Dont buy gas from mobil/exxon!

reply to post by GUICE2


It sounds like you are at the mercy of your own 'convenience' and the hearsay of an Amtrak ticket agent. Why would it matter who owns the rails? Maybe you can't drive directly from your house to your girlfriend's house if you use public transportation, but I imagine it could actually be faster than driving yourself, or at least a better use of your time. Even if you took Amtrak to Wash DC on the higher speed rails, and rented a subcompact and drove the rest of the way, you still would not have to pay insurance for the times that you are not using a car.

Luxury Bus Service from NY to DC with free wifi, 50bucks roundtrip.

I don't know what to else to tell you. I have outlined methods to improve your gas mileage, explained how using less gas brings the price down, offered numerous other modes of transportation, and all you want to know is why we are at the mercy of these corporations and lobbyists. I think that is a question you need to ask yourself, some of us aren't at their mercy anymore.

DocMoreau

NO - please buy more from XOM. My stock holdings in XOM have had a nice 40+% annualized return over the last 10 years. I can't keep my NWO membership valid if the stock price tanks - come on peeps, help a brother out now..!!

reply to post by DocMoreau


We all are in some way shape or form arent we? I ask myself day after day these questions and always come to one conclusion: My life will get so much harder than it already is if i had to rent cars, take trains, ride bikes, and give up my car....when all they have to do is stop ripping people off! Thats all im saying....everything you mentioned sounds wonderful but for most people its an ideal situation and accomplishing enough of those changes wont do any good.

reply to post by GUICE2


It sure does bother me. But I don't let it affect me. There is a difference. Nobody has forced you to move to NYC away from your family and girlfriend, so I guess I don't see what you are complaining about. The prices are what they are, and in many other countries, people have paid out the wazoo for gas for years. Our country is just, unfortunately, getting caught up into supply and demand. As the entire world consumes more, the prices will rise. It also doesn't help that Bush and co., have put us into a rocky position with all the major oil producing countries in the world, either.

Things are going to get rough. Bread might actually become $20.00 a loaf do to just the transportation charges for it.

This is just a suggestion, but you might want to figure out how you will survive if you can't get any gas at all. And while you are at it, learn how to plant a garden, too.

reply to post by Enthralled Fan


Dont get me wrong....im pretty damn resourceful. Its just that i hate injustice with a passion because there is no reason behind it other than pure cruelty and greed. If i needed to i can find ways around it but NYC doesnt help with their high price for publice transportation and the threat of arrest if you dont pay for the subway. Figure that....they take our tax money, report a loss on their books and justify a raise in price.....its all BS.
Im not spoiled or compeltely stupid, i would just like to see more people standing up against every injustice no matter how small because that will prevent things of this nature from happening to our kids. I dont want my grandchildren to have to worry about the fact that they cant afford to go buy bread because gas, taxes, publictransportation etc....are too expensive. If we sever the head of the beast now, he can never return.

reply to post by GUICE2


Things will only change in this country if we all stand up in the streets and tell "them" that we are tired of being forced into these submissive social positions. Arent you tire? Arent you fed up with always having to look on the bright side for ever situation? Why cant the bright side be the only side?

reply to post by GUICE2

i've gone one step further-------since i am on a sabbatical on into retirement ending june of 2008 i've stopped driving 6 months ago---------------my car and my wifes car sit in the driveway gathering rust------i start them and charge up the batteries occasionaly just to keep them ready--------------but we have no place to go and no one that wants to see us and the store is just around the corner to walk to-----------for us THE CAR IS DEAD--------------between manufacturers prices/insurence/government licensing/and the muslims/oil company prices-----they have killed the need of the car for me-------------the sooner everyone can send them the same message the sooner they will wake up from their greed agenda.

reply to post by yahn goodey


But then that keeps us under house arrest pretty much doesnt it?
That doesnt defeat them....like i said above they will just find something else to control like water. Then they will start charging us for clean air just like in that movie spaceballs. The way i see it....until the new american revolution none of this will end. The first thing that needs to go is the unconstitution income tax. We can start from there.

Originally posted by GUICE2
Its not just about using less gas, why are we attacking this problem at the end of the line and why not find where it begins and sever the beasts head?

Here are some of the higher up members of OPEC that should be targeted:


HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri Secretary General



Dr. Ibibia Lucky Worika, Senior Legal Counsel



Mr. Abdullah Al-Shameri, Head, Office of the Secretary General


And if you want to protest them in person you can always try at the 147th OPEC Meeting 1st February 2008 in Vienna Austria.

