Who's Responsible for Gas Prices?

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Gas prices in North Carolina have shot up from around $2.20 to $2.66 in the last several weeks alone.

Why? Are you angry? Will it affect how you might vote in November?

Thank you.

[Jerseyman4]

Thanks to everyone who voted for Bush for costing me an extra $10 bucks a week to fill up my tank.

[Snowguy716]

All the more reason to push for more public transport that runs on electricity derived from non-oil/gas sources.

And we need to find alternative fuels for cars... I know, I know.. same old argument, but we're going WAY TOO SLOW!

Will this alone affect my vote? A little bit, but now that all the candidates are coming out, I've already made my main choices.

[monsoon]

I was at a transit meeting last week and one of the officials there said there was $45 Billion in requests from municipalities to build local transit systems such as light rail, bus rapid transit, commuter rail and street cars.

Unfortunately the Bush Administration's 2007 budget only makes available about $1.5 Billion to satisfy these requests. As a result these projects will be delayed for years if built at all. In comparison, Bush is spending $1.7 Billion a week in Iraq and we still don't have any plan for getting out of the place. In other words, the money that we are spending to police Iraq, would build out every proposed transit system in the USA in less than one year.

Now you know another cost of this war mongering.

People ought to be demanding this president be impeached if you ask me.

[Snowguy716]

We need to stay the course in Iraq. We need to rid Iraq of WMDs and unify the country under a constitution that brings freedom and liberty and democracy to all Iraqis. Then we can start using their oil.

Then we need to go onto Iran. We need to topple their government and free their people from the bonds of terrorism and tyranny. Then we can start using their oil.

Then we need to attack Syria, topple their government, just to show an example to the world that we mean business.

Then we should go ahead and invade Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, North Korea, and hell.. why not Grenada? By the time we're done easily and cheaply invading their countries, toppling their governments, and then extracting oil from all said places, gas will be so cheap that Americans will vote for my party to the end of time. AND, it'll be so cheap that the revenues from oil will actually pay for it as we go! It's a dream come true!

PLEASE. This president does need to be tossed out with the rest of our stinky garbage.

[wolverine]

I'm kind of two sided when it comes to gas prices.

When I'm traveling to someplace distant, I hate paying a lot for gas. I tend to go to Chicago every other month, and that means nearly filling by gas tank completely to get there and back. Technically, it's not something for me to really complain about because it's just a trip that I regularly don't take, while commuters are spending a ton of money just to get to work. However....

If you live in a major city that does have mass transit, I'd suggest taking the train or bus.

I live in Ann Arbor, which has an urban density that just cannot possibly accomodate enough parking lots or parking structures. Therefore many residents here rely on buses, taxis, or taking the train to go to other places. I've been dealing without a car now for 3 years. Yeah, it was a tough transition, but when gas prices skyrocked I didn't care one bit. Next year my apartment gives me one parking space. I'm buying a car this summer, but I will still use mass transit, and only fill it up all the way when I go to visit my family or drive to Detroit or Chicago.

So who's responsible for gas prices? OPEC. You don't like what our government is paying for it? Don't buy it, or just accept it. Find better ways to get where you want to go. Don't live in sprawl. Walk or bike to nearby locations. Buy a fuel efficient car.

Yeah, I don't care for Bush, and yes the fact that gas taxes raise as gas prices go up is a pain, but there's not much that can be done about it. Take it as punishment for the fact that our nation is too oil dependent. We are fortunate to get gas prices this cheap as it is.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Snowguy, did you say WMD in Iraq?

Otherwise, Metro's right - a billion dollars a week would build mass transit everywhere. Maybe we should just bill those who wanted Bush's war.

[Gusterfell]

Right now the oil companies are making the largest profits any industry has ever seen. That simply wouldn't be the case if the usual excuses of supply disruptions, being unable to keep up with demand, excessive regulation, and so on had any basis in reality. This is what happens when a bunch of oilmen run the government.

[snoogit]

Snowguy, did you say WMD in Iraq?

Otherwise, Metro's right - a billion dollars a week would build mass transit everywhere. Maybe we should just bill those who wanted Bush's war.

Sounds good to me.

I think the problem isnt the war (hardly any fuel came to US soil from Iraq anyway, most of that went to France and China) but from the increased demands from China and India. The US needs to invest heavily into public transportation based on fuel sources other then gasoline. The problem is most of those those systems also use fuel to make electrical current.

I know a non-popular answer to this problem is nuclear reactors. But I think for the near-term (50-100 years) its the only answer to the world's energy problems. Nuclear reactors last much longer, and have little to no emvironmental impact as long as they are stabile. Nuclear reactors are much safer since the Three Mile Island days.

