Petrol Prices here in Australia at present

[JSPhoto]

Just got gas today and it was $2.13 gallon at a place that is normally higher than most places. So hopefully it's lower elsewhere

JS

[Peter_AUS]

Oil Prices today on the world market are $59.40 a barrel for oil, so would think this will start to have an effect on petrol prices soon. It is now down by over $10 on what it peaked at what 2 months ago.

Petrol is still relatively high here at $1.269Aus ($0.93 US) a Litre but independants have been selling for as low as $1.149Aus ($0.845US).

LPG is still high as well at $0.599Aus ($0.44) Litre

Diesel is $1.399Aus ($0.984US) a Litre

This is troubled by the tumbling Aussie $ as well which has droped about 2 1/2% in a week as well, becuase of US forces in play that have strengthed the US $ and other job and interest pressures there as well.

Basically it means that for every $1US oil falls the price of petrol goes down 1 cent, but for every 1 cent the assie $ falls, the petrol price goes up 1 cent, so there is negative forces in play here as well, unfortunately for us.

[another view]

LPG = Liquid Propane Gas
if that's not a contradiction

Over here it's usually just called LP, but the only things I know that run off of it are industrial equipment like fork lifts.

JS, good to hear about plans for making BioD. Use something that's toxic to dispose of for something useful - that's something that especially us Americans need to think more about.

I hear E85 (ethanol) is much less efficient in MPG than regular petroleum based gasoline. I guess the guideline is that E85 needs to be more than 30% less expensive than gas to make financial sense. It's getting close, but the benefits are more than just in the numbers. More useage of E85 will mean more plants, stations that sell it, then (hopefully) eventually a lower cost.

[Peter_AUS]

Yes Anotherview and that is exactly what we thought about LPG over here, used to be 18 cents a litre now, slowly creeping up and up and up, it is $0.590 a litre, as our government decided to link the costs to what Oil Prices are. Anthing to keep the money rolling in.

[walterick]

Thought you guys might find this discussion interesting. David Friedman, research director for the Clean Vehicles Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists from AAA World magazine here in the US:

"After a 63-percent overall increase in the ten-year period after the CAFE regulations were passed in 1975, the average fuel mileage of current cars and truck models has actually been going down for the past two decades.

"In fact, automakers have spent the better part of the last 30 years openly fighting all efforts to require improvement in fuel economy directly or through their lobbyists and trade associations. They've predicted dire consequences, from massive job cuts to scores of drivers dying in car crashes, if government-mandated CAFE standards are raised, but the success of the gasoline-electric hybrid models introduced in recent yeras proves that it's not that automakers can't design and market safe, practical, fuel-efficient cars, but that they won't.

"The question is whether consumers are fed up enough with the high cost of filling up to tell their elected officials they want them to stop the auto companies' stalling tactics and do whatever it takes to deliver more fuel-efficient vehicles."

The Union of Concerned Scientists is at www.ucsusa.org

Rick

[another view]

And they all said they'd go out of business (well, maybe not literally) when they had to start putting seat belts in, too. And there was the big fiasco 20 years ago about having to put center mounted brake lights on cars (here in the US). They're all still here, far as I can tell they're all here other than DeLorean and Yugo, other than no US presence from Peugeot and Renault.

Two things I don't get - I bought my Jetta Diesel not quite three years ago, trading out of a Ford Explorer (and haven't looked back!). First off, the EPA gave the Explorer the highest marks in terms of being environmentally friendly. Then they gave my Jetta a "not recommended" or something like that. My mileage goes up from 15 to 50, I'm putting tires on in 50k+ mile intervals instead of 30k (tire disposal is a problem here) and have 10k oil change intervals instead of 3k (and use less oil). Diesel emmisions have less CO2 in them too but yes, more soot particulate. Something doesn't add up... Second, most of the US branded (not necessarily made, but another OT thread) cars had roughly the same mileage. I could buy something Jetta-sized or something big, and there wasn't much of a mileage difference. I don't get that either.

OK - end rant. If you're still awake, thank you. Rick started it.

[JSPhoto]

THey just announced the other day that two large oil companies (forget which) are putting E85 tanks into all new stations and will be adding tanks to all present stations in Indiana over the next few years.

What worries me is allowing "big oil" to be in on this, it will defeat the purpose by keeping prices high, instead of lowering them, and it will keep the little guys out of the picture.

Apparently Ford is finally jumping onboard as well and they will start producing all models with alternative fuels versions and make those available here in Indiana.

The pig farmers are all smiles over the new Biofuel program too. Especially one near me who is about to be cited by the state for dumping or having runoff waste into a local river polluting it and killing fish and so on.

One side affect of this though..... how you like to have a wreck and have 9,000 gallns of pig waste dumped on your road or worse, you trapped in your car and that crap dumping on you! It will happen, just a question of when and how will they deal with it? We have two or three semi truck crashes a day here around the "Circle City" and various highways in and around Indy, now add even more big trucks hauling animal waste.

Funniest wreck I ever saw here: two semi trucks 65 South at Kessler Blvd. a White Castle truck and a Wendys truck....there were hamburger patties everywhere!!! Both trucks dumped their entire loads all over I 65 I just laughed because it happened between what I consider the two worst hamburger joints in the country.... just wonder what they did with all those burgers? Wouldn't surprise me if White Castle picked them up and sold em anyway.... they always reminded me of roadkill (what is it really in White Castles hamburgers?)

JS

[mdmc]

One side affect of this though..... how you like to have a wreck and have 9,000 gallns of pig waste dumped on your road or worse, you trapped in your car and that crap dumping on you!

JS

I'd much prefer 9,000 gal of burning diesel fuel
I think that with ethanol or other products we have the ability to eliminate our dependance on forign oil. Too bad that wer'e all too busy microwaving our dinner to make a real stand against big business. Seems like there is just barely enough time in a day to make a living, and no time to fight the good fight.
We'll keep eating what we're spoon fed because it's convienient, untill we're fed up!
I hope we're almost fed up!
Mark.

[walterick]

Ford and Lexus now have hybrid SUV's out. It is the way of the future, it is inevitable. Like has been said before, it's not a matter of CAN we get off oil, it's a matter of WHEN WILL WE?

Where there's a will, there's way, I always say.

Of course, things might go faster when there's not an oil tycoon running the government?

BTW, you guys know not to microwave food covered in plastic wrap, right? Drips toxins into the food. I just learned that the other day, and by doing stock research nonetheless

Rick