C Law

Shouldn't it slow down comsumption and at least ease our way into the impending oil shortage?

If I see more people riding bikes for utility and transport it makes me feel good. I know my groceries will cost a bit more and when I have to use a car for work it will cut a bigger gash into my bottom line, but it will make me feel good to see people use cars less.

I know I am taking to the converted already, but I hope it shows other people how valuable oil is and how to use it a bit more wisely. And maybe I won't just be me and the local crazies and illegal labor pool riding our bikes around!

genericbikedude

It'll suck for rural poor. Other than that, I always smile when the price of gas goes up.

Brad M

countdown to the inevitible "it makes everything cost more" post

3, 2, 1...

CagerTools

hahaha

CommuterRun

Doesn't bother me, but the wife won't like it. Maybe I can use this to get her on her bike more.

I must admit to an inward chuckle. Especially when I'm passing a gas station and see a large boat, behind a large truck at the gas pumps. My inward thought is, "You want to catch fish? Get a bicycle, a canoe, a trailer and a pair of wading shoes."

genericbikedude

or get one of these

Brad M

minus the flag

hot damn, $75/barrel today

Roody

But of course it will make everything cost more. Really.

That's why I favor a steep tax on gas guzzling vehicles, rather than on gasoline. Use the revenues from the gas guzzler tax to build up the non-automobile infrastructure. Then, when people have decent alternatives to cars, tax the hell out of gas.

bkrownd

It won't change habits and lifestyle choices.

kc9eog

Where were all these people when gas was 90 cents a gallon during the 90's? They complain about whoever is charging so much for gas, "they are greedy" kind of talk, but the same market forces are in effect now as then. The oil companies do not have the ability to set prices. If somebody doesn't like the price of any item, find a substitute. Drive less, car pool, get out of the cage and live!

Lamplight

I think gas would have to jump a lot higher than $4 a gallon very quickly to cause most people to drive substantially less. And it would suck for those of us who can't seem to find a job any closer than 30 miles away yet can't afford to move closer to that job. About the only driving I do is to work and back, and yesterday I paid $61.50 for gas. But until I find a job closer to home I guess I'll have to deal with it.

mtnroads

That doesn't work. Once someone pays the guzzler tax - then they feel free to drive the vehicle as much as they want because gas is still too cheap, same if they buy it used and don't pay the tax at all. The best way to reduce CO2 emissions is to adopt a market-based approach and bring the cost of using fossil fuels as close to the end user as possible, which is to raise the price at the pump. Everything else is an incomplete and easily circumvented approach.

Higher pump prices cause pain for awhile but if it is known that they will stay high, end users soon figure out better and more efficient transportation choices and investments. The problem is that every time they go up, people kick and scream and beg for relief, which is the worst thing that can happen. Gas prices need to stay high to build demand for more efficient alternatives. I get so pissed when I see the Dems calling for price relief - this planet cannot take many more years of cheap oil in America.

Oh yeah, to answer the original question - $4/gal gas would be a good thing if we get there slowly. Better it go up 25-50 cents/year than overnight, or Congress will take steps to reduce the pain, like eliminating gas taxes or penalizing the oil companies to lower the price - the worst possible scenario. The market has to be allowed to work - slow and steady allows people and the auto manufacturers to adjust, and hurts the poor less.

C Law

Well we are just about there in NY for anything less than premium. Premium is already over $4.

