
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the same amount of gas. The original poster's idea is to reduce gas consumption.
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sui generis
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Tue Apr-12-05 03:04 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
8. everything I need to do is on the way home / to work |
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so I actually would save quite a bit of gas - considering that I spend most of Saturday back out on the work route picking up Home Depot stuff, groceries, etc.
I live in Dallas and work in Ft. Worth
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Walt Starr
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Tue Apr-12-05 10:41 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
11. You take everything you do in two days |
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and do it on one. Get efficient and budget your time and trip.
I don't know about anybody else, but I currently drive about as much on Sunday as I do on Saturday and I could do it all on one day each week instead and still drive only one day's worth of miles.
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Walt Starr
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Tue Apr-12-05 04:21 PM
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10. It doesn't matter which day. Some people work Saturdays and Sundays |
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Pick one day and stick with it! If Sunday works for you, FINE. Just one day each week on which you do not drive and do not use public transportation. It matters not which day it is! That's the beauty of it! Pick a day and stick with it, you've got seven to choose from!
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ProfessorGAC
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Tue Apr-12-05 11:58 AM
Response to Original message |
4. I Say We All Just Slow Down A Pinch |
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Cars are far more fuel efficient when they are as close to the horesepower/torque curve minima as possible.
My car hits minimum RPM just as it hits the 4th gear, which is right around 48 mph. The climb of RPM increases a lot when the speed begins to exceed about 57 or 58mph. So, i max my mileage when by staying as close to 55 as possible.
Sure, i have to leave a little sooner. But, i'm saving cash. The Professor
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kansasblue
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Tue Apr-12-05 01:28 PM
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and less. And walk more. (you need the exercise!)
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IrateCitizen
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Tue Apr-12-05 01:37 PM
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6. Gas prices are still artificially low |
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If they truly reflected the cost of maintaining access to oil supplies, along with the ecological costs associated with the use of gasoline, the cost per gallon would be much, much, much lower.
Ideas like this simply will not work. Personally, I think that gas prices will only go up from here on out. I think we're a scant few years away from peak oil, and from there it will become prohibitively expensive. And if we really want to do something worthwhile, we'll start taking measures to radically reduce our consumption over time, while simultaneously pushing for societal changes to adapt better when those rougher times arrive.
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zyzxx
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Tue Apr-12-05 04:14 PM
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9. I would go one further.. |
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and say do it both days of the weekend.
You can run errands during the week, and the time spent with families at home would do wonders for society.
Plus, maybe it would make all these businesses close on Sundays. Remember when we were kids and everyone used to have the day off on Sundays and virtually everything was closed?
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KnowerOfLogic
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Wed Apr-13-05 01:36 AM
Response to Reply #9 |
15. Whoa there, some of us don't think sunday is any different than any other |
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day of the week, and frankly, i hate it when things are closed sunday, because i'll be in the middle of doing something or trying to fix something, and can't go to the store to get what i need, because it's sunday.
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Selatius
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Tue Apr-12-05 10:51 PM
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12. This is not a single bullet solution, we're gonna need many approaches |
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The simple fact is car manufacturers and big oil have retarded the development of a US mass transit system. We don't even have light rail in many cities at all. We don't have bullet trains connecting all our great cities together. Many of us drive to work, and there's no way around it.
If you want to really hit demand, you must advocate doing everything. For those who cannot get to work without driving, then they should carpool. For those who can go to work without the car, then walk or use mass transit. The solution should be holistic in order that everybody has a stake in it.
The Don't Drive Day is a good start, but what do we say to those who have to work on weekends and need to commute to work? There are millions of people who are in this category.
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KnowerOfLogic
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Wed Apr-13-05 01:32 AM
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13. Prices are never coming down; the market has shown that it will bear |
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the present high prices, so why *would* any distributor lower their prices?
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democracyindanger
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Wed Apr-13-05 01:36 AM
Response to Reply #13 |
14. Yep. But it's the right idea, wrong reason. |
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The goal shouldn't be to bring gas prices down, but to begin transitioning from fossil fuels.
'Course, that's even a harder sell.
Couching it as "spending more time with your family" is an interesting angle, though.
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Sat May 11th 2024, 08:07 PM
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