[mac-at-kearsarge]

Alright, I have no clue to what this is about, or how it came to be, But apprently the elderly folks in my town are having a gas (petrol) boycotte on May 19 to protest the rising gas prices.

I'm curious to know if this is in fact a national thing, or do the old people (My grandmother included) think they're going to have any effect on anything by not buying gas for one day?

If anyone else knows something please let me know.

[Lateralus]

What are they going to do? Pull the horse-and-buggies out of storage?

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
What are they going to do? Pull the horse-and-buggies out of storage?

um, they're not going to buy gas for one day.

[mac-at-kearsarge]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
What are they going to do? Pull the horse-and-buggies out of storage?

Well since they do still sometimes use horse and buggies from time to time, this time of year, in this neck of the woods....I wouldn't put it past them...of course, they could just buy gas on the 18th.

[Tulkas]

Yeah I bet thats going to really drive down prices. I mean the ELDERLY won't be on the road. Oh what will we do???

[selfabduction68]

These 'boycott for a day' things are stupid. Why? People buy more gas the next day, or the day before. It does NOTHING, since hte consumption of gas is still the same. If you want to make a statement and stick it to the oil companies, sell the god damn SUV and buy an efficient compact.

- Rob

[talisker]

Just fyi, you lucky cheapo-petrol Americans, just out of interest I checked out how these supposedly "high" new prices compare with two other countries I'm familiar with. The results are:

USA US$1.84 per US gallon
New Zealand NZ$1.20 per litre = US$2.70 per US gallon
UK 80p per litre = US$5.31 per US gallon

Yes, that's $5.31 per gallon. So enough of yer whining.

[Link]

Ahhh and that was the day I planned to go on a roadtrip to LA in the H2 with the 'trunk' part loaded with lead.

[SeSawaya]

it just actually hurts the station owners, not the oil companies. the gas is already paid for by the stations. being in a small town most stations are owned by locals.

I knew I should've bought 10,000 gallons when it was 99�!

[Krusty]

I can't even fathom that I paid as little as 71 cents per gallon just a few years ago. Now its in the $1.83-$1.99 range where I live. Costs me well over $25 to fill up the itty-bitty tank on my 4 cylinder truck when it used to cost me, like, 10 bucks.

Yeah, boycotting for a day serves no effective purpose other than letting someone know how you feel about it. Won't stem the total usage by any noticeable amount. Besides, how do these town elders propose to lower gas costs ?? (umm .. without invading more countries and swiping up their oil). It costs what it costs .. there's no great way to lower it without subsidizing the cost (which means, collecting taxes from somewhere else to fund the subsidy).

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by selfabduction68:
These 'boycott for a day' things are stupid. Why? People buy more gas the next day, or the day before. It does NOTHING, since hte consumption of gas is still the same. If you want to make a statement and stick it to the oil companies, sell the god damn SUV and buy an efficient compact.

- Rob

Much agreed. Plus, I find SUVs to be among the most annoying vehicles in the first place.

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by talisker:
Just fyi, you lucky cheapo-petrol Americans, just out of interest I checked out how these supposedly "high" new prices compare with two other countries I'm familiar with. The results are:

USA US$1.84 per US gallon
New Zealand NZ$1.20 per litre = US$2.70 per US gallon
UK 80p per litre = US$5.31 per US gallon

Yes, that's $5.31 per gallon. So enough of yer whining.

Why should we quit whining? Because our gas prices could be that high? They will most likely never be that high, as the market is far different in the US. Gas is expensive right now, for us, and personally, I've never thought "don't whine because we have it worse" argument held water, simply because every country has a different economy. Gas prices are a good bit higher than what they should be in the US and that's the way it is. Nobody's going to quit griping about it just because it's worse somewhere else. Granted, most of us are glad we don't pay what Europeans and others pay. Nonetheless, for our market, the price is still too high.

This isn't directed at you, just that kind of statement in general.

