$4 a gallon for gas

KaterinLHC wrote:

Damn that caribou! He's hogging all the oil! Drill him too!

whoa there KaterinLHC let's keep the, erm, alternitive lifestyles out of this

Personally I wouldn't mind driving an electric/fuel cell car. I need 4 things in a car:

  • go from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. car needs to do at least 60-70 MPH)
  • large enough to accomidate me (I'm 6' and not too shabby around the middle)
  • have reasonable access to fuel (fuel cell=problem currently, electric= fine)
  • reasonably priced (major hurdle here, most of the "enviromentally friendly" vehicles cost more than a normal car.)
Nosferatu wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:

Damn that caribou! He's hogging all the oil! Drill him too!

whoa there KaterinLHC let's keep the, erm, alternitive lifestyles out of this

You communist! Let's drill him for oil, too!

We're past the point where we can simply sit around and do nothing.. there needs to be a strong leadership and a mandate to get this done.

So... you're calling for Bush (and Cheney and everyone else there right now) to step down, right?

KaterinLHC wrote:
Nosferatu wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:

Damn that caribou! He's hogging all the oil! Drill him too!

whoa there KaterinLHC let's keep the, erm, alternitive lifestyles out of this

You communist! Let's drill him for oil, too!

after the Caribou?! I think not!

You seem to be assuming that "balk" would only be to try to buy the same stuff from a cheaper source. Balk could also mean - start carpooling, better planning of shopping, errand running etc. for reduced usage, trading in SUVs for more economical vehicles, walking more whenever possible, (long term) demand development where walking is possible with mixed useage zoning!, etc., etc.

The American people *can* balk but they are (for the most part) to lazy and selfish to try.

I think you are talking "retailers", not "suppliers". Pedantic? Me?

Dr.Ghastly wrote:
We're past the point where we can simply sit around and do nothing.. there needs to be a strong leadership and a mandate to get this done.

So... you're calling for Bush (and Cheney and everyone else there right now) to step down, right?

Actually he was calling for our entire government to be scrapped. In its place will be put an oligarchy of top scientists and economists who will be advised by a big supercomputer whose name shall be "Smarty Pants 1"

You see GG, in order to have a mandate the American public will have to sacrifice a lot and work really, really hard for it. I don't think they want that.

Nosferatu wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:
Nosferatu wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:

Damn that caribou! He's hogging all the oil! Drill him too!

whoa there KaterinLHC let's keep the, erm, alternitive lifestyles out of this

You communist! Let's drill him for oil, too!

after the Caribou?! I think not!

alas, nobody likes to be sloppy seconds.

ahem...topic at hand. Yeah, nothings changing till we hit rock bottom.

I don't know about having to hit rock bottom, I think if that there are quite a few people that would change over if it didn't require extra work from them (say the goverment kicked in the ~$4,000 extra it costs for a hybrid vehicle). Especially when they get something out of it in the long run (cheaper fuel costs), basically this: if you get a benefit out of it, and can be lazy about it all at once it is perfect! Generally betting on a good chunk of the population to take the lazy route is a good bet.

Let me make this clear.

I'd drill all of you if you contained just a few ounces of oil.

Hell, I'd drill some of you just because, well, you know. YOU know who you are.

So anyways, if they hadn't been faggin around with the Caribou and the owls ten years ago, we'd have another year of free oil now, the way I see it. So stop wastin' time, I say, and start drillin'.

I'm sure if we cut down on some of the environmental safeguards the 10 year waiting period could be cut down to 2 or three. sh*t'll grow back when we leave.

We should get more nuke stations going too.

TheGameguru wrote:

At this point I see no other solution but to scrap NASA's budget and move towards a 10-20 year COMPLETE alternate energy plan with that budget.

We're past the point where we can simply sit around and do nothing.. there needs to be a strong leadership and a mandate to get this done.

If anyone can find a complete new fuel source I think it would be NASA. If anything increase their budget but put a restriction that it should be on that subject. I mean it's not like they couldn't use the results from the research.

SwampYankee wrote:

We should get more nuke stations going too.

Those, and oil refineries, are going to be amusing topics when they actually try to push them in places like, oh say, California.

The hippies are going to be coming out of the trees and descend upon us with all the wrath of, well, hippies.

Eezy_Bordone wrote:

Good times ahead.

great..theres goes anychance of me sleeping tonight

Nosferatu wrote:

I think if that there are quite a few people that would change over if it didn't require extra work from them (say the goverment kicked in the ~$4,000 extra it costs for a hybrid vehicle).

Given the $20K sticker price for the '04 Prius, I don't see that there's a $4K bump. I would likely agree to a $1K or $2K, I guess. Personally, I find the car's technology keeps me more interested in driving it than any other car I've owned. The 50+ MPG is more of a bonus feature.

And it's not like the price of fuel doesn't affect hybrid drivers. No longer can I fill the tank expecting that I've got it covered with a $20 bill.

TheGameguru wrote:

At this point I see no other solution but to scrap NASA's budget and move towards a 10-20 year COMPLETE alternate energy plan with that budget.

We're past the point where we can simply sit around and do nothing.. there needs to be a strong leadership and a mandate to get this done.

