No gas day?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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How many of you would join in on a way to hit back at the oil companies with one day a week being a no gas day?

How much would it make a differance to the oil companies if one day a week nobody bought any gas? And how could we start a movement to such a thing?
 
It wouldn't make any difference to them at all since we don't buy gas from the oil companies - we buy it from the retailers.
 
If everyone participated, but did not change their overall useage, the only effect would be a short backup in the production/transport cycle. It would be a temporaty aggtravation to oil companies, to be sure, but with no effect on prices.

Much more effective would be a series of no-drive days, perhaps on weekends, or permanent reduction in useage and changes in driving habits. This would also require people to change their habits, and buy-in would be much harder to get.

There is a long, steep hill near my neighborhood with a traffic signal at the bottom, with a two-lane left hand turn up the hill off a heavily travelled street. I call it OPEC hill, because of the untold wasted gallons of gas expended there as people in the two lanes accelerate up the hill trying to get ahead of the cars in the other lane when the left-turn light turns green. With the much-cursed gas price increases, I have observed no reduction at all in this behavior. I have commented sarcastically to my family as we go up this hill, "I see that gas prices are not too high yet."

Really, the only answer to gas prices, unless you want to induce shortages and rationing, is either increase in supply or reduction in demand. I have found that I can easily increase my mileage by 8% or more just by paying more attention to my driving habits. My wife this week started car-pooling with a co-worker who lives nearby. These kinds of things widely practiced would do more to control gas prices than all of the protests and complaints combined.
 
MikeH said:
If everyone participated, but did not change their overall useage, the only effect would be a short backup in the production/transport cycle. It would be a temporaty aggtravation to oil companies, to be sure, but with no effect on prices.

Much more effective would be a series of no-drive days, perhaps on weekends, or permanent reduction in useage and changes in driving habits. This would also require people to change their habits, and buy-in would be much harder to get.

There is a long, steep hill near my neighborhood with a traffic signal at the bottom, with a two-lane left hand turn up the hill off a heavily travelled street. I call it OPEC hill, because of the untold wasted gallons of gas expended there as people in the two lanes accelerate up the hill trying to get ahead of the cars in the other lane when the left-turn light turns green. With the much-cursed gas price increases, I have observed no reduction at all in this behavior. I have commented sarcastically to my family as we go up this hill, "I see that gas prices are not too high yet."

Really, the only answer to gas prices, unless you want to induce shortages and rationing, is either increase in supply or reduction in demand. I have found that I can easily increase my mileage by 8% or more just by paying more attention to my driving habits. My wife this week started car-pooling with a co-worker who lives nearby. These kinds of things widely practiced would do more to control gas prices than all of the protests and complaints combined.
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Well said, the "no buy gas for a day" thing has no effect whatsoever on the energy companies, the best way to lower your cost is to plan you driving so that you consume less.
 
Well, I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. It was a thought.

It galls the hell out of me to be gouged like this!
 
There have been internet-driven "no gas days" before. I don't know how much of the population participated, but it made no difference at all. Even if everyone boycotted for one day, the only result would be stronger sales the day before and the day after.

I haven't seen any difference in locals' driving habits here either. It does seem that there are fewer vehicles on the Interstate and perhaps fewer kids cruising at night, but both results are probably more closely tied to the fact that school has started again.

I'm planning a cross-country motorcycle trip at the end of this month. I wouldn't mind if gas went to $10 for the duration. I believe that $10 is high enough to affect peoples' driving habits, so the highways would be less congested for my ride. :)

-Bob
 
If it had any effect on the oil company profits, they'd just raise the price of gas again to compensate.

What do you think they'd do, beg you to return as a customer, and they'll lower prices $1.50 a gallon and promise never to screw you to the wall again?

It just ain't gonna happen!:eek::barf:;)
 
The funny thing is, if people started taking more local vacations, instead of running off to the big tourist attractions, it would build up local economies instead of Disneys and Las Vegases, and local prosperity is a Good Thing in itself.

But it might cost more gas, driving around the local area instead of flying somewhere else.

What is it about energy prices that upsets people so much? In the US, we are paying much less than many areas because our taxes aren't as high. This -- even with recent increases -- is why our economy is still doing well.

