Gas Prices

[SpiraLethe]

Puh-lease, don't moan about your prices.

Yeah, but the average American drives a lot more than most people around the world. The way most American cities and towns are set up makes it necessary, as well.

Last fill up I had was $2.49. And I'd take more public transportation if our system was more efficient (late buses, not enough stops, etc). I already take the bus to school half the time. I'd do it more if the bus didn't suddenly stop coming to my stop for several hours in the evening.

[Paul]

Puh-lease, don't moan about your prices.

Yeah, but the average American drives a lot more than most people around the world. The way most American cities and towns are set up makes it necessary, as well.

That and American cars aren't as fuel economical as Japanese or European cars.

[DM was on fire!]

Tell that to the girl who's parents drive two cars from 1989. We'd be losing money if we bought new cars.

[Light]

Tell that to the girl who's parents drive two cars from 1989. We'd be losing money if we bought new cars.

Well, with the hydrogen car expected this year, or next year. Help might be on the way. But it is up to the customer to buy a "hydrogen" car from GM.

[Skynetmain]

Tell that to the girl who's parents drive two cars from 1989. We'd be losing money if we bought new cars.

Well, with the hydrogen car expected this year, or next year. Help might be on the way. But it is up to the customer to buy a "hydrogen" car from GM.

Hybrid, solar, hydrogen, as long as the costs are competitive, the people will buy. According to an interview on a Modren Marvels on cars, one of the engineers behind some of the recent car tech believes that multiple fuels (gas, electirc, hydrogen, ethanol, biodiesel, etc) are the best option right now.

[SpiraLethe]

Puh-lease, don't moan about your prices.

Yeah, but the average American drives a lot more than most people around the world. The way most American cities and towns are set up makes it necessary, as well.

That and American cars aren't as fuel economical as Japanese or European cars.

I drive a Japanese car. 30+ miles to the gallon. If I was driving anything else, I wouldn't be able to afford it.

[neobeth]

was $197 two weeks ago
today its $2.38

"they" are blaming this increase on a shortage of ethanol

[Kugetsu]

Eh, it went up to $2.55 since two days ago.

[Alex]

You guys should stop whining ;P It's $1.25/L here at the moment.

[minalover]

Let's see... I filled up yesterday at 2.47 a gallon. Pretty cheap, compared to normal. It's in the West... go westerns.

[theonlysaneone]

Hah! We're not even above $2.10! Sometimes it pays to live in the oil capital of the U.S. [Alaska?]. Also, for those of you who have crazy prices, it's probably because you have crazy taxes. Blame your elected officials.

Got ya. I'll apply your theory in the top down approach: President, Senator, Congressman, Governor, State Senator, and Assemblyman. (All but two are Republican). If they funded more alternative fuel programs like they promised, then gas prices would drop to stay competitive. I'm just another scientist waiting for our Hydrogen Economy.

Anyway, I would rather all of the extra cost for catalysts that help remove all of the pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels than have all of those nice pollutants wafting through our cities and towns and schools and parks and daycare centers. Best part about the high prices is that it encourages more public transit. The US needs higher prices like in Europe and Japan to force us to use more public facilities. (Don't mind my public transit kick. I just feel that we need a light rail or at least better bus service on the Central Coast )

Yeah, we got a light rail a couple of years ago. NOT a good idea. Nobody uses it, and it hits someone every week. Someone got national attention when he was hit by the light rail, picked up in an ambulance, then the ambulance was hit by the light rail. Luckily he survived. Anyways, people like their cars. I would much rather drive down the freeway listening to music over the radio than sit in an uncomfortable subway seat next to some smelly hobo.

[scarletsiren]

Pffft, it's 2.83 here

[Skynetmain]

Yeah, we got a light rail a couple of years ago. NOT a good idea. Nobody uses it, and it hits someone every week. Someone got national attention when he was hit by the light rail, picked up in an ambulance, then the ambulance was hit by the light rail. Luckily he survived. Anyways, people like their cars. I would much rather drive down the freeway listening to music over the radio than sit in an uncomfortable subway seat next to some smelly hobo.

Sacto Light Rail is great. A lot safer than yours sounds. Very clearly marked tracks that run down the middle of the street so that you have to walk through heavy traffic to get hit by one of our trains. Guess it varies by the area, and the intellegence of the locals not to walk in front of it.

Oh well. Fuel reserves will be gone soon enough and gas prices won't matter. Public transit is the way we should go, but some people just don't listen to science or reason.

PS: I think I found our area's highest at US$2.79/gallon. Less than 3 km down the road, it is US$0.12 less. It is obviously raised so high since it is the last stop before a 10min trip up hill to the next town and because it is next to a high school and they know they can bilk the students that don't know any better. Sigh. This time last year, the price would be 2/3 that tops. Sigh.

Last edited by Skynetmain on Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

[endeavourl]

Let's see... I filled up yesterday at 2.47 a gallon. Pretty cheap, compared to normal. It's in the West... go westerns.

$2.31 here on the east coast for regular

My parents drive a prius, which gets about 36-40 mpg compared to my camry that gets maybe 24 mpg. Dunno though, cant stand the prius and how it only has one gear (takes the fun out of driving)

Oh well. Fuel reserves will be gone soon enough and gas prices won't matter. Public transit is the way we should go, but some people just don't listen to science or reason.

Agrees. Think some companies are working on a plastic/organic combination solar panel that would provide hydrogen from the sunlight, and would solve the problem of having cheap hydrogen for when hydrogen cars come around. Too bad we dont spend enough money on developing things like that.

Also, we have the technology right now to build high speed neutron reactors that can run off of the nuclear waste rods that current low speed nuclear reactors make. Using sodium as a coolant, and creating the plants underground with the proper safety measures, there is almost no way that the plant would even get remotely close to a meltdown state (the biggest threat would be a sodium fire). This would mean energy sources for the next 750 years or so, creating nuclear waste that will degrade to non-radioactive substances in 500 years, instead of the current 10,000+ years for current nuclear waste. Too bad people in the US think nuclear plants are the devil, and I dont think that it would be politically possible to build these plants anytime in the near future.

[Skynetmain]

Oh well. Fuel reserves will be gone soon enough and gas prices won't matter. Public transit is the way we should go, but some people just don't listen to science or reason.

Agrees. Think some companies are working on a plastic/organic combination solar panel that would provide hydrogen from the sunlight, and would solve the problem of having cheap hydrogen for when hydrogen cars come around. Too bad we dont spend enough money on developing things like that.

The problem actually goes back to the Industrial Revolution. Big Oil has had a finger in every campaign since then, which is why even the most scientific and eco-conscious leaders could only give half-hearted promises to new technologies. We need more true scientists running the world.

Also, we have the technology right now to build high speed neutron reactors that can run off of the nuclear waste rods that current low speed nuclear reactors make. Using sodium as a coolant, and creating the plants underground with the proper safety measures, there is almost no way that the plant would even get remotely close to a meltdown state (the biggest threat would be a sodium fire). This would mean energy sources for the next 750 years or so, creating nuclear waste that will degrade to non-radioactive substances in 500 years, instead of the current 10,000+ years for current nuclear waste. Too bad people in the US think nuclear plants are the devil, and I dont think that it would be politically possible to build these plants anytime in the near future.

Thank you! We must have had the same or similar physics teacher, or at the very least with a minor education in science. We learned the very basics of building reactors and that is the exact kind of reactors we have to be building. Just the waste from one year of operation at our local plant could power its core for eternity if it were a breeder reactor.