This is absolutely brilliant. With the NASA budget, we can work quickly towards those hydrogen cars that Bush has been pushing for. As much as I love NASA and space exploration, there are better ways to spend this money at this moment in time. We also need to drill ANWAR and build more nuke plants. There is absolutely nothing wrong with clean, abundant electricity. Just ask France.

The solutions exist if only we are willing to make them priorities.

say the goverment kicked in the ~$4,000 extra it costs for a hybrid vehicle

There are already pretty good tax credits for hybrids in many places. I'm looking at getting a more fuel efficient car that doesn't feel like a cardboard box. Heck, if I could break 30mpg on the highway, I'd be happy. As it is, I use about 3 gallons of gasoline per day commuting.

Dr.Ghastly wrote:
SwampYankee wrote:

We should get more nuke stations going too.

Those, and oil refineries, are going to be amusing topics when they actually try to push them in places like, oh say, California.

The hippies are going to be coming out of the trees and descend upon us with all the wrath of, well, hippies.

Let them come with their hemp clothing and their devil music. If they get to close I'll crush a harp seal with a spotted owl's desicated carcass and send them screaming!

As much as I love NASA and space exploration, there are better ways to spend this money at this moment in time.

But we need the space program so that the sons & daughters of rich politicians & businessmen can colonize Mars and start a new human race... unfortunately, that leaves 6 billion people fighting it out Mad Max-style on the Earth.

All in all, nuclear power, hybrids and conservation isn't going to mean squat when the energy house of cards falls down and we're stuck living in the stone age while less energy dependant civilizations continue to thrive.

I no longer question how quickly mob mentality can take over and reduce places to anarchy..

This is, incidentally, what my Master's thesis is going to be about

I think that all the fuss regarding gas guzzling cars and SUV's is moot.

There is no reason why significant steps to reduce our infrastructures reliance on oil havent been taken. Everyone wants to talk about cars. Christ, people can live without cars. People cant live without food, medicine, heat, electricity, etc.

Having hybrid or electric or fuel cell cars is like treating a sniffling nose on someone who has a 5 years left before the cancer is inoperable.

LockAndLoad wrote:

All in all, nuclear power, hybrids and conservation isn't going to mean squat when the energy house of cards falls down and we're stuck living in the stone age while less energy dependant civilizations continue to thrive.

That's when we bomb the hell out of them, right? If we can't have it good, then no one can!

SwampYankee wrote:

Let them come with their hemp clothing and their devil music. If they get to close I'll crush a harp seal with a spotted owl's desicated carcass and send them screaming!

WWJD

SwampYankee wrote:

We should get more nuke stations going too.

SwampYankee speaks for me in this matter.

As far as the political climate in California, DrGhastly, 2 points:

1) You're absolutely right. California is so leftist that, even if faced with a massive energy crisis that resulted in rollings blackouts, etc., they would never set aside their hippy ways and go along with a Republican leader in order to get out of the mess. RIGHT?

2) To those inside the nuclear power producing states, everything. To those outside, nothing. (my apologies to a certain blatantly racist but until recently acceptable to the California electorate organization)

LockAndLoad wrote:

But we need the space program so that the sons & daughters of rich politicians & businessmen can colonize Mars and start a new human race...

What did Picard tell Q in the first episode of ST:TNG? "What you say in jest, I say in earnest" or words to that effect. Sign me and my descendants up for the colonies! I'm a dedicated believer in the manifest destiny of man's spaceward expansion. Read a lot of Robert Heinlein, that sort of thing.

fangblackbone wrote:

Everyone wants to talk about cars. Christ, people can live without cars.

I can live without a car but I can't work and provide for my family without one.

Lester_King wrote:
I no longer question how quickly mob mentality can take over and reduce places to anarchy..

This is, incidentally, what my Master's thesis is going to be about

One need look no further than a good sale on a big demand at Christmas to see people's true nature.

Folks can "Peace and Love and tolerance" all they want, but they'll gouge each other's frigging eyes as soon as things start to get in the least uncomfortable. It'll be f'ing horrible when it happens.

Eezy_Bordone wrote:
SwampYankee wrote:

Let them come with their hemp clothing and their devil music. If they get to close I'll crush a harp seal with a spotted owl's desicated carcass and send them screaming!

WWJD

Hey, he gets in the way, he's getting a taste of spotted owl carcass too, man.

Just talked to my dad; the price of gasoline in upstate New York has gone up 60 cents since this morning.

He used to work in the petroleum industry. He's been talking to some of his friends who still work in the business, and they're saying that they have had no communication whatsoever with a lot of their US Gulf coast refineries and other production facilities.

Better start learning how to speak Mandarin.

Looking at the complaints here...Canada $4/gallon? Try Sweden. 12 SEK per Litre...

$1 = Approx 7.5 SEK
1 Gallon = 3.785 Litres

12 SEK * 3.785 = 45.42 SEK / Gallon

45.42 SEK = $6.05 / Gallon

We have the cheapest gas in the world in the US...

The US? Not so much.

Sanjuro wrote:

Better start learning how to speak Mandarin.

Gorram it.