Gas prices (follow up from Middies thread)

[amber]

I heard on the news today that people have paid in advance to banks, I think they are called gas bank, or fuel bank, something to that affect, whereby people banked their money last year into a gas bank account, and locked in their gas price, such that when they fill up at the pump they pay X number of dollars per gallon? I wish I had heard of this last year! These people are paying for example $1.69 per gallon. How/when/where? I had no idea of this did you guys?

 

[middie]

i didn't have a clue either or i'd have done it too !!!!!!!!

 

[Claire]

Don't you think it is time for us to build communities where every day doesn't mean getting into your car? Does anyone out there realize that some day you won't be able to, and what is that going to mean to your life? Don't get me wrong, I own an F-150, and she's a bear to fill up, but I chose a community where I can walk 6 days a week. We need to start thinking about using public transportation and making it practical, or we'll all be drooling in our cups the day after we lose our drivers' licenses, waiting for meals-on-wheels to come, because there is nothing within walking distance of our homes, nothing we can do that doesn't require a car. Maybe these prices should at least pretend to be a wake-up call. Instead there are 4 Hummvees parked a block away from me. Are they insane or what?

 

[kleenex]

Well Claire, I think we will create and designe a 15,000 dollar electric car I guess by 2020 that will go at least 500 miles per charge and charge up in like 2 minutes.

 

[Claire]

Yeah, but the most efficient car in the world won't help you the day you wake up and realize you cannot drive. Of course, most people refuse to believe that there will be that day, or think that when it happens, they'll be close to dead. Yeah, I'm not stupid, I know you were writing tongue-in-cheek. Smile.

 

[Mr_Dove]

I agree wholeheartedly with Claire. Higher gas prices is really a blessing in disguise which offers SO many potential benefits to all of us.

• Encourage car buyers to consider gas mileage when purchasing a new car.
• Encourage home buyers to consider distance to work when buying a home.
• Encourage individuals to use public transportation or even walking and bike riding to get to work. again, will also decrease traffic problems.
• Encourage car makers to invest more money in researching ways to make cars more fuel efficient.
• Encourage big oil companies to invest more money into the research of alternative fuel sources.
• Encourage home builders to build "communities" with necessary services rather than just rows upon rows of houses. Sprawl is a huge problem in our country.

I don't know a whole lot about Europe but I know that gas prices are very high there. I understand that many Europeans don't even own cars. Communities are built in such a way that they are unnecessary.

Everyone in america wants to own a NEW home. And homes are so affordable that just about everyone can own a new home. Problem is that you have to live SO far away from town in many cases. I'm not sure what the average commute distance is for most people but I'm guessing 20+ miles.

Okay, I'll end my rant here before I get off topic too much more.

 

[Alix]

I live in a community that has all the amenities I need. We chose that on purpose when we were buying a home. It was more important to have an established neighbourhood for our kids than to have a NEW house. We can reno til the cows come home if necessary.

I do still need to drive though.

I was just watching the news about the bullet trains in Japan. They've had those babies for 40 years and they are so precise that their average "late" time is 5 SECONDS. Wow. Why is it that Canada and the US don't focus on that kind of transportation?

Here we are dealing with a very toxic spill of oil into a local lake. The ramifications are far reaching. It occurs to me that more efficient transportation would eliminate the need for so many petroleum products. Sigh.

 

[pdswife]

I heard on the news today that people have paid in advance to banks, I think they are called gas bank, or fuel bank, something to that affect, whereby people banked their money last year into a gas bank account, and locked in their gas price, such that when they fill up at the pump they pay X number of dollars per gallon? I wish I had heard of this last year! These people are paying for example $1.69 per gallon. How/when/where? I had no idea of this did you guys?

We did this last year with out propane tank. It worked out great. Everyone elses price went up but, ours stayed the same as when we bought it.