Try to sneak in by filling out this Meeting Accreditation form and stating you are an analyst not press. Analysts just need to show their Passport whereas Press need to show a Press Card.
OPEC Meeting Accreditation Form


Bring it down!

reply to post by Zeeko


YEs but if i show up there yelling about local gas prices why would the listen? How do we make an effective argument? WE cant just say to them "Prove to us that you are not greedy and show us that price gouging doesnt exist!" I mean what are we going to say to them? They dont care about the local gas prices and that hard working individuals are getting ripped off because if they did then they would change things immedietly.
Explain though how their actions and the actions of opec directly or indirectly affect the price at the pump down the block from me??

reply to post by Zeeko


And these guys make millions probably and for what?? Am i not as hard working as they are? Its 7pm on the east coast and im still at work....thats hard working. They are probably on a yacht somewhere drinking expensive champagne planning their next price gouge.
$#^#^# Them all!!

The OPEC meetings are quite large with a large amount of press an analysts present. If you argue the fact that they are trickling out the gas supplies to keep the price steady with some intelligence people will at least listen.

When wholesale prices and supplies are improved, the pump prices do too.

Originally posted by GUICE2
reply to post by MurderCityDevil

 

Thats great and i wish my family wasnt scattered around so that i can do the same....but im not riding a bike 600miles to virginia and back when i want to see my girlfriend. Everything is connected. Its not just about using less gas, why are we attacking this problem at the end of the line and why not find where it begins and sever the beasts head? I know the price will go up and hopefully when that happens people will picket in the streets and speak up about this. Unfortunately, a revolution is the only thing that will change all of the complaints that we have which stem from injustice, no matter how small. Its just a matter of when, who and how.

Okay, two points: One: It's called AMTRAK. I promise you, it runs from NYC to Virginia. I can speak from personal experience. It runs even further if you're interested. You do NOT HAVE to drive. You do not HAVE to do ANYTHING. You CHOOSE to drive. And, as such, you have to live with the effects of your choices.

Two: It's called "supply and demand". Okay, everyone, repeat after me: "SUPPLY" and "DEMAND". That's right...now pick up your Intro to Economics 101 texts and read along. All things have what is referred to as a "price elasticity." This is the amount demand will drop if you increase the price of any good or service. For a long time, gasoline was presumed to have an "infinite" price elasticity (i.e., no matter how high the price was raised, people would still buy it). However, in the early 90's the oil companies learned (much to their chagrin) that, while gasoline did have a very HIGH price elasticity, it did not have an infinite one. As the price of gas rose, people actually DID reduce the amount of gas they bought. The good news was this caused a rise in the number of vehicles that were built and sold that were gas efficient (or, at least, MORE gas efficient than before).

Then came the late 90's/early '00s and the Rise of the Humungous SUV. Gas prices (as adjusted for inflation) actually DROPPED in the late 90's and -- lo and behold -- all the good habits people had developed when gas had been expensive went right out the windows of their Expeditions and Navigators (and don't even get me STARTED on the Hummers...) However, the people that actually took part in the exploration and exploitation of oil kept trying to tell people "Hey, look...this is a FINITE RESOURCE. It's not like we can MAKE more of this stuff." Throw in political instability (one of the CHIEF causes of the current rise in crude oil price is the conflict in the Middle East and Nigeria), a drop in the number of REFINERIES (both in the US and elsewhere), and put a major hurricane(s) (remember Katrina) that practically SHUT DOWN oil and gas production in one of the world's largest areas of refining and shipping (i.e., New Orleans) and you have... a drop in supply.

Now, Economics 101 tells us that, with a constant level of demand (oh, and don't forget, demand for gasoline in the WORLD isn't exactly "constant" unless you consider "constantly increasing") lower supply will lead to ... you got it! Higher prices. We are finally reaping what we sowed when Detroit convinced us that we all needed those 6 liter V-8 monstrosities to go to Starbucks for our morning coffee. I will admit, I look at the "record profits" that ExxonMobil has reported recently and go "hmm..." But I acquit the local service station (who, I promise you, is probably only barely breaking even) of price gouging.

Now, as I've been reading this thread, it seems to me that there've been a LOT of good ideas mentioned (i.e., take public transportation, a train for longer distance travel, a motorcycle or bicycle for local travel, etc.) But if you want to go back to the days of cheap gas...? Uh huh. Ain't gonna happen.

Originally posted by GUICE2
reply to post by DocMoreau

 

You know what comes next? Water....they will eventually find a way to control water and force us to pay the highest price for it and corporations will dominate the industry like they do for oil and gas. They already have done it with other staples of our society like education....when the price of learning an an accredited university can cost 60k, i call that price gauging.

Have you ever heard of Danone, Nestle, Coca-Cola or Pepsico? They sell, respectively, Evian, Deer Park, Dasani, and Aquafina. So there you go, the big money-grabbing, price-gouging, evil corporations already control water. But then I've never been a big consumer of bottled water, so it doesn't bother me.

As for the $60k college education...only if you insist on an Ivy League or similar degree. It is possible to get a degree for a lot less money. A state run university like George Mason can run you less than $40k (in state). Or you can do like I'm doing...take your first two years at a community college. You'll save 50% to 75% on those two years.

