The Price of Gasoline - How does (will) it affect you?

[Franglais]

$6.43 per US Gallon tonight in Velizy for regular-grade gas.

It took ages to work it out, what with liters to US Gallons and the Euro being so high - euh - unless it's the dollar being so low..

Today I took my car to get to my new client because I wanted to get back to the gym early tonight to do the Body Attack. It's a quiet week with 1st May being a holiday. Talk about laugh. It took me LONGER to do the trip by car than via public transport. Guess I can say goodbye to Body Attack for the next few months.

Charles

[shutterman]

"There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production – with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth. The drop in food output could begin quite soon, perhaps only 10 years from now. The regions destined to feel its impact are the great wheat-producing lands of Canada and the U.S.S.R. in the North, along with a number of marginally self-sufficient tropical areas – parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indochina and Indonesia – where the growing season is dependent upon the rains brought by the monsoon.

The evidence in support of these predictions has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it. In England, farmers have seen their growing season decline by about two weeks since 1950, with a resultant overall loss in grain production estimated at up to 100,000 tons annually. During the same time, the average temperature around the equator has risen by a fraction of a degree – a fraction that in some areas can mean drought and desolation. Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion dollars’ worth of damage in 13 U.S. states."

This is from the 1975 Newsweek Article about Global Cooling. Sound familiar?

[walterick]

Something else that occurred to me the other day was how the term "pollution" has been dropped from this debate in the last 10 years. Hummers... oil prices... SUV.... gas prices.... global warming.... foreign oil.... somewhere in all of this the word "pollution" became blase and is no longer included in the "why you should drive less" argument. Cities have only gotten dirtier as populations increase. The brown cloud that sits over Phoenix all winter is a sober reminder that we are still breathing the emisions from our tailpipes.

[JSPhoto]

I'm so sick of big SUV's

I am so sick of those dang speed bumps that keep pulling out in front of my big ole 4x4 I smashed another yesterday, and all it did to my ole truck was scratch the bumper while that Toyota is a pile of scrap now.....I guess driving those little aluminum cans they forget it takes 3 times farther for my 6500 lb truck to slow down.
Fortunately two cops saw it happen, as they loaded the moron into the ambulance one of them handed him two tickets and then chastized him for pulling out in front of me. It didn't take long to extract him as I took most of the roof off for the fire dept. when I hit him. The cops thought he was dead, then he started complaining about me speeding.....I guess he didn't notice the police car behind me.
That truck has now killed 5 cars and dinged 1 (one that backed into it twice), knock on wood the other drivers were always at fault and all either pulled out in front of me or drove into the back of me.

Yeah, it may not get the greatest gas mileage, but I am still driving it while those dang speedbumps keep getting squashed, and I'll take safety over injury any day, even if it does cost more to drive.

JS

[photophorous]

I am so sick of those dang speed bumps that keep pulling out in front of my big ole 4x4 I smashed another yesterday, and all it did to my ole truck was scratch the bumper while that Toyota is a pile of scrap now.....I guess driving those little aluminum cans they forget it takes 3 times farther for my 6500 lb truck to slow down.
Fortunately two cops saw it happen, as they loaded the moron into the ambulance one of them handed him two tickets and then chastized him for pulling out in front of me. It didn't take long to extract him as I took most of the roof off for the fire dept. when I hit him. The cops thought he was dead, then he started complaining about me speeding.....I guess he didn't notice the police car behind me.
That truck has now killed 5 cars and dinged 1 (one that backed into it twice), knock on wood the other drivers were always at fault and all either pulled out in front of me or drove into the back of me.

Yeah, it may not get the greatest gas mileage, but I am still driving it while those dang speedbumps keep getting squashed, and I'll take safety over injury any day, even if it does cost more to drive.

JS

Did you ever consider that the momentum from your 6500 lb truck might have something to do with your inability to stop before you hit these "speedbumbs?" I've been driving for 15 years and never hit anyone. You've hit 6 people in one truck. I don't know anyone that has had that many accidents, let alone in one vehicle.