I think the worst thing about is the 'outrage' and 'shock' you see reported. Maybe it's just the news looking for ratings and such, but are people really shocked? I can see being a bit upset, especially for the rural poor whom it will hit the hardest (as GBD said above), But outraged?

folder fanatic

I look at the present oil crisis in a series of crisises as just another warning-get alternative transit or else pay the price! People as a rule cry, scream and go kicking into the future. Then some (generally not many) will adopt another approuch and adopt a more sane lifestyle (smaller cars, public transit, walking, even bikes). Others (more of the given population) will wait until the price of oil at the pumps drops back to a more cost comfort zone and go back to sleep. Until the next time..........

cabana 4 life

its good for me. the f gas shirt we make is selling good right now. we havent sold any in the last 3 monthes, now that gas has gone up people start buying it.

attercoppe

Sure - because people (in general, not everyone) are egotistical and self-serving. They believe their "right to drive" should come with a right to cheap gas. They don't bother to inform themselves but spout whatever they've heard that supports them - the oil companies are just greedy, they could charge less if they wanted to, etc. The same people that are insulted and/or threatened by a car-free lifestyle take it as an affront that the gas companies charge them so much just to drive their car around.

Brad M

High gas prices will force lifestyle changes for some, but not in the ways we're thinking of. https://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_110231803.html

These people will give up a lot to keep driving like they are. Too many people are too far gone to think of it any other way.

thelung

I'm sure many of us who are car-free or car-lite find humor in seeing people go crazy over gas prices. I know I do. Hopefully it will encourage people to buy more efficient cars, or to seek alternatives to driving sometimes, but for the most part I just see people complaining and wasting their money.

mtnroads

That's just crazy. I can't believe people are so dependent on their cars that if gas goes up a buck they have to start pawning things. What did they thinks was going to happen? For three years now gas has been going up each summer, and dropping back only halfway in the fall - a steady annual increase. Plus with all the news about global demand and growth in China - what did they think was going to happen? Yet, they keep on buying new trucks, RV's and SUV's, and even the sports sedans have V8's now - I am sorry but I don't have much sympathy at this point. Anyone but an idiot could have seen this coming.

Lamplight

Geez, if I were them I'd sell my land yacht and buy a $2500 Civic before I'd start pawning off all my worldly possessions just to get to the end of the week. And that's not even getting into replacing the car with a bike. Gas will always go up in price over time, and eventually you'll run out of "stuff".

pharnabazos

I hope that guy's not going clipless.

AverageCommuter

I told my co-workers last year, and I'm still willing to stick by my prediction, expect gas to hit $5 a gallon by the end of summer 2006 and between $7.50 and $10 a gallon by the end of summer 2007.

The high prices aren't gouging by the oil companies (don't think I'm defending them though, I've got no use for them). They are the inevitable outcome of the current economic system. If you've got stagnant or shrinking production, but increasing demand, the prices have to go up. The production costs haven't changed, so of course it's all profit. If Joe Blow Heavy Industries is willing to buy all that they can get at $3 a gallon, why should the oil companies sell it to Joe Blow average driver for less than $3.50. It costs a lot more to make it available to millions of individual buyers than it does to a few thousand large corporate buyers. And as the supply continues to get more scarce, watch a greater percentage of it going to industry.

After all, they will just pass the increase in cost on to the final consumer. When you put it in your car, you can't pass the cost on to anyone else, unless you run a business. That's why the cost of gasoline for individual users will go up faster than any other use. Just my opinion though. What do I know.

Oh yeah, ps, I know that most heavy industry doesn't actually use it in the form of gasoline, but it's really irrelevant. It's all petroleum. No matter what form they use it in, it means less for you.

oilfreeandhappy

Everyday prices will go up, but maybe not as much as anticipated. When gas prices rose rapidly at the end of 2005, freight rail usage skyrocketed. This could somewhat buffer increases in cost of goods. And after all, isn't that something most of us want - more rail usage and more bicycle riders!

mrkott3r

well I was going to post about the prices of everything going up. But it looks like that has been done to death in previous threads so Ill leave it at that. Though being an economics student. If we dont find a solution, the economy will hit the **** as such. Australia has had growth for 14-15 years now so for younger people like myself we were too young to know what a recession is like, so we dont know what hard economic times mean. It'll come as a shock to me and lots of other people when eventually we do have a recession, or high inflation

Seggybop

where have we seen this kind of behavior before? oh yeah, drug addicts.