I think I'll start walking more

[Glenn]

Last weekend I went to New Orleans to see a show, and I noticed when I got there that gas prices were about 15 cents more than what they were in Baton Rouge. I was thinking, "damn New Orleans is expensive. I thought the cities would have cheaper gas prices." The reason for the second thought is because when I go back to my hometown, which is small, the gas prices are always higher than here.

Anyway, when I got back to Baton Rouge, I started looking around and noticed that gas prices were the same as they were in N.O. Then I thought, "was there some convention recently where some people decided that gas was too cheap?" Then, a few days ago, I noticed that the prices had gone up another 5 cents or so everywhere. Now we're up to $2 a gallon! I know this may not sound bad to many people, but I've never paid more than $1.80 until recently, and I can remember when gas cost $0.78. That was only seven or eight years ago.

So I'm curious, how much are you paying for gas where you live?

[Dutch Baka]

after converting from liters to gallon... and euro to dollar.... i come up to

2,44 a gallon

this is in netherlands.. gas, and fual are pretty expensive in here,, better is to drive with the car to belgium or germany when you live near the border,, save u up to 20 cent a litter sometimes.... 1 gallon = 3.78 liter

[Mike Cash]

Regular is running about 111 yen per liter....but that was a couple of days ago. God only knows what it is now.

[bossel]

after converting from liters to gallon... and euro to dollar.... i come up to
2,44 a gallon
this is in netherlands.. gas, and fual are pretty expensive in here,, better is to drive with the car to belgium or germany when you live near the border,, save u up to 20 cent a litter sometimes.... 1 gallon = 3.78 liter

Germany is pretty expensive as well. Maybe you miscalculated?
Formula: price (€) * 3.78 * 0.75 (€/$)

Where I live normal gas costs 1.11 €/l (~ 3,15 $/gallon), Diesel is at 0.98 €/l (~ 2.78 $/g).

My car needs Super, which is at 1.13 €/l. Quite some money for a poor student. Therefore I most often use my bike or public transport (which is free for university students).


Edit: Just noticed, there is a place in the US where gas is actually almost as expensive as in Germany: Beverly Hills, CA

[Glenn]

Wow. Maybe I should be grateful, then. It looks like the prices I'm paying are among the cheapest in the world.

[cicatriz esp]

Beverly Hills, CA[/URL]

I saw it here today for $3 a gallon. High octane, but still.

[TwistedMac]

yeah, Americans are spoiled concerning gasoline prices..

In Sweden it's about 3$/g at the cheapest places.

Which makes us annoyed when we hear Americans complaining about a 5 cent raise on your 1.80$ >_<

I once had a guy complain to me about how expensive gasoline was in America in an IRC session. He said it was probably among the most expensive in the world..

No.. no it's not.. you have very beneficial import deals ("negotiated" with the Iraqians and the other people down there) so the rest of us have to pay a bit more :P

[Glenn]

Yeah, I was wondering how it happened that gas is so cheap here. Man, it still feels wierd calling it cheap.

I know mikecash drives a lot, because he's a truck driver, but how about everyone else? Do you try to walk anyplace you can? Do you use public transportation often? Do you carpool? Do you even own a car? Maybe it's just because of my circumstances, but I would imagine that if I had to pay $3/gallon I would be doing all that I could to drive less.

[Mal]

Glenn -

American Gasoline prices are the cheapest in the developed world. Hell in some places they are actually cheaper (when adjusted for captia income) than in places that actually produce oil.

The reason for this is because we buy oil abroad, but refine it all here in the USA into gasoline.

Also the price of oil is currently pegged to the US dollar. This gives us a huge advantage in purchasing when compared to other countries. However the Bush administration is squandering this by continually weakening the dollar through irresponsible fiscal policies. There has been a lot of talk about switching from the dollar standard to the euro by OPEC. I think its pretty much inevitable unless we do a 180 here in the States on our economic policy. If this happens, you can pretty easily expect gasoline prices to rise to nearly double overnight, then probably settling down to about a 30 to 40% increase for the long term.

Scary huh?

[Wataru]

Eugene Or- 1.90 a gallon

use bio fuel!

[Glenn]

Glenn -

American Gasoline prices are the cheapest in the developed world. Hell in some places they are actually cheaper (when adjusted for captia income) than in places that actually produce oil.

The reason for this is because we buy oil abroad, but refine it all here in the USA into gasoline.

Also the price of oil is currently pegged to the US dollar. This gives us a huge advantage in purchasing when compared to other countries. However the Bush administration is squandering this by continually weakening the dollar through irresponsible fiscal policies. There has been a lot of talk about switching from the dollar standard to the euro by OPEC. I think its pretty much inevitable unless we do a 180 here in the States on our economic policy. If this happens, you can pretty easily expect gasoline prices to rise to nearly double overnight, then probably settling down to about a 30 to 40% increase for the long term.

Scary huh?