Your truck makes driving safer for you and more dangerous for everyone else.

Paul


Edit: I just realized that you acknowledged that your truck takes three times as long to slow down. I suppose you also realize that when you hit someone they are getting hit twice as hard as they would be if you were driving a more reasonably sized vehicle, at a given speed. Factor in the extra speed from your inability to slow down and it's probably more like 4 or 5 times as hard. So, when some old lady or some kid gets creamed by your truck they'll be getting what they deserve and you'll feel okay that they were sacrificed in the name of your safety? Nevermind the fact that the whole thing could have been avoided. I just can't understand why you're using this particular reasoning to justify your excessive use of fuel.

[another view]

In general, this is what I'm getting from this thread:

What I'm driving and doing: Just fine

What other people are driving and doing: They need to change

I don't really think much in the way of a solution will come from this kind of thinking. I'm looking at this on Firefox, maybe on another browser it reads differently...

Any ideas on small things that we might be able to do to help the problem? I'm not perfect by any means. As everybody probably knows I have a car that gets 50mpg but I average 20-22k miles a year. I'm going to try to walk to the grocery store more often. No, I'm not going to try - I'm just going to do it. It's not far but long enough that I don't want to lug heavy stuff home - so I'll try to plan those trips for when I'm already out.

Benefits? Less fuel used. Less wear and tear on the car. More exercise for me. Chance to listen to podcasts.

Who wants to go next?

[mjs1973]

Who wants to go next?

I'll go. I plan on driving less, walking and riding my bike more. I did manage to take my bike to work one day this week. It's not much, but it's a start. I also plan on riding my motorcyle to work more. Small trips here and there will be limited as well. I put stock sized tired on my pickup truck a while back, and the improvement in gas milage was very noticable.

My wife want's me to put a closeline up this year. I think they are an eyesore, but it would be save us energy.

We could all switch to compact florecent lights too. That would save electricity, and help reduce the burning of coal. Of course they pose another problem since they contain mercury.

There are a lot of little things that everyone could do, it's just a matter of being motivated to do them.

[another view]

There are a lot of little things that everyone could do, it's just a matter of being motivated to do them.

Thank you, Michael. Let's see, if the 6-1/2 billion people in the world made a small change then we might be on the right path...

Compact fluorescents do have a small amount of mercury in them and they should not be thrown in the garbage because of it. They can't be made mercury free but some of them (generally the more expensive name brands) are good at limiting the amount they use. It just won't fire without vaporized mercury - but maybe some day they'll have something else that can take it's place. Hasn't happened yet though. Also, if you change out your thermostat to an electronic programmable type, there probably is a mercury bulb in the old one. I've seen some utility companies take the old ones for proper recycling. They may be able to help with c/f lamp recycling too, or call the local garbage company for ideas on how to have it recycled. I know of commercial sources but haven't really looked much for residential uses (haven't had the need yet).

[masdog]

I found a gas station in WI that has mid-grade for $3.04 a gallon...5 cents cheaper than regular.

[SmartWombat]

BTW Paul, I haven't been reading much of the forums lately. How did your trip to the states go???

Excellent, not enough time taking photos though.
So I have already booked up for next year's PMA and we are looking at spending an overnight at the Canyon so I can get more photos.

With my 4th PC rebuild I'm hoping that this computer will stay together long enough to post-process the photos.
But I've discovered that Lightroom does not like loading 48000 images off an external disk.
And when I unplug the external disk then it throws a fit and checks each individual photo to see if it's offline.
That takes over an hour during which time I can't use Lightroom.

I love what it does but as a library application, it is sub-optimal.

[adina]

Here's what we do...

