Want cheaper gas? Use less (You won't)

[gravity]

BRENDAN M. CASE; The Dallas Morning News
Published: May 22nd, 2007 01:00 AM

Want gas prices to fall? Drive less.

“If half of American drivers pledged, and followed up on the pledge, to use one gallon less gasoline in the month of June, the market would plunge,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J.

“The difference between a perceived tight market and a sloppy or weak market is about 1 percent worth of demand,” he explained.

Kloza estimated a 1 percent dip in demand could slice 30 to 50 cents off wholesale gasoline prices.

...

“Consumers are demanding more, and they’re willing to pay for it,” said Peyton Feltus, an energy expert in Dallas. “I know consumers won’t like to hear that. But the price is not high enough to throttle demand.”

More: http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/68234.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Bullshit.

This market has nothing to do with supply & demand. Supply is artificially manipulated. We cut demand, they cut supply. Another refinery blows up or something. Right now, oil is in the low $60's per bbl. Last year when gas was this expensive, oil was in the $70's. It's all bullshit, it's all legalized larceny.

[gravity]

3. What evidence do you have showing that we have cut demand?

[AnneD]

It seems that you keep starting threads until.....

you get the reply you want.

Evidence of cutting back.....I have 2 friends that own restraunts. They have reported that their week day sales have gone down dramaticly as has the traffic in the area over the last month. Weekends are as good as they ever were-but week days have been cut back dramatically.

Our Metro (bus) reports an increase in ridership. I pass a stop on the way to school-there are more folks not only waiting, but more passenger on the bus (I have observed this same bus this entire school year).

I drive the speed limit-I notice fewer folks passing me up.

Sorry if that doesn't fit your preconcieved notions. Folks are cutting back.

[gravity]

29. There is anecdotal evidence that people are cutting back

and I'm not saying many people are, but aggregate demand isn't getting any lower.

[Trillo]

31. You like this one? Report: U.S. motorists driving less

Report: U.S. motorists driving less

WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- U.S. motorists have limited their driving habits for the first time in 26 years due in part to increasing fuel costs, USA Today reported.

The travel report released Friday was based on Federal Highway Administration data that showed motorists nationwide have been driving less during the last 18 months after nearly three decades of steady travel increases.
read more...

[gravity]

32. Stats Differ on Gas Demand, Miles Driven

NEW YORK (AP) -

With gasoline prices hitting records above $3 a gallon, analysts are watching closely for any hints that motorists are altering their behavior.

This vigilance has led to an undisputed conclusion - that federal statistics reveal contradictory trends - and an unresolved debate.

...

Tom Kloza, director of the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J., said that at least some of the increased fuel demand showing up in the Energy Department data is misleading, revealing the behavior of gasoline wholesalers and not consumers. Wholesalers will stock up on gasoline early in the year, he explained, if they believe prices are going to increase sharply later on.

"There's almost an artificial flowering of demand ahead of these (price) increases," Kloza said.

http://www.kiplinger.com/apnews/XmlStoryResult.php?storyid=370957

[ecstatic]

4. Yep! nt

[baldguy]

6. Right

The oil cartel has been using the same excuses for 20 yrs - old refineries, international conflict & high demand.

They haven't done anything to alleviate these problems.

Even now - when they've got their pet politicians running the country - energy policy isn't geared toward lowering demand, increasing efficiency, lowering prices or generally helping the consumer. Bush's energy policy is designed to generate profits for the oil cartel as much & as quickly as possible.

[peace13]

11. I agree with you.

People who don't think that the oil companies have us by the balls are living in another world.

[AndyTiedye]

13. Last Year We Had the ELECTION YEAR GASOLINE SALE!

They were holding prices down last year to try to save the Repiglicans' bacon.

[One_Life_To_Give]

15. If it was only the US? I might agree

But when we see the price spiking not only in the US and Canada but across Europe as well?

[Warpy]

18. This is Enron, all over again

and probably being done by their ex employees.

Enron, as many of you remember, shut down a bunch of power plants in California for questionable maintenance in the spring of 2001, driving energy prices sky high there and resulting in rolling blackouts to convince the recalcitrant and skeptical that it was a real problem. Their junior management was taped laughing hysterically at elderly people who couldn't afford those bills.

Now we have a bunch of refineries closed at the same time, again for questionable maintenance, just before the peak driving season.

Anyone who is talking about market forces this time is a fool, corrupt, or delusional.

This is how monopolies act, folks, and if you still need an object lesson in why antitrust laws need to be enforced, you are hopeless.

[Rosemary2205]

23. SUPER BINGO!! and AMEN. nt

[AndyA]

2. Or, just leave your car parked for one day.

Ride with someone else. The next day, you drive, they leave their car parked. A parked car doesn't use any gas. A little can make a big difference if more people would just do it.