[intcvlcphlga]

One option in who's to blame that you forgot to list is SUV owners. If you point the finger at car makers, they'll pass the buck to consumers and say that the market demanded these gas-guzzling products. And, they would have a point. Consumers are, by and large, a big part of the problem. If people demanded and drove cars that were more fuel-efficient, then it would follow that there would be less demand. On the whole, there is a lot of blame to be shared by the Big 3, Washington, Big Oil, competing demand from emerging markets, consumers, real estate developers, big box retailers, etc. The only thing lacking blame, in my opinion, are gas taxes. If anything, they should be raised to pay for mass transit.

[hood]

Even the worst gas-guzzling SUV's are much more fuel efficient than most cars from the 60's and 70's, which averegaed less than 20 mpg and many Cadilacs and trucks got barely more than 10 mpg.

Also, I don't think now is the right time to make huge investments in new nuclear reactors, or any other power plants. I heard that there is a very real possibility of the first commercial fusion reactors coming online within the next 20 years, I guess they had some big breakthrough a little over a year ago at a lab in Brittain, not sure on any details though.

[Jerseyman4]

We need to stay the course in Iraq. We need to rid Iraq of WMDs and unify the country under a constitution that brings freedom and liberty and democracy to all Iraqis. Then we can start using their oil.

Then we need to go onto Iran. We need to topple their government and free their people from the bonds of terrorism and tyranny. Then we can start using their oil.

Then we need to attack Syria, topple their government, just to show an example to the world that we mean business.

Then we should go ahead and invade Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, North Korea, and hell.. why not Grenada? By the time we're done easily and cheaply invading their countries, toppling their governments, and then extracting oil from all said places, gas will be so cheap that Americans will vote for my party to the end of time. AND, it'll be so cheap that the revenues from oil will actually pay for it as we go! It's a dream come true!

PLEASE. This president does need to be tossed out with the rest of our stinky garbage.

We do not need to be the world police. Just because we are the biggest and badest nation in the world does not mean we must insist western diplomacy on every nation in the world. If the country wants to be like us, we'll be partners with them. For us at the end to take over all of the nations we fought in every war for non-renewable resources, it will not last forever. Ethanol on the other hand is renewable.

Our country would be in debt if we fought another war like we are currently doing in Iraq. Or wait, lets just print more money and make our dollar even more weaker than it is now. The Europeans love this right now, in a US currency sense. They are in our country taking advantage of the exchange rate which has helped NYC's economy over at the touristy areas (5th Ave, Broadway). Pretty soon, maybe the Canadians will be saying the same thing too.

[Miesian Corners]

Gas prices are actually low. Compare what we pay to the rest of the world and you'll see. I rented at car in Germany last summer and paid over 5 euros per litre to fill up its little 50 litre tank. That said, the Peugeot 307 gave me about 52 mpg.

[Jerseyman4]

I rented at car in Germany last summer and paid over 5 euros per litre to fill up its little 50 litre tank

Its not

[Recchia]

We do not need to be the world police. Just because we are the biggest and badest nation in the world does not mean we must insist western diplomacy on every nation in the world. If the country wants to be like us, we'll be partners with them. For us at the end to take over all of the nations we fought in every war for non-renewable resources, it will not last forever. Ethanol on the other hand is renewable.

Our country would be in debt if we fought another war like we are currently doing in Iraq. Or wait, lets just print more money and make our dollar even more weaker than it is now. The Europeans love this right now, in a US currency sense. They are in our country taking advantage of the exchange rate which has helped NYC's economy over at the touristy areas (5th Ave, Broadway). Pretty soon, maybe the Canadians will be saying the same thing too.

I think he was being sarcastic.

[Snowguy716]

Snowguy, did you say WMD in Iraq?

Otherwise, Metro's right - a billion dollars a week would build mass transit everywhere. Maybe we should just bill those who wanted Bush's war.

Oh yeah, sorry! WMD isn't the catch phrase anymore. Democracy, freedom, liberty... words that I hold dear and were integral in founding our country. And our president perverts these very strong words as an excuse for his poorly planned, poorly carried out, and now seemingly never ending war.

The Iraq war has a lot to do with gas prices, although I agree: Fast developing countries like China and India are also a very large part of it. Unfortunately the factors leading to higher gas prices are comprehensive; we can't possibly fixed all of them. We have to wake up and smell the coffee: Gas is gonna keep going up and up and up! 1.2 billion people in China and 1 billion India.. and they all wanna drive!

Like I've said we need to act: Build an extensive public transportation system with state of the art technology. I know Maglev trains aren't always feasible because of cost effectiveness, but traditional metal on metal rails can also go very fast (up to 200mph). That is extremely effective for medium distances of up to 500-700 miles. Build Maglev trains for the heaviest used routes like Boston/NYC/Philadelphia/D.C and San Fran/L.A/San Diego... when you have mass numbers of people taking it, it becomes cost effective. Amtrak has proved this time and again that they save money by adding more routes and offering services.

