Is it time to boycott OPEC yet?

What will it take for prices to go back down, Should we boycott? From now on I will buy nothing from the gas station but gas. Soon as they no longer make money maybe they in turn will refuse to buy the gas. Sure for some time things might be hard but soon OPEC will cave! BEGIN THE BOYCOTT NOW!!! FART ON OPEC!

Read:

U.S. Gas Prices Hit New Record High

Mar 28, 8:07 PM (ET)

By TIM MOLLOY

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gasoline prices across the country climbed another 3 cents in the past two weeks to a record-high average of $1.80 per gallon for all grades, according to a study released Sunday.

There is little chance of prices falling significantly in the near future, because increased demand will likely result from an improving economy, Memorial Day travel, and even the extra hour of light from daylight savings time, said Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations nationwide.

"The demand push this time of year is adding to supply tightness and therefore price," Lundberg said. "I don't see any recipe for substantial gasoline price cuts anytime soon."

Friday's average price surpassed the record of $1.77 set in the last Lundberg Survey, conducted March 12. But when adjusted for inflation, pump prices remain well below levels reached in the early 1980s.

Even if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decides at its meeting Wednesday to cancel plans to reduce oil production April 1, growing demand makes it unlikely prices will fall much, Lundberg said. Worldwide demand for crude oil is increasing along with U.S. demand for gasoline, she said.

Gasoline prices are up 29 cents per gallon nationwide since late December, Lundberg said. The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.77 per gallon for regular, $1.87 for midgrade, and $1.96 for premium.

Gasoline prices usually rise between March and May as refiners temporarily shut down their plants to prepare for the peak summer driving season, when special clean-burning blends of fuel are required.

Adjusted for inflation, the current price fell short of the record set in March 1981, when a gallon of gas cost the equivalent of $2.85 in today's dollars, Lundberg said.

where do you think gas stations make their money? from the gas... not what's inside. if you really want to boycott, ride the bus, walk, or bike to where you need to be.

You must not live in the US...

Our states are the size of most nations, and a lot of us work more than 20 miles from our homes.... If not buying gas, I suppose you have a better answer??? No? Didn't think so... Boycotting oil is pretty much like asking someone to boycott oxygen or water......

Originally posted by Gazrok
Boycotting oil is pretty much like asking someone to boycott oxygen or water......

True. If we Boycott oil then we're pretty much screwed. Unless you have an alternate source for obtaining oil, it aint gonna happen.

I wish we had Hydrogen power.

Lets get on it right now!

[Edited on 28-3-2004 by MrJingles]

Why do you think oil prices are rising? amonsgt the reasons i'm sure the fact that OPEC are pre-dominantly Arab nations (if not arab certainly islamic) and in case you havnt noticed, the west isnt generally liked by these countries... especially America...

boycotting them would only weaken our countries and strengthen their power

OMG! How I would love to pay $1.87 for midgrade right now! How do they get those figures. Here in So. Cal it been over $2.00 for months and at least $2.13 for the last month. Finally I saw $2.17 today....... Im talking the cheapest grade too!

While it would be nice to hit em where it hurts, I have the feeling that a boycott would hurt us more than them.

If I decided to quit buying gas. I'd lose a couple hours of my time a day riding public transportation. Either I sacrifice money making hours or my free time. The revenue's collected by the local & federal government in the per gallon gas tax would eventually hurt them & they would have to come up with a new revenue stream & or sacrifice services.

There may be a way to do a coordinated boycott of a specific company (as has been suggested), that own both the refineries & stations. That would be complicated though because there are many generic stations that we'd have to know where the fuel was coming from. Also, it would be important not to hurt the mom & pop folks as well. We would almost have to create a list of stations.

I do realize that opec controls the price of crude, but from what I've read, that the actual price of gas is manipulated more by the refineries than OPEC. That type of boycott might hurt a refinery & or a specific supplier, but the oil would be sold anyway & thus if your idea was to hurt OPEC that would not work.

While I'm sure there's several different business models for gas stations I would like to know who actually owns the oil refinerys & who owns the gas stations. Then maybe we'd have a clearer picture of what's happening instead of so much speculation & bs.

Maybe a chart of where the oil comes from who, sells it to who and so on. What is really important is who are these people, how much do they get for what they contribute etc. We all know the shell (not oil) game played by companies that own companies who own companies. I don't have a problem with folks getting rich for making good choices, but I do have a problem when it gets to the point of manipulating world economies and we don't even know who they are.

BTW - I have friends in the oil business on the extraction side & they have nothing to do with the price of crude, but they're more than happy when they get paid more for it. Some fields cost much more to retrieve the oil then others and as the price goes up it & technology for extracting the oil gets better it allows for oil production on fields once considered dead.

In my opinion using less oil will just result in higher prices in the long run and will only help them extend their wealth and control over us.

The only hope lies in alternative sources of energy such electric cars that can be powered by batteries that have been charged with solar, wind, water etc.

On the other hand. Gas has been more expensive in the past than it is today. With the exception of a few places gas is more expensive in most places in the world and many double & triple of what we pay today.

Those who own the land the oil is on can charge whatever they like. Why do they have to all be bad guys & terrorist just cause they got a good gig going. Do you think it would be any cheaper if we owned all the oil? Maybe for us, but we'd still charge the rest of the world what we could get.

Demonizing OPEC is not the answer, I doubt they have much if anything to do with what's happening in the US today. The get stinking rich quick culprits who manipulate the energy market are the demons, but they are well hidden by their counterparts in the corporate controled media.



[Edited on 30-3-2004 by outsider]

i heard it was the fault of refineries that are the cause of low oil.

if thats true, its either to have an excuse to make an excuse for power play in mideast or to push reasearch in alternate energy. or both, but i think its just the first one.

It's a Catch22 situation.

If Western nations boycotted OPEC oil, the Arab states would be totally screwed. They have no income apart from oil money. Their economies would rapidly collapse and their governments probably wouldn't be far behind.

The problem would be - what would fill the power vacuum?

The West, on the other hand, relies on oil to keep it's economy going. Though it's downfall would probably take longer, it would eventually grind to a halt too.


There is a major problem with creating new fuel types and turning away from oil. The West could survive, but the Middle East would collapse. As the friendlier (to the West) Middle East states rely on oil money to keep them in power, our money is vital to their survival.

If you think that the Middle East is unstable now, imagine what it would be like if there were no money at all being pumped into the region.