[AndyTiedye]

21. Mine is Parked Most Days. I Usually Work From Home

[NightWatcher]

5. Want cheaper gas, use less..I CAN"T

I got 38 mpg in my 06 Corolla this weekend. I went kayaking because I needed a break else I'd go insane. I also squeezed in a "pro environment activity" as well. I was challenged to put my money where my mouth was- holy shit it felt good.
As far as gas is concerned, I normally only drive for work and a very few errands. We are hostages of the gas corporations.

[gravity]

12. Well the OP is correct

You won't

[NightWatcher]

26. so what..never a vacation?

I refuse to become a hermit just because of gas prices. My corolla gets 35-39 mpg highway. I am already very responsible.

[annabanana]

7. There seems to be this "received wisdom" that people are all driving

everywhere just because they WANT to... As if families were all piling into the DeSoto to go out for a Sunday Drive in the Country. .

For most Americans to do significantly less driving, they would have to move out of the suburbs and back into the city, where services are closer together.... (as if they could afford the housing, sheesh)

[gravity]

9. Millions are families are going to drive on vacations this weekend

because they WANT to.

There is a basic need for gas, but we can't even cut back our usage just 1% which is the problem. And you wonder why we are having a hard time doing something about global warming.

[taterguy]

10. I see lots of unecesary car trips

The grocery store has thousands of households within a couple miles of it but I almost never see a bike there. Unless you're getting something bulky like dog food or charcoal it's easy to carry several days worth of food on a bike.

The local mega-hospital employs several hundred people within a couple miles. Their bike rack is always nearly empty.

Bikes are viable methods of transportation, some people just choose not to take advantage of them.

[AndyTiedye]

17. The City is Full, and the Jobs Aren't in the City Anyway

Most of the good jobs are in the 'burbs.

[HockeyMom]

8. I altered my lifestyle last year

I moved to be closer to work (4 miles from 20). Then last January I transferred and now work one and a half miles from work. A tank of gas lasts me about a month. I pass by a bank and supermarket on my way home from work. If I need to go to either, that is when I go. I don't make a separate trip for either anymore. About once a month I will drive about 8 miles round trip to go to a local TJ Maxx to see if I need anything.

That is it. I go nowhere anymore. Last week we had one very nice day and I thought about driving to the Mall (10 miles round trip) purely to get out and do some window shopping. I decided against it because it served no real purpose and would use up gas. I sat outside in my backyard inside. I am going into Manhattan this weekend with my daugther. We are taking the LIRR and since I don't have a parking sticker, we will be walking to the station which is only about half a mile away. No gas for that trip either.

I cannot do anymore.

[kestrel91316]

14. A mile and a half from work? Walking is QUITE feasible, as is biking.

I am 3 miles from work and walk or bike sometimes. My goal is to live less than 2 miles from work and then I can just PARK the f---ing car already!

[Rosemary2205]

37. Boy that post really rubs me the wrong way.

If I say my commute is 1.5 miles and someone comes back at me with "walk already" -- I'm thinking why do I have to explain that half a mile in my wheelchair on a nice sunny day is a whole lot different than 1.5 miles in any weather, let alone the snow and rain?

No it wasn't my post, but I'm just saying no one should have to justify their driving to anyone else.

[kestrel91316]

41. Well EXCUUUUSE ME for not being fucking psychic.

There will come a day when the WASTERS among us will be forced to pay, and I eagerly await it.

People who CAN walk had better STFU about the suggestion that they do so when it's a realistic option. They sound like a bunch of spoiled Republicans.

I am really sick of whiners who expect everyone else to change and refuse to do so themselves.

[HockeyMom]

40. I work OVERNIGHT shift

I would not want to walk or bike at Midnight as a woman alone.

[kestrel91316]

42. I think you know damned well that's NOT something I would suggest.

But go ahead and get nasty about my VERY REASONABLE SUGGESTION that people get off their lazy, spoiled asses and walk when it's reasonable to do so.........

If people are unwilling to make changes in their OWN lives to conserve energy, they are part of the problem. I choose to be part of the solution.

[WI_DEM]

16. I do. I walk to work most days (six miles round trip but have a bike path I follow most of the way)

and at most use car only once or twice a week. But lots of people don't have that luxury because 1) they live some place with no mass transportation. 2) They live too many miles from where they work such as out of town. 3) They have a family and can't do without a car (or maybe even two). 3) They are ill and need a car to get to doctors appointments, ect.

So there are reasons, but for people who can do it--it's healthier and you spend less money on gas.

[tandot]

19. It can't be me. I switched to public transportation last year and only use

my car (Corolla w/ 36 mpg) on weekends. That means I've reduced my daily driving to and from work from almost 80 miles to ZERO. I walk to and from the train station.

However, I still see plenty brand-new SUVs and Pick-Up trucks with only ONE passenger driving around.