[Xeo]

I had just got done reading an e-mail forward from my dad on this very subject. Might as well post it here for entertainment purposes:

IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES DID NOT
PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE
OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.

AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF
OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL
COMPANIES.

THEREFORE WEDNESDAY, MAY 19TH HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT TO
THEM" DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF
GASOLINE THAT DAY.

THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY
PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WAITING ON THIS ADMIINSTRATION TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT
GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES
THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?

REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT
THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING
COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON
EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING
MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO!

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY,
WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU
KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE MAY 19TH A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS OF
THE UNITED STATES SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"!

[RGB]

Woohoo, the day I'm driving 600 miles home from college!

[Xeo]

Originally posted by RGB:
Woohoo, the day I'm driving 600 miles home from college!

Should be interesting doing that without buying gas.

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by talisker:
Just fyi, you lucky cheapo-petrol Americans, just out of interest I checked out how these supposedly "high" new prices compare with two other countries I'm familiar with. The results are:

USA US$1.84 per US gallon
New Zealand NZ$1.20 per litre = US$2.70 per US gallon
UK 80p per litre = US$5.31 per US gallon

Yes, that's $5.31 per gallon. So enough of yer whining.

I had to pay 87p per litre yesterday in a petrol station just outside Manchster!

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by SeSawaya:
it just actually hurts the station owners, not the oil companies. the gas is already paid for by the stations. being in a small town most stations are owned by locals.

How exactly does it hurt station owners if you buy your gas a day earlier or later?

Because, face it, nobody going for this "boycott" thing is gonna actually be driving any less. God forbid, that would be eco-terrorism infringing on their American Liberties�.

And why do we have this same thread every few months?

-s*

[The Placid Casual]

Last year we has fuel protests here in the UK when petrol hit 80p a litre for the first time.

Haulage owners, farmers and random militants blockaded oil refineries, and buildings of the big oil companies.

Chaos.

There was a fuel shortage, so station owners started to ration petrol before it ran out, and basically triple the price!

The whole country ground to a halt for a few days, and in short, the government and oil companies backed down and lowered prices.

Fun while it lasted.

[disectamac]

Sounds good. I'm in! I will walk to work that day. Haha, choke oil companies choke!



Better yet there should be a very well organized national choke week. Next week for a whole week, no one buys gas! Don't even take the bus! Don't use the gas stoves and take cold showers! Who's with me?

This is exactly the kind of thing we need. We would hurt oil companies so much that it would cause gas prices to come hurling down to like .30 cents a gallon.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by talisker:
Just fyi, you lucky cheapo-petrol Americans, just out of interest I checked out how these supposedly "high" new prices compare with two other countries I'm familiar with. The results are:

USA US$1.84 per US gallon
New Zealand NZ$1.20 per litre = US$2.70 per US gallon
UK 80p per litre = US$5.31 per US gallon

Yes, that's $5.31 per gallon. So enough of yer whining.

P.S. We produce almost 1/2 of our own oil...

[Eriamjh]

I DON'T buy gas 6 days a week. It's that 7th day I can't go without buying gas.

Boycotting gas for a day is stupid. All you do is buy it the next day. If I was a gas station, I would raise my prices the day after the boycot to get those people who didn't buy the day before!

[disectamac]

Originally posted by Eriamjh:
I DON'T buy gas 6 days a week. It's that 7th day I can't go without buying gas.

Boycotting gas for a day is stupid. All you do is buy it the next day. If I was a gas station, I would raise my prices the day after the boycot to get those people who didn't buy the day before!

That's why we need to do it for a week or more. So that they break down and cry, and beg.....no, offer us money in order to deplete their inventory because they can no longer afford to hold on to it.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by Stratus Fear:
Why should we quit whining? Because our gas prices could be that high?

Yes.

