As I've always said, when the politicians fail you can always turn to god:
"Rocky Twyman of Washington, D.C., came to San Francisco over the weekend to stage a pray-in at a Chevron station. He is also calling on churchgoers to ask for God's intervention where he says politicians have failed." (story here)
Ok, I've never actually said that.
You have to find it interesting that he went to California to deride the high price of gasoline. At $3.91 it is the highest in the contiguous United States--mostly because of the special blend requirements the Berkeley Hippies insist on.
Oh, and Hawaii, how did those gas price controls work out for you? I see it got you all the way to up second highest price in the country (Alaska). I guess you can't surf past economics after all, dude.
~ US$5.00 a gallon here in Calgary for 91 octane for the Autobahn car. And it's not like we've got far to go to produce and refine it...
Posted by: Calgary Schmooze | April 29, 2008 at 11:23 PM
@ Schmooze
I'm in middle America, where oil (and prob. moreso nat gas) props up our local economy. The chariot asks for premium and I oblige at $3.65 a gallon.
I've begun to watch for changes in the driving habits of my fellow commuters and I am fairly certain that nothing has changed yet. We have not hit that breaking point that generates action.
Sitting at a stoplight in one of our suburbs, I drove slowly and counted ~60 cars in a row at that carried only 1 person, all coming from the same area. I'm becoming more convinced that people will have to be all but financially ruined and raped before they change their habits. It's a bit of a sad statement about our society.
Posted by: Nominate me | April 30, 2008 at 10:31 AM
@ Nom
Natty is ~75% of the royalty receipts in Alberta. People think it's oil here, but really, it ain't.
Your observation corroborates the ARC Financial weekly chart analysis about US gasoline use and driving habits.
http://www.1000barrels.com/
Periodically, I'll give the ride a tank of ultra premium 94 and take it for a rip. Expensive, but enjoyable.
Posted by: Calgary Schmooze | April 30, 2008 at 04:03 PM
I see the same thing out here as you guys (although when out in NJ prices are still around $3.50)...point is that nary a soul seems to change their driving habbits, just their complaint patterns. I got a txt msg earlier telling me to boycott filling up tomorrow "because it'll send 'them' (whoever 'them' is?) the message that gas prices are too high!"...a boycott which would only happen in America, sigh...
Posted by: Anal_yst | April 30, 2008 at 05:23 PM
I was visiting my parents two weeks ago and watched as gas prices rose 20 cents during a 5 day span. It wasshocking that such an increase did not cause people to re-examine their driving habits. I was quick to criticize people for not carpooling or taking public transportation.
Unfortunately, I then caught myself driving to my grandparent's house...a distance I would think nothing of walking in NYC. This action was so deep rooted and firmly estblished: "when going here - you must drive." How do you change such ingrained habits? Habits that you never think twice about?
Posted by: FYI | May 01, 2008 at 01:39 PM
Rocket fuel is running about $3.86 gallon, last year it topped out around now @ $3.65 per gallon.
In the Bay area BART is reporting an increase in ridership while the bridges are reporting a 3% drop in daily commuter traffic.
I am considering getting an electric scooter that you plug in to charge up. Great little transport for around the local town.
~SEG
Who can afford the rocket fuel... but likes the idea of a solar based energy supply for localized traffic.
Posted by: Stupid Equity Guy | May 02, 2008 at 01:01 PM