[AndyTiedye]

20. These Things Take Time

Prices have only been like this for a few months now. It takes people a while to adapt.

Most people can't just up and move. They have to find a new place they can afford.
If they have or expect to have kids, they'll want some place with decent schools,
and they probably won't want to move in the middle of the school year.
They have to save up for the move. If they own a home, they have to sell it.

There may not be any way to move close to work, if work is in an industrial area.

It is very hard to live close to work if your work doesn't stay put. Job stability is
at an all-time low, with a lot more people in temporary and part-time positions.
Some have to work multiple jobs.

People are buying more fuel-efficient cars, but most have to save up for them,
or at least get the old car paid off first.

Transit ridership is up, where there IS transit.

[gravity]

22. This is about using 1 gallon less a month

It's something that we can feasibly do now by cutting back on one unnecessary trip

[CC]

24. I put an average of

3,000 miles a year on my car. I do not live in a city or suburb. The closest grocery store is 8 miles away, closest gas station is 4 miles away, closest any other kind of store is 17 miles away. I schedule trips to any of them to take place together. It usually means using a day to run all the errands together. I try to limit that to once a month at most. The grocery store I try to limit to once a week. I fill my car up once every 6 to 8 weeks. I can't cut down anymore and I am not alone in my area. Vacations? Forget it not going. Not as long as gas is high. Not that I can't afford it, I just refuse. I'll be spending the holiday weekend at home most likely doing yard work.

I don't know where all the people that aren't cutting down on gas usage are but they sure as hell aren't here. Every one I know or have talked to has changed how they do things, and are bouncing ideas off each other.

[TahitiNut]

25. Yep. After all, it's so much more fun to fly these days.

:eyes:

Friendly flight attendants. Ease of boarding. Careful baggage handling. Roomy seating. Good meals. Courteous people in the terminal. What could be better?

:puke:

[gollygee]

27. Most people I know *are* driving less

I'm combining trips, walking places, my husband is riding his bike to work in good weather, etc. Is demand overall really not falling? Because the people I know, over all, are definitely driving less.

[gravity]

28. That could be true

but overall demand isn't falling

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. We use less, they will just charge more.

:shrug: You think we will ever get the better end of this deal while pResident marinated in oil bu$h is still in office? :rofl:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. Even in Portland, where it's EASY to live without a car, there was a lot of

unnecessary driving, usually justified with lame excuses.

People would drive three blocks to pick up a carton of milk or drive downtown when there was practically door to door bus service running every 15 minutes.

I learned to bring a book to lunch appointments, because I'd arrive at the restaurant on time, thanks to the bus or MAX schedules, while my companion would spend 15-20 minutes looking for a parking space. Yet they'd tell me with a straight face that transit was "too inconvenient."

The real gas waster in this country is the person who can't leave his or her own yard without a car. My last teaching job was in a small town, and I lived four blocks from the campus, so I walked to work every morning. Yet students who lived even closer than I did DROVE. Students--healthy 18-year-olds--also DROVE the two blocks across campus from their dorms to the main classroom area.

I could only laugh when the students who went to Japan complained, "What I don't like is that you have to pay to go everywhere." Did they think that cars were free?

I have to drive a couple of times a week here in Minneapolis, but it necessitates owning a car. (Car sharing has not yet reached my neighborhood.) This expense has put a noticeable dent in my former standard of living, and this is even more true with gas over $3/gallon.

[ComerPerro]

34. gasoline and other "essentials" don't fit into a normal supply&demand equation,

and anyone who tries to suggest they do is revealing their limited or possibly non-existent) understanding of economics.

[gravity]

35. Well they do, it's just that the demand is much more inelastic

[gatorboy]

36. GARSH! I guess Bush was right...I'm addicted!

*sob* :eyes:

[hlthe2b]

38. I Drive ONLY to work--walk elsewhere; Want to cut more?

SLOW DOWN! I know it sucks, but if we would all drop it down to 55 or at least 60 in 65mph zones--voluntarily, it WOULD make an impact. Just don't do so in the far left lane (please).

[heidler1]

39. I recently took a once every two year trip fro Phoenix, AZ to San Diego, CA.

I took I-10 Wed. going and the cars on the road were way down, but 18 wheeler truck traffic was either up or normal. There were very few cars at the border of CA and Gas was lower by $ .30 on the AZ side.

Coming back we took I-8 Sat. and there were very few cars or 18 wheeler trucks, but the price of gas was also $.30 lower. Both were about $ .10 lower than the Phoenix area.

On I-8 we saw many trains hauling big containers.

I suspect that there is a cover up on the cutting back of traveling for fear that the economy will be hurt further.

[Gabi Hayes]

43. Gee....I was going to drive to Florida from Chicago in three weeks, for hurricane season.

maybe I won't, now

not