Future of Gas Prices

[bladerunner]

I realize there might be other topics out there on gas prices, but I read an article that kind of gave me pause:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/should-we-want-gas-prices-to-be-higher-or-lower/253643/

Quote from Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu: "we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe" to make Americans trade in their "love affair with the automobile" for a marriage to mass transit.

I don't think this is a big secret and I don't generally go in for conspiracy type stuff. But I read this and feel like it is an attack on a way of life.  Not to mention the potential costs of nation-wide mass transit. I would just assume automobile production continue to evolve into a greener industry than let that happen.

Incidentally, it is possible we could be facing around $5 gallon gas.  I will still be driving my squarebody despite it all.

[Lt.Del]

Government has gotten out of hand.  Politicians force their opinions way of belief onto their constituents.  Is that why we hired them? They have too much power.
On a state level, the Va governor is going to pass a law requiring ultrasounds to those about to undergo an abortion.  Forcing his personal beliefs, not what the supreme court declared in Roe v. Wade, onto his constitutents.  What medical benefit is an ultrasound prior to aborting?   Too much power.
If the person you mention says they need to increase gas prices to more people would use mass transit, that IS a consiracy, but the crazy thing is, they don't think they are doing any wrong. That is how much power they have garnered.  I wonder if this person takes mass transit.  I doubt it.

[bladerunner]

Actually Steven Chu is Secretary of Energy, so I typed that wrong.  Anyway, the quote is a few years old (2008).  But if you convert European gas prices and measures from liters to gallons, we would be looking at $7-9 a gallon.

http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4ec2cf96eab8ea5e62000013/chart-gas-prices-in-europe-and-the-us-nov-15-2011.jpg

I say keep making Priuses (Prii?) or EV cars and let the pent up demand for fuel drop and let those of us who like internal combustion vehicles keep buying gas.

[bake74]

I realize there might be other topics out there on gas prices, but I read an article that kind of gave me pause:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/should-we-want-gas-prices-to-be-higher-or-lower/253643/

Quote from Secretary of the Treasury Stephen Chu: "we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe" to make Americans trade in their "love affair with the automobile" for a marriage to mass transit.

I don't think this is a big secret and I don't generally go in for conspiracy type stuff. But I read this and feel like it is an attack on a way of life.  Not to mention the potential costs of nation-wide mass transit. I would just assume automobile production continue to evolve into a greener industry than let that happen.

Incidentally, it is possible we could be facing around $5 gallon gas.  I will still be driving my squarebody despite it all.

       Yes and yes.  The goverment will try to force us into mass transit.  In Cal. this year It will hit $5.00 a gallon in some area's.  In Sac. it is already up to $4.15 at some pumps and the warm weather hasn't even hit.

[Grim 82]

We will see outrageous gas prices because:
The US dollar is being rapidly devalued, which makes it seem like the commodity price is going up because it takes more dollars to buy the same stuff this year than last year. The supply is controlled and when strategically manipulated can raise the price of the commodity. Everytime somebody that lives an an OPEC nation has a bad day and it makes the news the stock market takes a dump and the price of gas goes up.

We will have mass transit, and the sales pitch will look like this:
We need to reduce our dependance on foreign oil (even though have plenty of our own), we need to defeat manbearpig (Al Gore's imaginary friend global warming, or cooling, whatever it's called this week) and we need to create jobs (TSA jobs because it's not fair that they only get to fondle people that travel by air, they need to invade the privacy of every person regardless of their preferred mode of transportation), and boost the economy (by spending trillions more dollars that we don't have, further ruining the purchasing power (see above) of the dollar).

Or the Mayans could be right and none of this will matter too much anyway.

[gto109]

I do not live in a city or will I ever live in a city.  There is no mass transit where I live unless you count the 4 taxis here.  Do these stupid people forget that most of America is rural areas and small towns not the big cities?

[Cody1018]

Gas is already creeping its way up to 4 dollars a gallon here. At 3.76 so far. Up from 3.40 something just a week ago<---Insane! I found this article that kinda shoots down the prius idea.

http://onemansblog.com/2007/03/27/prius-outdoes-hummer-in-environmental-damage/

Just goes to show that gas vehicals are cheaper to put on the roads and last longer than these hybrid cars.

[DnStClr]

Mass Transit in our neck of the woods-

[gto109]

bwhahahahahaha I live just outside of Amish country.  I'm used to seeing horse and buggies but those things would defiantly make ya think about passing them then.

[DnStClr]

We used to live near Holmes County in Ohio- another big Amish center.
Mules are an incredible animal. Much smarter than a horse and will outwork a horse too. Perfect for mass transit. haha

[bake74]

Mass Transit in our neck of the woods-

     Don't laugh, one day we all could be back riding in wagons.   ;D

[78 Chevyrado]

I'm not surprised at all by this.  My truck will still be mine and riding the roads.  All the politicians need to ditch the limos and ride around in prius' anyway.  Lets get a law passed to that affect.  or better yet chevy volts.  see how they like waiting around for it to charge...

[Gusgus74]

I think it's pretty clear where this current president and his party want to take this country.  I would suggest that every one here exercise their right to vote this November and hopefully we can change the course that we are currently on.

[Jason S]

Manbearpig is real, I'm super serial!

Mass Transit in our neck of the woods-

What's the carbon footprint on your mass transit system?  I'm sure there is a lot of methane released into the atmosphere by those mules, so there's probably going to be a need for some kind of catalytic converter to reduce the methane released.  Has anybody even considered the "rights" of the mule? 

I'm personally for the "all of the above" package.  The U.S. has huge amounts of natural gas, huge amounts of coal, huge amounts of shale oil, huge amounts of oil. Sure you can add wind and solar into the mix, but in the mean time what is the problem with using what is available for use.  You can bet that if China or Russia had control of Alaska, they wouldn't hesitate to tap the oil reservoirs. Heck, even the Prime Minister of Canada chastised the U.S. alluding to the fact that the country is being rune as a huge national park where everything is "off limits" when it comes to tapping into our own resources.

[Grim 82]

The electric car folks don't realize that their batteries are recharged with coal fired electricity, and I get a chuckle out of that. Excelsior!