[willed]

Originally posted by Stratus Fear:
Why should we quit whining? Because our gas prices could be that high? They will most likely never be that high, as the market is far different in the US. Gas is expensive right now, for us, and personally, I've never thought "don't whine because we have it worse" argument held water, simply because every country has a different economy. Gas prices are a good bit higher than what they should be in the US and that's the way it is. Nobody's going to quit griping about it just because it's worse somewhere else. Granted, most of us are glad we don't pay what Europeans and others pay. Nonetheless, for our market, the price is still too high.

This isn't directed at you, just that kind of statement in general.

No, actually I recommend you do quit whining.

Prices are so high in the UK in particular because the greedy government hates motorists and loves money; therefore there are massive taxes on petrol. In the US on the other hand, prices are only going up only because of instability in oil producing regions*. There is not much Sell, BP etc can do about this, and there is even less Billy-Bob at your local petrol station can do about it. Fuel protests do have a point in the UK, because the government actually could freeze/lower duty rates, but I'm afraid the most your government can do is sort out Iraq, and that's not going to be hastened by grandpa not buying petrol for a day.


* read: because you attacked Iraq

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by willed:
No, actually I recommend you do quit whining.

Prices are so high in the UK in particular because the greedy government hates motorists and loves money; therefore there are massive taxes on petrol. In the US on the other hand, prices are only going up only because of instability in oil producing regions*. There is not much Sell, BP etc can do about this, and there is even less Billy-Bob at your local petrol station can do about it. Fuel protests do have a point in the UK, because the government actually could freeze/lower duty rates, but I'm afraid the most your government can do is sort out Iraq, and that's not going to be hastened by grandpa not buying petrol for a day.


* read: because you attacked Iraq

You couldn't be more wrong.

1) We get less then 3% of our oil from Iraq
2) The price hike is because of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) artificially inflating prices (like every year). This year it's randomly harsh.

Ever notice how when one oil supertanker sinks or hits ground oil prices shoot up by a dime etc. It's BS because that one supertanker wasn't even a percentage of a days used oil. And by adding 10� to a gallon, they could buy multiple supertankers of oil.

US Oil - production:
8,054,000 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

US Oil - consumption:
19,650,000 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil the us receives from Iraq per day
525,000 bbl/day

We get most of our oil from:
*) United States - approximately 40%
1) Canada
2) Saudi Arabia
3) Mexico
4) Venezuela
5) Nigeria

In that order. Iraq is #6

OPEC also seems to be pissed because the US is now purchasing more oil from Canada and Mexico...

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by Xeo:
I had just got done reading an e-mail forward from my dad on this very subject. Might as well post it here for entertainment purposes:

Too bad the idiots that write those things can't seem to turn off the CapsLock key.

Here in good old Canada, we have a moron who put $20 worth of gas in his car, then gave the station owner $15 because "that's a fair price" and drove off. Got lots of press, then the copycats started doing the same thing. I hope the copycat gets jailed.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by ReggieX:
Too bad the idiots that write those things can't seem to turn off the CapsLock key.

Here in good old Canada, we have a moron who put $20 worth of gas in his car, then gave the station owner $15 because "that's a fair price" and drove off. Got lots of press, then the copycats started doing the same thing. I hope the copycat gets jailed.

What an idiot.

I guess I should do the same thing for milk at the grocery stores... because you know it's the grocery store that's raking in all the money...

[dampeoples]

OK, I won't buy gas tomorrow, i'll just wait until I need it for my SUV.

[Eug Wanker]

WTF is wrong with people? A little while ago a woman was paralyzed by stray shots from a drive by shooting in my city. Few seemed to care.

Now gas prices go up 10 cents a litre and everyone is about to riot in the streets.

[typoon]

We could also lower the prices in the states by Driling in ANWR, also by repealling the 10 cent per gallon gas tax.

[djohnson]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
OPEC also seems to be pissed because the US is now purchasing more oil from Canada and Mexico...

