where does it stop on fuel prices? who is to say it won't be 7/gallon next year. sure we don't have it as bad as some places, but fuel and shipping costs are making prices go up on everything, alot of stores are closing, people out of jobs, etc. is this just a downward spiral until we run out of fossil fuel completely? I know things have to change, people should be more responsible in the consumption of our natural resources.

i don't mean to sound depressed, but I kind of am, and don't mean to depress anyone. 10 months ago i had a medical issue that meant i couldn't drive for a year. so in 2 months when i can drive i won't be able to afford to go anywhere. i wanted to go visit my friends in georgia, but 600 mile roundtrip is gonna be 200 bucks.

as consumers, what are we supposed to do to combat this?

 

Not much that we can do(we being u.s. consumers) about the the fuel prices. One of the biggest problems that we have is that the rapidly growing markets(particularly in asia and in india) subsidize fuel. So while developed countries consumers are feeling the pinch of 127 a barrel fuel(friday's close) they are not. Put it this way, say china is paying 100 a barrel, what their population is actually paying at the pump amounts to 30 a barrel, so demand stays the same or goes up. If you want to see some relief it'll come when they stop subsidizing fuel(which some have, but china and india haven't yet and they are the biggest ones and that probably won't happen til middle of next year, but maybe prices will stabilize now til then, just dont' know) and everyone is paying the same for it.

While the above reason is not the only issue with fuel, it is perhaps the biggest one on how prices are going up quickly compared to our demand going down. Now I'm not factoring in political agendas as to why fuel prices are artificially being hiked or the greed factor, but those can be playing a part as well, but there just isn't enough proof about those until you can strip away the other possibilities as well.

 

Confucious......He say......sky is limit............, for everything but oil prices at pumps!!!!.........They go to sun and beyond!!!!

 

"as consumers, what are we supposed to do to combat this?"

Park our thirstier rigs and change to different vehicles (like motorcycles or small beater cars and trucks that are cheap and get better mileage).

Your profile says "none, still looking" so forget a large truck (they'll be nearly giving them away in a few months, lots of older trucks will go for scrap) and get something that is cheap on fuel. A small truck plus a trailer can haul a LOT of stuff, and trailers don't cost anything to park.

Just as the gas crisis killed early musclecars, so this one will hurt large trucks. Mine don't move anymore unless it is a paying proposition. I'm not getting rid of any of them (eventually hybrid and other repower options will be practical when the "wrecked vehicle pool" increases in the next ten years) but use them much less. Trucks are fun, but when they become a burden instead of a useful tool then it's time to adapt.

 

Use your voting power as an american citizen and elect representatives that will drill in Alaska, off the coast of CA, and increase the drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. We have the reserves, but we are bound by green thinkers who would rather see a weakened future for our country than $1.50/gal gas now.

I don't mind more efficient designs or alternative energy sources, just don't do it at my wallets expense. When the technology is viable and profitable, the free market should dictate when these new sources will come to fruition.

 

That isn't going to stop it, in fact that is just going to get us down into a deeper hole then we are already in. Everything is traded on the open market, so even if we dig into more reserves it's still going to be traded on the global scale. It might buy us a little time, but we will see another "energy crisis" again if we try to maintain the status quo. I don't know why people don't aknowledge something else needs to be implementated now instead of waiting another 30 yrs for the next "energy crisis" to come around.

The irony is, that time is now. The free market is already telling us we need something new and we need it now. Also this run on new "green" businesses are actually going to be the ones that help us thru this economic downturn(as well as our exports going up as well). Now I'm not saying that we should totally replace one thing with another single source(we would be right back where we are at now) and I'm not even saying eliminating oil totally at this time, I'm saying we need to bring other things in in order to lessen the burden on oil for us.

 

"When the technology is viable and profitable, the free market should dictate when these new sources will come to fruition."

The DRASTIC changes that will make alternatives viable are happening now. The free market is why oil is high. This is what transition feels like. Brace for decades of it.

 

Decades for some places, I don't see decades for everyone. Years maybe, decades for everyone that seems a little out there. However, I am one of the more optimistic ones compared to some.

 

WHAH WHAH CRY CRY. Get a bicycle then. Geezus!

 

stealmytruck- i already have a bicycle. perhaps i should take my depression elsewhere. think of one thing, you've been looking forward to for many years, then have it ripped out from under you.

my apologies to everyone else for my outward complaining.
as for energy and new technology, i'm going to invest in solar panels and a couple of those wind turbine things. they may save on utilities, then i can spend more on gas.

 

Don't worry about it, that's what we old timers on the board are here for.


I would go for solar panels as the technology for that will become more efficient before wind turbines are. I know of one building that was just completed with 3 turbines and they are hoping that those turbines will provide 17 percent of power needs for that building and that building was designed around those wind turbines, solar panels are at 30 percent as of right now I do believe. I know of quite a few horse barns are making the leap for solar panels(might be able to get some gov't assistance for that as well if your willing) and they are doing well and the excess they have from the sun that day goes back to the power grid as credit off their bill.

Right now for your truck, I would just try to find a local farmer's co-op that might sell biodiesel and try to get it there, should save you a dollar or two a gallon. I'm looking at one now that I recently found that isn't close to my home, but I make enough trips to that town for horse shows and other things that it will be worth it for me and it's not out of the way to it when I'm over there. That is the best advise I can give you now.

 

Real nice! 1,100 people here in NJ just lost their jobs last week because of high fuel costs. Jevic trucking, the largest in the state, shut down due to unaffordable fuel costs.

Thats 1,100 families affected. Im sure many people are crying.

 

WHAH WHAH CRY CRY. Don't be a jerk. Geezus!

 

Ok....ya'll just calm down now. It will all be alright. Or at least that's what my mommy says.

 

I hear the greed factor tossed around now and again.

If prices of fuel were $1.00 per gallon and the Oil companies were making 10% profit nobody would complain, they would not be in front of congress being grilled like salmon.

But now that prices are $4 a gallon and they are making 10% profit...they are being grilled like they are the bad guy. They are not. They are good business people adjusting their business to make a good profit for their shareholders.

Them being grilled and the billions they make in profit make empty but emotional headlines.

Get the FED to stop flooding the country with more dollars.

Tim