Gas Prices

[b.rabbit]

So, I read an article in the Toronto Star today about gas prices...CRAZY. :loco Take a look yourself. Gas prices doesn't look like it's gonna go down anytime soon. :complain

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/417966

And I've seen something circulating around Facebook about an Ontario-wide Gas Strike taking place between May 15-20, 2008. I don't know how effective that will be. I usually only fill up once a week anyway..:pop

[garboui]

ive been getting chain e-mails saying to boycott esso and shell.

i agree that the price of gas is getting ridiculous. Time to start riding the bike to and fro work

[x_o_k_x]

Gas strike may affect oil companies, but possibly won't help. And everyone who thinks its governments fault.. mostly its not. Oil companies are way bigger then government. If government will get involved it will effect economy greatly. Government cant do anything but "take orders" from them. Besides I heard someone on TV say that, the only reason they raise prices is to get some drivers of the street to decrease polution and to save our invironment. In any case I think it sucks that we are in this situation but we going to have to deal with it somehow. It also pushes designers and inventers to come up with something new, more efficient. Its a very big topic..

[x_o_k_x]

btw I think its time to invest in oil as well as gold...

[iconicrocket]

:MassiveGrin

Time to check my oil stocks.

[sicsol]

Might have to start locking up the gas tank.

[TheProfessor]

I agree the recent increases suck, but we have to keep in mind that our gas prices are still waaaaaay cheaper than they are in other parts of the world.

[b3GS]

Gas strike may affect oil companies, but possibly won't help. And everyone who thinks its governments fault.. mostly its not. Oil companies are way bigger then government. If government will get involved it will effect economy greatly. Government cant do anything but "take orders" from them.

the government can lower taxes on the gas for one. they are loving the higher prices.. high price = higher percentage of taxes coming in


the scary part is not the actual gas prices.. but it's affect on the prices of everything else because the cost of shipping goes up. :bang

our economy is in big trouble

and yes our gas is still relatively cheap compared to other parts of the world, however, it's all relative. Salaries are no where near what they are over in europe. Plus we are one of the highest taxed.

one of the tough things is that our mass transit systems just suck in this country. It's tough for Canadians to get around anywhere without using their car. Everything is spread out more, we have alot more distances to cover. We are dependant on oil. And we are considered one of the oil rich countries, yet the general population of canada doesn't seem to see much benefit from it :bang

[tfordham]

Just spent $50 on gas this morning, ouch!! Thinking about using a bike some days to offset the cost. Would sixteen kilometers one way be too much of a ride?

[garboui]

16k shant take you more that 45mins on a bike as a conservative estimate. currently i have a 12k commute to work and it takes me the same time if not less by bike depending on the lights that i hit.

[Kevin@nextmod]

i filled mine up just under $54 and i only used 400km

[Skarbro]

Those gas strike e-mails have been circulating for years. They are total crap. Even if everyone boycotted gas stations for one day, it would only mean that the next day everyone would be standing in line to get their gas. It does nothing,

[Swerny]

if this is the push people need to buy more fuel efficient cars and/or sell their gas gizzling SUV's, then so be it.

I was in Japan last month and gas prices were about $1.50/litre.

The vast majority of the cars on the road were the size of a Mazda 2, Yaris or Fit or even smaller.

Tons of people use bikes or scooters as their primary transportation.

We should have taken notice long before now, as rising gas prices weren't exactly a surprise.

[Cardinal Fang]

We should have taken notice long before now, as rising gas prices weren't exactly a surprise.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." Douglas Adams

[rktsci]

Well I know that with every rise in gas prices I'm considering down sizing from my 3 when my lease comes due. I've even had thoughts of checking out the smart fortwo.

[Flagrum_3]

I don't believe its a "push" for people to buy more fuel efficeint vehicles, its just what it is "gouging" by the big oil companies. Comparitively speaking, yes we pay less than most countries, but we have the oil they don't- as of approximately 6 months ago Canada had the most oil deposits, still to be accessed in the world!! Some countries pay much less than us including the U.S whom have basically no oil, except for reserves!....One of the main problems is that oil is traded on the market and that is a big no-no, considering it is (arguably) a commodity, I tend to believe it is and should not be something that speculation can control or effect it's cost.Government pressure could force the oil companies to lower their prices but as mentioned before they have no 'drive' to do so because there's too much money in it.But they (All governments), should open their eyes because all this greed will lead not just us in Canada, but the whole world into one nasty recession....already being for-warned bytop financial experts....My solution for Canada, kick all them asshat oil companies out, take complete control of the oil deposits, refineries etc; (I'd also say shoot all them filthy greedy oil barons and execs but lets keep this civil) and make it a state owned and operated commodity, ...it is our oil by the way.We would become one, if not the richest country in the world and what could the oil companies do? .....nothing...aslong as we keep the U.S supplied and happy we'd have no problems........End of Rant! :complain:chuckle



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[b3GS]

I posted this in another thread about gas prices last month



I also watched The Hour last night, and they talked about the Tar Sands in Western Canada could soon make Canada the No.2 supplier in the world for oil. The problem is, the cost of getting oil out of the sand is about 1 barrel of oil, to every 2 barrels produced. Thats not a very profitable margin. And the environmental impact is HUGE. And as the U.S. continues to gobble up oil as it does.. all our oil will be pipelined directly down to them. Of course.. it will not really help us out as Canadians, cause like always, we get ****ed over by them all the time. It happens with our lumber and water already, and now our oil.
You would think being an oil rich country would benefit us, but that is not the case apparently.