Dh carpools every day, so that cuts down gas, pollution, wear and tear, whatever. We recycle just about everything we can. Occasionally I will find something in the fridge that is a little funny looking and just toss the whole thing. We walk and bike around town, any thing we need to do local. Since we are in a small town, we need to go about 10 miles in any direction for most things. We try to plan these trips together. I have a travel mug that I use for my daily lattes. They harrass me to death because it's a Starbucks mug and I'm going to the local shop. I take my own bags to the grocery store. I buy from the bulk bins when it's possible, less packaging. Most of our produce and dairy products are bought local or organic. We have the thermostat with the programable settings, so the heat goes down at night. We don't use air conditioning at all in the house, we open all the windows and get a pretty good breeze. All of our appliances have the energy star label. Any clothes the girls grow out of get passed down, we've got a friend with a daughter two years younger than mine that loves to get them. We don't spray our yard or our garden. We get books and movies from the library instead of buying them.

We don't eat at McD's, or shop at Walmart.

Some of these things are for enviromental reasons, some for financial reasons, and some for convience. All in all, with the things that we do, I don't feel guilty at all about driving my SUV.

[adina]

We also wash our clothes in cold water, and use florecent bulbs. When at home, we all have refillable water bottles, which has drastically cut down our bottled water use. Lights are off if we are not in the room. Small appliances we don't use every day are unplugged. We're on the list to reduce the amount of junk mail we get.

[masdog]

Excellent, not enough time taking photos though.
So I have already booked up for next year's PMA and we are looking at spending an overnight at the Canyon so I can get more photos.

Paul, when is PMA '08?

[another view]

I buy from the bulk bins when it's possible, less packaging.....We don't eat at McD's, or shop at Walmart.

Ironically, I heard a story about Walmart being responsible for deodorant not coming in boxes anymore (less packaging). Benefits were a cost savings and less space used for the same amount of product (in warehousing, trucking and in stores). On top of that, they got a pat on the back for doing something for the environment. I suppose the box makers weren't too happy but that's about the only downside I can see.

For something different a couple weeks ago, I stopped at McD's for the first time in a couple months and had that new salad they've been advertising. Yuck. Serves me right. It's up there (down there, actually) with Wendy's taco salad. It's not a taco salad, it's chili on lettuce. Yes, really! What did it take to make that a good idea?

OK, Adina's doing a good job so I'll let the SUV slide. Wish we had a local co-op or Whole Foods for bulk stuff, it's not common here.

[mjs1973]

The wife and I walked to the store to get some trail mix for our 55 mile bike ride tomorrow. It was only 2 blocks, but you gotta start somewhere.

[swmdrayfan]

I didn't mow my lawn today. One less day without lawn mower exhaust.

[adina]

It's not so much an enviromental thing with Walmart, but a economical thing. Whenever they open a Walmart near or in a small town, all the small locally owned businesses close. Yeah, I know things are cheap there, but it's just icky. And every Walmart I have been in has not really felt clean. It always has a grimey feel to it.


We also reinsulated our attic last summer, and have replaced all our 90 yr old windows with new, more energy efficient ones. Although that was more of a "our windows are falling off" thing than anything else.

[another view]

It's not so much an enviromental thing with Walmart, but a economical thing.

True, but usually it's a mutually beneficial sort of thing. It makes sense for them financially, and the byproduct is that it helps the environment. It's that kind of win-win scenario that makes everybody happy. Sometimes it just takes a different way of looking at the situation.

[adina]

Good point.

However, I still refuse to shop there. It's gross and icky.

I love that when I walk into my coffee shop, they know my drink. And I know they are going to make a comment about my Starbucks travel mug. And if I'm out shopping, I love that the owners of the shops and boutiques I go to know my name, and what I like. I love that if I go to a local diner, the people who own it or work there will stop and chat.

Plus, I'm a snob like that.