Nice figures. Part of the reason that we buy oil from Canada and Mexico is cost and NAFTA. No tariffs and we can run a pipeline right across the border. I hope that we start purchasing even more oil from them.

[djohnson]

Originally posted by typoon:
We could also lower the prices in the states by Driling in ANWR, also by repealling the 10 cent per gallon gas tax.

It's only $0.10 per gallon? I thought it was closer to $0.39/gallon...

[GoGoReggieXPowars]

Originally posted by typoon:
We could also lower the prices in the states by Driling in ANWR, also by repealling the 10 cent per gallon gas tax.

Bollocks. If anything, each State should charge more gasoline tax, get some much needed revenue.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
Last year we has fuel protests here in the UK when petrol hit 80p a litre for the first time.

Haulage owners, farmers and random militants blockaded oil refineries, and buildings of the big oil companies.

Chaos.

There was a fuel shortage, so station owners started to ration petrol before it ran out, and basically triple the price!

The whole country ground to a halt for a few days, and in short, the government and oil companies backed down and lowered prices.

Fun while it lasted.

No worries - they're up and running with another one soon.



As for the boycotting gas for a day, it's ineffectual. Here's a better way:

Pick a particular "make" of gas (let's say Esso). Boycott that "make" permanently. Esso then have to lower prices to shift their gas. Once Esso have lowered their prices, everyone else has to follow suit or they don't end up selling any 'coz Esso gas is so cheap. And so the downward price spiral begins.

[KeyLimePi]

Doesn't anybody bother to check with Snopes on this stuff first?!

[djohnson]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
No worries - they're up and running with another one soon.



As for the boycotting gas for a day, it's ineffectual. Here's a better way:

Pick a particular "make" of gas (let's say Esso). Boycott that "make" permanently. Esso then have to lower prices to shift their gas. Once Esso have lowered their prices, everyone else has to follow suit or they don't end up selling any 'coz Esso gas is so cheap. And so the downward price spiral begins.

Good call! What is the biggest oil company? ShellTexaco??? I say we boycott them forever!

[typoon]

Originally posted by djohnson:
It's only $0.10 per gallon? I thought it was closer to $0.39/gallon...

Either way if they had a temporary repal of it or a permanent one it would help out the consumer.

[typoon]

Originally posted by GoGoReggieXPowars:
Bollocks. If anything, each State should charge more gasoline tax, get some much needed revenue.

Are you not being taxed enough by your locale?

[deomacius]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
No worries - they're up and running with another one soon.



As for the boycotting gas for a day, it's ineffectual. Here's a better way:

Pick a particular "make" of gas (let's say Esso). Boycott that "make" permanently. Esso then have to lower prices to shift their gas. Once Esso have lowered their prices, everyone else has to follow suit or they don't end up selling any 'coz Esso gas is so cheap. And so the downward price spiral begins.

Hey, that seems just crazy enough to work. Now how would you organize something like that?

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by willed:
No, actually I recommend you do quit whining.

Prices are so high in the UK in particular because the greedy government hates motorists and loves money; therefore there are massive taxes on petrol. In the US on the other hand, prices are only going up only because of instability in oil producing regions*. There is not much Sell, BP etc can do about this, and there is even less Billy-Bob at your local petrol station can do about it. Fuel protests do have a point in the UK, because the government actually could freeze/lower duty rates, but I'm afraid the most your government can do is sort out Iraq, and that's not going to be hastened by grandpa not buying petrol for a day.


* read: because you attacked Iraq

It's not because of that -- we don't get that much of our oil from Iraq itself, and we produce a fair amount of our own. It's because of OPEC. Some US states have fairly hefty gas taxes as well (see California).

FYI, oil companies here are also fairly greedy and willing to take advantage of ignorant consumers (i.e., big event happens in the media, let's raise the prices!). If any of these "protests" by e-mail could ever get organized and go for more than a day, then maybe it could actually do something back to the oil companies. But I kind of doubt that, and I doubt it would ever get organized enough for that anyway.

