What to do about gas prices??????

What to do about gas prices?????
Gas is at $4.00 per gallon & projected to keep going up. I'm interested in hearing what you think our short term options and solutions are? Sure we can drill in ANWR & off the coasts or come up with alternative fuel sources but we won't reap the benefits until 10 years down the road. What can we do today? I fear that no one...Republican or Democrat...has any idea what to do. I see this as serious a threat to our country as anything we have ever faced. Who's to blame? Big oil is at the mercy of OPEC, right? Is it time to flex our muscle & just take it?
I guess I got hit right in the face with this today when my wife informed me that month-to-date we have spent $465 on gas. She drives an V8 Expedition & I have a V8 Lexus- we could trade for more economical cars but ours are paid for & we would just be switching our current gas bills for car pymts...and gas would still be $4.00 a gallon!!
Any ideas or solutions?

 

Well, someone on the right would probably tell you something like, "the markets will straighten it all out". So if you believe that then there's your answer. If you don't, then consider this: It is the goal of the elite to destroy 80% of us and oil prices are just one aspect of their plan. The other is that we're on the down side of peak oil. We can't possibly satisfy the world demand as it is currently, so one of two things need to happen to extinguish the problem. Find more oil (which is futile because while the demand is unlimited, the supply is not), OR reduce the population to dissolve demand and improve the quality of life for those chosen that will remain. The oil tycoons will not release their stranglehold on oil interests and demand will continue, raising the price until it literally starts killing off society (and it will because almost everything and anything is made of oil today). It's "incorporated" (now there's a word) into our warped world society. The problem with oil is so much more than simply gas pump prices.
Nope...no ideas or solutions. We're long past those. Too late for solutions. We should have thought about that 30 or 40 years ago. It's all over but the shoutin'.

 

Simon not sure were you live but I see folks using the car to go to the corner shop etc one thing you can do is walk when possible or even invest in a Bicycle for the short trips, saves on fuel and is good excersise

 

I was in California all weekend and the most I paid for gas was $3.23 per gallon. Hit the AZ state line coming home and it was $2.71...where do you get you figures?

 

Oil is used in every damn thing produced today. A tire on a car uses about 7 gallons of oil per tire. Heating oil, farming machinery, textiles, plastics, paper and on and on and on. Saving a trip to the corner store is much too little and much too late. Like urinating on a forest fire.

 

BO is on record advocating $4/gal gas prices so it is probably a case of easing the price up gradually.

 

Tom he was asking about what he could do so I made a sugestion, it would save him cash and also be excercise now would you care to refute those 2 points?

 

We could do that. We could also cut down the number of limos and private jets and yachts available to millionaires. We do those things...and I'll walk.

 

Better talk to Al Gore & John Kerry before you start taking away limos, private aircraft & yachts!

 

If I had a private jet, I doubt I would want to give it up. I doubt you would as well.

 

It was suggested that walking to the corner store would affect world oil supplies. I inferred that limos, personal jets, yachts might use a tad more oil than my corner store trip, meaning that it would be an insignificant and useless idea when oil is pissed away for excesses. But you're right. I wouldn't want to give it up. Hey..I would like 365 mansions, one for each day of the year (fully heated continuously). I'd dig 365 jets on standby with the engines running so I could take off instantly. I'd like them all running and refueled continuously too because I shouldn't have to decide which particular jet I am going to use in advance and I shouldn't have to be cold or have to wait for any particular one to warm up.
You see the ridiculousness? Yet you, those that think like you, and the RNC supports that mentality. But I digress.
I should walk to the corner store while lavish excess should not be restricted in any way. Yeah, it's my fault I don't walk to the corner store, not the arrogant pigs of greed and profit.

 

....yet you hate those who have attained that dream? No wonder Michael Moore is such a hero to you.

 

Actualy Tom I sugested no such thing, I was responding to his comments about how much he is paying for gas I made no mention of saving the worlds oil reserve simply that he would save on fuel and get excercise, now if you again want to try and twist what I am actualy saying be prepaird for me to do the same with what you say (and dont complain about it when I do)

 

I used to commute by bike to work every day (around 25 miles round trip) for about a year or so when I lived where it was realistic to do so. It takes a lot of commitment. The upfront costs are not as high as buying a new, fuel efficient car ...but there are upfront costs unless you have a boss that doesn't care if you make it to work on time or at all. lol

You probably shouldn't try to (reliably) do over 100 miles a week to work, and expect to make it every day on time, on an el cheapo Walmart bike. Nor on stock tires/tubes. Nor without tools and parts to fix a problem. Nor without the knowledge of basic bike repair. Nor without a good lighting system or good helmet or proper clothes for all weather. Nor without showering facilities. Nor without the packs to carry it all. Nor without a route you have the comfort level to ride. Nor without a good solid backup plan.

I would say that I saved about $1000 a year on fuel and wear and tear on the car. But, I probably had $800 or more into the bike and related gear. In my case, I already had that money spent because I biked for enjoyment anyway. The commuting was just an extension of that...and a way to justify some good gear...and to prove I could do it over an extended period of time. You could probably do it for half that cost, give or take, and still make it pretty reliably to work every day. The only weather I wouldn't ride in was ice/snow and, although I did do it occasionally, generally when it was below freezing. Obviously, the less weather you are willing to ride in, or are prepared to ride in, any monetary savings start to decrease.

Leisurely trips to the corner store are fine on the most basic of gear. As would be a very short, neighborhood commute. But fuel savings would be minimal too. Of course, the health benefits would definitely be higher than a car.

 

Simon, you have some simple choices to make here. The first and easiest one is to get rid of your large gas guzzling vehicles. You can trade them in for whatever they are worth for two used gas efficient cars with a possible small car payment that will definitely be less than what you are spending on gas each month.

Next, lower your car insurance to minimum. People can only sue you for the amount of insurance you have. Anything above your insurance coverage in damages awarded takes too long to collect and you could always sign bankruptcy if it came to losing everything due to a lawsuit.

Make absolutely sure that you've had your home appraised so that you can lower your property taxes. You'd be surprised how much less your home is worth over what it was worth 2 years ago. And if you are not able to do any of the above, read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover". It's a quick read and has worked wonders for more than just myself. Good luck!

 

Me? I dont have a limo or a jet. I just said if I had one I doubt I'd give it up. But hey if a guy can afford 365 jets and homes, who am I or you to tell him he cannot? And when I lived in Manhattan, I took the subway to work and walked to the grocery store, even though I had two cars at the time. My Grandfather took the subway to work all his life. And he was the poster boy for the right. Not really, he was just cheap. So yeah it is your fault. Do your part man and stop blaming everything on everyone else.

 

Baloney.

 

Touche.

 

Really what can you do unless you take the bus or walk or ride a bike. I have to drive to work because I work 25 miles from home so those are not really options for me.

 

Yeah but your boss appreciates it I'm sure.