here's the interview http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=2031
I strongly suggest you watch it

[Cardinal Fang]

IMy solution for Canada, kick all them asshat oil companies out, take complete control of the oil deposits, refineries etc; (I'd also say shoot all them filthy greedy oil barons and execs but lets keep this civil) and make it a state owned and operated commodity, ...it is our oil by the way.We would become one, if not the richest country in the world and what could the oil companies do? .....nothing...aslong as we keep the U.S supplied and happy we'd have no problems........End of Rant! :complain:chuckle


Ah yes. So you're advocating Canada do what many tin pot dictatorships have done by Nationalizing their oil industry. And when you do that how will solve the issue of foreign investors pulling their money out of the country because suddenly the free market isn't so free anymore? We have one of the richest sources of oil but it's expensive to extract. The oil sands has made us popular not because it's cheap but because we are a stable environment from which to buy it from. We are not surrounding by turmoil and conflict like the Middle East is. Political stability trumps all.

Oil are making profits there is no arguing that. But you have to look at fuel trends within the last 50 years on this planet. The biggest spike in fuel consumption has taken place in India and China. The two countries with the largest population in the world have seen the emergence of a middle class. They have money and they want to drive live in homes and the governments have gone on a shopping spry to provide for it. When you have two countries gobbling up the supply you have an increase in the value of the product.

Nationalizing our oil supply won't stop this trend. We would just turn around and sell the oil, at market value to everyone else. What incentive would the government have to sell oil to us at subsidized prices when they could sell it on the open market for a profit. Deal with the true issue here.

When times were good we used oil like a fish uses water. Now that times are we need to cut down on consumption. That's the elephant in the room that people continue to ignore. Drug dealers feed the habit. They don't create it..

[Flagrum_3]

Ah yes. So you're advocating Canada do what many tin pot dictatorships have done by Nationalizing their oil industry. And when you do that how will solve the issue of foreign investors pulling their money out of the country because suddenly the free market isn't so free anymore? We have one of the richest sources of oil but it's expensive to extract. The oil sands has made us popular not because it's cheap but because we are a stable environment from which to buy it from. We are not surrounding by turmoil and conflict like the Middle East is. Political stability trumps all.

Oil are making profits there is no arguing that. But you have to look at fuel trends within the last 50 years on this planet. The biggest spike in fuel consumption has taken place in India and China. The two countries with the largest population in the world have seen the emergence of a middle class. They have money and they want to drive live in homes and the governments have gone on a shopping spry to provide for it. When you have two countries gobbling up the supply you have an increase in the value of the product.

Nationalizing our oil supply won't stop this trend. We would just turn around and sell the oil, at market value to everyone else. What incentive would the government have to sell oil to us at subsidized prices when they could sell it on the open market for a profit. Deal with the true issue here.

When times were good we used oil like a fish uses water. Now that times are we need to cut down on consumption. That's the elephant in the room that people continue to ignore. Drug dealers feed the habit. They don't create it..


I know the trends, I 've been around aslong as you! and I also realize the growth of the east and that is one more reason to control our oil more! Nationalizing our oil would not de-stabalize anything over here politicly or financially, ...thats just scare mongering! and that's what they would want you to think! Our biggest trade partner is the US, a Trillion dollars a year! Canada would loose nothing or very little, you think investors would run? I doubt it very much.We also have alot more oil than the oil sands, which by the way became much more accessible (profit wise) once the barrel hit $90......The trend obviously now with world oil supplies dwindling (concensus is we have approx 50 yrs left) is to a more fuel efficient or better yet (non oil based) alternatives...and our governments need the money and the will to strive for that, which they would get from the oil revenues, the oil companies aren't using their profits to find a solution! they don't give a rats ass.If we really want to make a difference then we must have more control over the situation, that's my point....and this 'free' world market isn't as rosy as it was cut out to be, and it will be much more apparent very soon!


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[Cardinal Fang]

Governments have shown people time and time again that they can't handle our money and you would like to give them the responsibility of nationalizing our oil. Yeah, I'm sure we'll see a drop in gas prices then. :chuckle Or better yet I'm sure we'll see the government take those funds and allocate them to the proper departments.

No thanks. I've seen the ineptitude of government control. The Europeans are suffocating under it and the most everyone believes in the free market. It ain't the best game in town but the alternative is far worse in my opinion. The government can do more by providing a climate to sponsor studies in alternative fuels rather than giving tax breaks to the oil sand companies.

[lightsandsirens]

In any way we look at it, we're in for a bleak future. There will be a day where we simply won't be able to afford to idle in traffic for hours like many of us do right now. There is a positive though, as the transportation costs rise, consumers will start turning back to local producers and manufacturers, thus creating jobs.

I'm just glad I got rid of my Volvo when I did. I'd be paying around $90 to fill up (Turbo required premium as well) so the $50 to fill the 3 is a welcome change for me!

[x_o_k_x]

Canada is in a lot of debt, which is why we have taxes in first place, to pay off the debt.

[fini]

I might have to quit my job just because i can't afford gas anymore...