Cities need to start putting in commuter trains, light rail, and other heavy rail like subways. Once these systems are in place, start charging up the wazoo for commuter parking in CBDs.... how about $15/day? I know I'd be gettin' my ass on the bus.

Also, these systems need to be electrified by overhead lines or 3rd rails in underground systems. Why not introduce trolleybusses to busy routes? It's not THAT expensive to install the overhead lines, especially if you already have street lamps.

Why aren't we doing this? Oh yeah, we're paying for a war in Iraq.. for what reason is it this week?

[snoogit]

Also, I don't think now is the right time to make huge investments in new nuclear reactors, or any other power plants. I heard that there is a very real possibility of the first commercial fusion reactors coming online within the next 20 years, I guess they had some big breakthrough a little over a year ago at a lab in Brittain, not sure on any details though.

Thats just it, this oil situation will be DIRE before Fusion becomes a reality. And that lab in Britain while creating fusion at room temperature, AKA; the idea of cold fusion, is actually not a new idea, their type of fusion has been around for decades, and was first discovered in the 60s. What they did different was use a more commonly available material. It still took more energy to produce fusion then it made energy.

Fission reactors are a very good stop-gap until Fusion becomes a reality, which is really more like 50 years.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

Thanks to everyone who voted for Bush for costing me an extra $10 bucks a week to fill up my tank.

That reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw, "Tired of the high gas prices? Blame the people with W stickers on their cars."

[intcvlcphlga]

Even the worst gas-guzzling SUV's are much more fuel efficient than most cars from the 60's and 70's, which averegaed less than 20 mpg and many Cadilacs and trucks got barely more than 10 mpg.

Regardless of how cars performed before the fuel-crises of the 70s, we know more about global warming, the limits of oil and multiple geo-political confrontations related to oil, religion, cultural integration, etc. since Cadillac was building their land yachts. In spite of this collective knowledge, we have the Hummer, the Excursion, Escalade, et al, and the fuel efficiency today is less than it was in the 1980s. That's completely regressive and unwarranted in this day and age.

[snoogit]

That reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw, "Tired of the high gas prices? Blame the people with W stickers on their cars."

There are fewer and fewer on the road each day

[Gusterfell]

Gas prices are actually low. Compare what we pay to the rest of the world and you'll see. I rented at car in Germany last summer and paid over 5 euros per litre to fill up its little 50 litre tank. That said, the Peugeot 307 gave me about 52 mpg.

This is absolutely true, and is largely due to the fact that our government gives massive subsidies to the oil companies. European countries instead subsidise alternatives like public transit and alternative energy sources. It is much more expensive to drive there, but driving isn't the necessity to Europeans that it is to most of American society.

[hood]

Mass transit is not a viable alternative for most people and never will be. For mass transit to be truely viable you have to be in a very dense area, one of at least apartments and townhouses. The only real option is to pour money into alternative fuel research, as hybrids and electrics aren't exactly ideal either. I think the only long term option is hydrogen, unless batteries improve immensly sometime very soon.

[PghUSA]

I voted for "oil disruptions" but really WE are to blame . . . I have not bought even a drop of the stuff since November of 2004. I do realize that for some people that's just not an option and also even if the consumer market dropped off you still pay for oil in the price of goods at the grocery store (to ship them there). Still though if even 25% of Americans gave it up the price would drop immeasurably.

I would love for the American people to dedicate themselves to natural choices like Hydrogen or Biofuels.

Check out what Charris Ford has done in Colorado or these sites:

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/makeit.php

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/veg...le_oil_fuel.php

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/drbdiesel.php

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/resources.php

If no one bought the cancer causing crap they'd give it away as a loss leader for the twinky we buy.

[dimebag1980]

Thanks to everyone who voted for Bush for costing me an extra $10 bucks a week to fill up my tank.

Just curious, when a liberal Democrat is in office in '08 and the gas prices are as high or higher, are you still going to try and blame Bush somehow, even though he'll have as much control over gas prices then as he does right now (absolutely none?) The President who will be in office at that time, whether it be another Republican or Hillary Clinton, will not be responsible for the gas prices either.

Gas is just as expensive for me, but the President isn't where the blame should fall. It should fall on all our shoulders, as we've allowed ourselves to become so dependant on it.

[dimebag1980]

I would love for the American people to dedicate themselves to natural choices like Hydrogen or Biofuels.

I would love that as well. The problem is, these alternative energy sources aren't as easily accessible to everyone as is gasoline. When that changes, I think you'll see a shift. But until then, it will be the same struggle and the same blame game.