[wdlove]

Individuals like my wife are dependent on their car to earn a livelihood. The problem is that so far gas isn't high enough to stop divers from pleasure trips, just for fun.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Stratus Fear:
It's not because of that -- we don't get that much of our oil from Iraq itself, and we produce a fair amount of our own. It's because of OPEC. Some US states have fairly hefty gas taxes as well (see California).

FYI, oil companies here are also fairly greedy and willing to take advantage of ignorant consumers (i.e., big event happens in the media, let's raise the prices!). If any of these "protests" by e-mail could ever get organized and go for more than a day, then maybe it could actually do something back to the oil companies. But I kind of doubt that, and I doubt it would ever get organized enough for that anyway.

You may want to read my original post in this thread.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by wdlove:
Individuals like my wife are dependent on their car to earn a livelihood. The problem is that so far gas isn't high enough to stop divers from pleasure trips, just for fun.

I would be more then happy keeping gas at $2 a gal. if that money would go to local schools, fixing the roads, etc. etc.

I just don't want it going in to the pockets of the rich...

[OldManMac]

Originally posted by typoon:
We could also lower the prices in the states by Driling in ANWR, also by repealling the 10 cent per gallon gas tax.

There isn't enough oil in ANWR to make a difference; it's a short term solution at best. There is still lots of oil available worldwide. The problem is that it's getting more costly to extract. So, until we find better alternatives (which we will have to do eventually), we either drive less or we pay the higher prices.

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
You may want to read my original post in this thread.

Yeah, I just read it after replying. So I guess my post was a little redundant.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by deomacius:

Hey, that seems just crazy enough to work. Now how would you organize something like that?

TEH INTARWEB!!!11

Read the link KeyLimePi posted.

[Oisín]

Originally posted by KeyLimePi:
Doesn't anybody bother to check with Snopes on this stuff first?!

Listen to this guy - he speaketh The Truth�

Originally written on snopes.com
A boycott of a couple of brands wouldn't result in lower overall prices: Prices at all the non-boycotted outlets would rise due to the temporarily limited supply and increased demand, making the original prices look cheap by comparison. The shunned outlets could then make a killing by offering gasoline at its "normal" (i.e., pre-boycott) price or by selling off their output to the non-boycotted companies, who will need the extra supply to meet demand. The only person who really gets hurt in this proposed scheme is the service station operator, who has almost no control over the price of gasoline.

The only practical way of reducing gasoline prices is through the straightforward means of buying less gasoline, not through a simple and painless scheme of just shifting where we buy it. The inconvenience of driving less is a hardship too many people apparently aren't willing to endure, however.

See that last bit - that's the key. The only way to force the prices down is to buy less gas and, in turn, to drive less.

Edit: Parts of post redundant. Where did page two come from???

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by Ois�n:
The only way to force the prices down is to buy less gas and, in turn, to drive less.

Sometimes it amazes me that people just can't do that. Most of my driving is to work and back to home everyday, and that's because gas is expensive right now. I don't go anywhere else if I can avoid it.

[GoGoReggieXPowars]

Originally posted by typoon:
Are you not being taxed enough by your locale?

Sure. I also don't own a car, and don't plan to any time soon, unless I happen to move, and even then it would completely depend on where I ended up living.

I was talking specifically about the USA; Canada's gasoline taxes are fine where they are.

[djohnson]

Originally posted by Stratus Fear:
Sometimes it amazes me that people just can't do that. Most of my driving is to work and back to home everyday, and that's because gas is expensive right now. I don't go anywhere else if I can avoid it.

This is what I do. Drive to work 2 miles each way 2 times a day. Total of 8 miles and that is it. If we have to go somewhere else, we take my wifes car that gets much better gas mileage. Soon I am going to try and bike to work... that will save us some money and I will get some good exercise!

Oh and the biggest thing is that people need to start combining trips...