But gas prices are driven by different factors at different levels, and supply & demand still counts. The best way to lower prices is to increase supply, although some conservation wouldn't hurt.

You tell me how we can take the pressure off the supply end: alternate sources (nuclear!), increase domestic production, encourage new sources (Africa). What else?

Playing games with usage is good, as conservation, but it takes a long time to change driving habits. We have a gas station next to a convenience store. The big signs outside the station show gas at twice last year's prices. People still pull up outside the store and leave their cars running, airconditioning and stereos on.
 
Evil Energy companies ? NO We have created a tree hugger world where the energy companies can't buid a new oil refinery, can't drill for new oil in places like the arctic, and can't build a nucear power station !!!! We have doubled our population in the last 30 years yet we have not built a refinery in those years !!! Congress , instead of having another 'Commission" to study oil prices should pass laws to make it viable to build refineries and nuclear power plants.
 
I say pour on the Nuclear! There hasn't been a nuclear reactor built in almost as long as since the last refinery. I think it's been around 25 years. With France getting a majority of their electricity from nuclear, they can afford to thumb their noses at Arab oil. If we could gain energy independence, what a wonderful world it would be! I'm still holding out hope for fusion power, and I'm betting that's the power of the future, but not before we feel a lot more pain from the oil industry.

DD
 
I think a better way to have an impact is too pick one comapny and boycott them all the time. For instance the worst prices around me (seacoast of NH) are in general at Exxon/Mobil. The best are at a Hess. The Hess station lagged way behind everybody else in raising their prices. I would happily join a boycott Exxon/Mobil for ever movement.
 
over the necxt 5 to 10 years we are going to see a huge impact from these vehicles. The technology works, no sacrifice in performance or range, just a beautifully elegant solution to improve fule economy and reduce pollution. My next vehicle will be a hybrid.
 
The sad truth, that we are a looong way from energy independence and the only way to reach it, is through alternative and renewable source. Unfortunately, I am not saying that out of idealism or being a member of Greenpeace, but from a very simple, but thorough calculation of energy consumed and produced.

It is also a fact that the US has been a whole lot smarter in the past 20 years or so than other countries that still build on nuclear power. Nuclear power is indeed the most expensive form of energy right now, even considering the current oil prices. The generation is pretty cheap but the disaster prevention and nuclear waste storage makes it the most expensive form of energy. What this country together with China is still very bad at, is energy conservation. Not only concerning car, but pretty much anywhere, the houses that are build with evacuated double paned windows are few and far between. Even the energy star appliances are still energy hogs in comparison to the european counter parts and not to speak of heated backyard pools. Don't get me wrong, I love these luxuries (hey what I really want, is a '67 Shelby GT500) but that's what they are.

Neither do I want to say that the Europeans are better, the only reason they have all these new gagets is, because energy is so expensive in Europe that it is cheaper to put in a set of windows that are 3 times the price than to pay through one heating season with inferior windows. Due to the long standing energy price pressure in other countries, the US is about 10 years behind the rest of the industrial world with respect to the development of energy saving technology. And I really hate just saying that.
 
jackknife said:
How many of you would join in on a way to hit back at the oil companies with one day a week being a no gas day?

How much would it make a differance to the oil companies if one day a week nobody bought any gas? And how could we start a movement to such a thing?
Click to expand...


The gas retailers would LOVE it. We'd still buy the same amount of gas, of course, but nobody would buy any on -- say --- tuesday. As a result the retailers could close up shop and send their employees home unpaid on tuesdays.

I typically only buy gas once a week anyway, usually on the way home from the gym on Sunday. So, six out of seven days are no gas days for me already. I'm not yet ready to give up the seventh.
 
Ahem...for those of you who haven't attended an Economics class. :p

http://www.techcentralstation.com/090705G.html

;)

As for current gas prices, I told everyone at work to fill up their tanks the Sunday before the 'cane' hit. Only a few listened to me. Between my several cars, I have yet to drive on 'expensive' gas. It should go steadily down for the next few weeks. I have at least another week and a half of gas to use up...

Mark
 
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