To be honest, the more you post, the more you sound like a whiny git who wants to have his cake and eat it too. You don't want to accept reasonable options.

Originally posted by GUICE2
reply to post by DocMoreau

 

Rely on the NYC MTA public transportation to get me places?

Um...not to be a killjoy, but I thought you might like a few real-world comparisons. I live outside of Washington DC. However, compared to NYC's subway system the DC Metro system is the joke. Let's see...


NYC: Open 24/7
DC: Open from 5am to 12Mid S-Th; 5am-3am Fri; 7am-3am Sat

NYC: 7-day unlimited ride pass $24.00
DC: 7-day unlimited ride pass $32.50

NYC: Subways go from the Bronx to Coney Island and Manhatten to Queens.
DC: Great if you want to go from the inner suburbs to DC, but intra-suburb? Don't make me laugh. And if you're talking "outside the Beltway"??? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Seems like taking public transportation in NYC is a no-brainer. In fact, several of my friends who grew up in NYC suffered a major culture shock when they moved away and actually had to GET A DRIVERS LICENSE!!! (Much less actually LEARN how to drive...)

Compared to places like L.A. (which was specifically DESIGNED to discourage public transportation) and even the "Nation's Capital" folks in the NYC area have a LOT more options available to them to get from point A to point B. Yes, public transportation, by definition, will NEVER be as "convenient" as being able to go directly to your destination. But, compared to most places in the US, I wouldn't b*tch too much about "the awful NYC subway system."

Smoke Less, Enjoy It More...

Actually, Ex On Mobile is the most environmentally responsible oil company. EOM subscribes to the Theory of the Moral Imperative To Raise Gas Prices: higher price means less consumption equals less pollution. If you are Green, you should lobby for HIGHER prices!

And join Critical Mass Bike Ride in your town.

Mobil makes very nice aviation oils. I will continue to use them thank you very much.

yeah thanks for the tip. I only buy my gas at chevron. they got techron!

IMO, the biggest lie going is this ethanol blend crap!

It's not better for your engine
It's not going to save you any money
The government subsidizes the farmers to grow corn to produce it which causes them to produce less of other crops or land for grazing.
Prices on other consumables go way up because of shortages.

We get stiffed either way and they keep us dependent on oil.

What we should be doing is demanding that new energy sources be provided instead of promised in the near future. We have some pretty intelligent people that come up with technology and then it disappears with some excuse.

On a smaller subject we forced MLB and DirectTV to give up their planned monopoly on the MLB package by rallying together and exposing them. These are billion dollar industries that were brought to their knees so to speak. We did it by bugging our governors and congressmen and any other reps that we could think of. They finally decided to earn their money for a day or two and did something about it. If we start flooding every government official we can think of with mail and phone calls I think it wouldn't be long before we see hydrogen fueling stations going up across the country. I just read today that Toshiba came up with a new super battery that charges in 5 minutes which they are going to target electric cars with. We need to push on this stuff and talk so loud that we are heard over the lobbyist kickbacks.

We have plenty of talented people on ATS that we could build a website to operate from and push the message across the WWW and right into the political offices.

Gasoline is not the future and we all know it but are we going to let big oil and big auto force us to depend on them until the last drop comes out of the ground?

reply to post by tenryuu


THe trains might be open 24/7 but 3am on a friday isnt when people need to take the train to go to work now isnt it? It takes 40 minutes sometimes on a trip that should take 10 or 12.....its rediculous. Forget you people who accuse me of whining...im speaking my mind because no one else does so. Im not asking for ideal situations, im asking for some humanism. Here is a little example: The 2 train was "delayed", which means it was stopped dead in the station with some guy looking under the train for something....everyone moved to the local track but i cant take that track because it would make me late and it didnt even go where i needed to go. So i leave the turnstiles and go to another line. They wouldnt give anyone a free transfer and forced people to pay again....and then when i asked what happens if i just go under without paying again (because i already paid for the service) i was told the fine is $65 and they might "detain" me. Detain me!?? For What?? This is the crap im talking about....and telling me that it could be worse and therefore i should stop speaking out is droping the ball as a citizen of this state. We all pay taxes, unconstitutional income taxes as well and are constantly being pushed into corners. Gas is expensive so we use public transporation but its not realiable at all and in most cases is worse than driving in traffic. So what do we do? NOthing!! The sheople just sit in the train that they have been on for the past 40 minutes delayed and say nothing about it....and why? Because it could be worse....well i say poo on that. Im speaking my mind now because the MTA is wasting our tax money especially when they have two sets of accounting books, one with a deficit and one with a surplus. "LETS RAISE THE FAIR!" They say, and then they can pay the board their precious holiday bonus'along with their inflated salaries. Its all BS and just because im the only one upset about it doesnt mean im a whiny git...whatever a git is.