$5 a gallon of gas rant

[FourPawz]

Quote:
I wish we here in the US had access to the diesel cars you folks are able to purchase. There are a number of problems with hybrids, such as putting those huge mercury battery banks in the landfills, not to mention replacement cost. In addition, the voltage found in hybrids and electric can be very dangerous to emergency personnel if, in a wreck, the passengers are trapped inside.

Modern diesel technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Those little cars can easily get 45 mpg and the emission control in the modern diesel is light years ahead of those big older trucks we still see on our roads.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
The problem is not that we don't drill enough it's that the U.S. is 3% of the worlds population but we use 25% of the the oil. Alaskan oil as others have stated goes to Japan and China to cut transportation costs. More cars were sold in China than the U.S.
2.5 Billion Chinese and Indians are using more oil as their people become prosperous. Both countries are consuming more meat so the price of grain (as in chicken feed) is going up which is good for subsidized American farmers also helped by our devalued dollar.
Joe

 

[desertdarlene]

One of the problems I had when I went to purchase a new car is that there was an extremely limited choice regarding small, American brand cars. I only buy American brand cars. Even a lot of the foreign cars weren't as fuel efficient as I like. Hybrids were too expensive for me. None of the cars I've shopped for or seen had as good gas mileage as my Geo Metro did. It's too bad they discontinued that model. It was fuel efficient and reliable, too! I drive an Aveo now.

 

[mgw]

Quote:
The problem is not that we don't drill enough it's that the U.S. is 3% of the worlds population but we use 25% of the the oil. Alaskan oil as others have stated goes to Japan and China to cut transportation costs. More cars were sold in China than the U.S.
2.5 Billion Chinese and Indians are using more oil as their people become prosperous. Both countries are consuming more meat so the price of grain (as in chicken feed) is going up which is good for subsidized American farmers also helped by our devalued dollar.
Joe

Well, I said less dependant on mid east oil. We have lots of oil in the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, Texas, not to mention shallow water oil on the east and west coast. There is more oil naturally leaking of the coast of California than was spilled in the gulf. Also I said we are the mid east of natural gas and have more coal than most countries. We need to utalize these resources ASAP, which will further break or dependance on oil from the crazies. Not only is the waste from the electric car batteries dangerous post consumer, Have you saw pics of the mine in Canada where they are getting some of it from. There is not a living thing within miles of the mine plant or animal. Each person must make their own choices on what or how far to cut back, but I think all will have to soon.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hummm ... I'm in California a lot to visit family and there certainly isn't more oil naturally leaking than was spilled in the BP oil well catastrophe, what's your source of information?

I agree NG is an option but as I posted earlier;

T. Boone Pickins has been talking up NG for some time. But there are problems:
1) We can't walk into a dealer and easily buy a CNG car or truck.
2) Converting existing cars or pickup trucks is expensive.
3) Even though the country is crisscrossed with NG pipelines there are not enough stations capable of refilling a CNG tank.

Oil companies are not going to develop filling stations so the only way it's going to happen is if government provides the funding with the proviso that the investment is repaid.

The number of jobs created to undertake the project would be huge but don't expect the new congress to attempt anything so bold as to help struggling Americans.

As far as drilling more oil, as soon as the quantity of pumped oil is increased OPEC will cut back on its production to keep the price up.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
I know this is more of a personal thing but I did notice for some reason my single mother HAD to get a Jeep whatever new model uses petrol like it's air... and she's absolutely broke. She tells me often how she needs money so she can get petrol to go to work in her big massive SUV that she never even uses more than the front seat of.

I have a tiny little 4cyl I replaced from a v6 and since the car is smaller and weighs less it actually goes just as fast as the v6 (but slower than my v2 heeheehee) and you'd be absolutely floored what you can pack into the tiny thing!! We managed to pack my entire wedding (candles, dresses, photo gear) and 3 guests (including the photographer!) into my car. Husband and I want a 4wd, but we want it for actual country 4wding....we've got specific places my car simply can't make it to that makes a 4wd necessary for us (that and towing away all the fallen logs on the farm).

And yet, my mother is adament she needs that Jeep. All her friends have SUVs and it's bad on petrol, but it's okay because she moved closer to work to make it cheaper....... but it just seems to me if you have to MOVE to make your travel on your car cheaper.. you should probably just get a cheaper car!

...but then it IS a Jeep. heehee.

Sorry I wish I had more political stuff to contribute but it's hard for me to follow all the American stuff as closely as I want to.

 

[mgw]

There is oil leaking all over the ocean floor this is not a new concept it has been happening since there were oceans. You can convert a engine over to propane for a couple hundred dollars, It would not be much more to convert to NG. It would come down to filling stations and carrying capacity for a car.

 

[PineappleMama]

Makes me really glad I rarely drive more than five miles from home...

 

[Royd]

Quote:
The problem is not that we don't drill enough it's that the U.S. is 3% of the worlds population but we use 25% of the the oil. Alaskan oil as others have stated goes to Japan and China to cut transportation costs. More cars were sold in China than the U.S.
2.5 Billion Chinese and Indians are using more oil as their people become prosperous. Both countries are consuming more meat so the price of grain (as in chicken feed) is going up which is good for subsidized American farmers also helped by our devalued dollar.
Joe

There's another one of those, "We are such a greedy nation" statistics, which I am sick of......How much of the worlds' food supply is produced by American farmers?....You ever heard the expression, it takes money to make money?

 

[Dar]

In Canada we pay:

$5+ for a gallon of gas
$16 for a gallon of water ($1 for a 500ml bottle at the convenience store X4 = 1L X4 = 1gallon)
$4+ for a gallon of milk

The fact is we pay through the rear for everything we NEED