Thanks for the info. So the US is the only country that refines oil into gasoline? I wonder why that is. And yes, that is scary. I like being spoiled.

[Mal]

We're not the only country that refines oil into gasoline, but we have one of the largest and most efficient refining and distribution networks in the developed world. Probably the best flat out. Obviously this is because we consume about a quarter of the oil the world produces each year.

The refining network, the distribution network, the shipping network and the price of a barrel being pegged to the US dollar all contribute to the overall low price we see on gasoline products.

It's really a combination of things. Really, when it comes to exploiting a natural resource everyone knows us Americans are the best at it >< (dubious distinction I suppose, huh?)

[Pachipro]

Price of Crude Oil Today Hits $70/barrel

Well how does everyone in the US feel now that gasoline is pushing $3.00/gal (3.7L) and in some places surpassing it? It is really taking a toll on some families who live paycheck to paycheck and I think it will be severly reflected on the economy in a few months as people are buying less and less of other things in order to pay for their gasoline. I think the American economy will begin to collapse by the end of the year because of it. It is estimated that the majority of families are now paying more that 10-15% of their disposable income on gasoline.

People overseas laugh at us for complaining about the price of gasoline here and crying because it has doubled in the past year, but they must remember one thing. Here in the US, outside of the major cities like Chicago and NY, there is absolutely no public transportation in order to get to and from work so people are forced to drive. I would love to take the train or bus to work instead of having to drive 40 miles one way, but there is no public transportation for that. Carpooling is out of the question as most people work different schedules and not everyone can go home at five o'clock.

I would love to walk to the store or ride my bicycle in order to do my shopping, but it's impossible as the nearest store is 5 miles away! The same goes for almost every area of this vast country. We are forced to drive for the simplist of things.

In Japan I never needed a car, even to get to the most remote of places as the public transportation system was so good and vast. I hear it is the same way in Europe and other countries.

So before one judges Americans for being cry babies about the price of gasoline here, please understand that in the US a car is a tool required for everyday existance, not a luxury item as in other countries.

A few questions for those outside the US?

What is the price of gasoline in your country?

Has it also doubled in the last year? I think not although it shoud have if ours has doubled.

Has the US been the only country to experience the doubling of gasoline in the last year?

[Glenn]

I recently heard that we in the US actually pay more for gas than anyone anywhere else in the world, because before we ever get to the pump our tax dollars go to paying for the infrastructure of refineries and pipelines, and after all is said and done we actually pay $7/gallon (although with the recent increase in prices it's probably closer to $8). On the other hand, Japan and countries in Europe can use their tax money to fund social institutions, because they basically suck off of the teat of the American oil producing machine. I only have one source for that, but he was a scientist talking about alternate fuel sources on NPR, so I lend him a lot of credibility.

Speaking of which, it seems as though these high gasoline prices could be the impetus for finally pushing American car companies to produce cars that run on alternative fuels, like hydrogen, as Japanese (and I believe European car manufacturers) have been doing for a while. If that is the case then I certainly welcome the high prices, as gasoline has been an outdated source of fuel for years now, and has caused lots of tensions and instability in the world. I don't think we'll be fighting wars for control of the hydrogen supply, if we ever make it to that point.

Also, I believe the spike in oil prices today is mostly due to the effects of Katrina on the Gulf Coast. There are refineries down there, and there condition after the storm will be a big factor in gas prices, I'm sure.

[donpaulo]

Last time I checked people choose where they live. So if you live in an area where you MUST drive, its because you chose to live there. So I don't have any real sympathy because it was a choice to rely on gasoline as your preferred method of transportation. When I choose where to live I usually factor in mass transit. One time I lived in an area where it was inconvenient to use the trains, and I hated it. Walking to your car every morning really is part of the problem and I felt I didn't want to blindly make the problem worse by driving everyday.

The next issue would be which vehicle you drive as over time that with better mileage will help to cut down on costs. If you drive a beast that inhales gas, once again it was free choice.

The facts are that gas is a limited resource, that too many people just take it for granted and now must pay the piper. My advice is to look the devil square in the face, pick your poison and make the best of it.

The amount of money spent on road building in the US could easily have constructed a mass transit system. But the system is built on making more roads for cars, and not more mass transit.

I wonder how high the price will go before folks choose to abandon the old ways and seek out alternatives ?

Carpooling is ALWAYS an option. It isn't an option if you choose to NOT make it an option. OR one could always just put more gasoline in your car and continue to deny that the world is changing.

[donpaulo]

pachi, 5 miles is actually not that far to bike. I used to commute more than 10 miles a day to work by bike.
OR carpool your shopping runs.
Splitting the cost of your supermarket runs effecively means the price of gas is cut by 50% right ?
I understand you don't like high prices, but the facts are that the market will bear them. In fact I would expect to pay MORE in future, not less. So the sooner you start pooling, conserving the better neh ?>