I was at Whole Foods once with my youngest. It was the day before I left for Florida, so I was making sure they would have food while I was gone. When we go there, we always walk past the fresh seafood. My daughter loves it. So we walk past, and they have ocopuses. She says she needs an octopus, she absolutely NEEDS one. Her and Daddy will eat it. I say no, it will go bad while I'm gone and Daddy won't know how to cook it. They guy working at the counter heard us, and asked her if she wanted to see it. He gave her a pair of plastic gloves, pulled out an ocotpus, and proceeded to show her all the different body parts, where the eyes used to be, ect.. let her touch it, feel the tentacles, the suction cups, whatever. For the past 4 months, her piece of trivia, that she tells EVERYONE, is that octopuses eat from where they go to the bathroom.

For me, the best judge of customer service is how they treat my kids. Mind you, mine are well behaved (I know every parent says that, but really, mine are) so I am not that person with the screaming kids in the store. That was hands down the best customer service I have ever gotten.

On the complete other side, there's a local diner I took my kids to once. As the waitress was bringing our drinks, she dumped it on the table. We used what napkins we had, and she went to get more. While she was gone, we moved to the next table over so that we didn't get laps full of milk. The owner came over with a rag, and started to mop it up, and said "Next time your daughter spills, don't just move, clean it up" I said that she didn't spill it the waitress did, the owner said that it's no big deal if we spill, but we shouldn't just move. I said we didn't spill. Finally the waitress got back and said she had spilled. The owner says "Oh". And walks away. Haven't been back since.

[JSPhoto]

Your truck makes driving safer for you and more dangerous for everyone else.

Paul


Edit: Nevermind the fact that the whole thing could have been avoided. .

LOL, yeah, more dangerous for the idiots stupid enough to pull out in front of me....., the smart people don't mess with somethting two to three times bigger than they are.
The guys insurance adjuster was here today and couldn't believe how little my truck was damaged. But the really sad part is they insured a SUSPENDED DRIVER! Guess where he went after he got released from the hospital? Jail, and it will be a while before he gets out. It turned out he used his brothers name and drivers license to get insured, he has warrants from 5 different police departments, and prior to the accident with me his real license has 112 points, and thats just in the last twelve months. Funny but everyone who has pulled out in front of me was suspended or got suspended afterwards. That should give an idea of the kind of people were dealing with here.......this section of the gene pool could use some trimmimg.....
Yeah, they could have been avoided, with some common sense, but obviously anyone dumb enough to pull out in front of a bigger vehicle isn't smart enough to drive.


JS

[walterick]

I pay my taxes, vote in November, don't eat meat on Fridays, carry my recylcing to a center on Sundays since my apartment complex doesn't recycle, and I live right next to my job so I can walk to work. On a typical week, I don't drive my truck from Sunday night until Friday morning.

Oh, and I eat all my vegetables and drink plenty of water too.

[walterick]

Just as I was wondering what in the world could be causing this spike in gas prices, I run across this article on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=10057771

[masdog]

I pay my taxes, vote in November, don't eat meat on Fridays, carry my recylcing to a center on Sundays since my apartment complex doesn't recycle, and I live right next to my job so I can walk to work. On a typical week, I don't drive my truck from Sunday night until Friday morning.

Oh, and I eat all my vegetables and drink plenty of water too.

But what we really need to know is....did you remember to wash behind your ears?

[walterick]

Yes, and between my toes.

Though, admittedly I tend to hurry through the toes.

[another view]

Yeah, they could have been avoided, with some common sense, but obviously anyone dumb enough to pull out in front of a bigger vehicle isn't smart enough to drive.

I don't know how fast you were driving or typically drive, but I've seen plenty of close calls when someone is driving easily 20 or maybe 30mph over the limit and another person pulls out in front of them. The speeder thinks the person pulling out is an idiot but the other driver can't always tell how fast they're going. While there might be enough room with the other vehicle at or close to the speed limit, there isn't enough room at 20-30mph over.

And at least around here, I've seen more cases of "isn't smart enough to drive" in large vehicles than small.