Gas prices??? What are we to do??

Thats another thing. We are trying to cut back on feeder costs by breeding our own. And so, until we get our colony established and producing regularly, we are not bringing any more snakes into the house. We have 11 right now and while I really really want a het albino pair next month, its a no until our feeding bill goes down.

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Originally Posted by FL0OD

wow, hows your blood pressure?

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Ha ha, pretty good. I exercise and hike quite a lot, and eat pretty healthy. Plus I'm only 21. That was funny though, thanks. For the most part, I try not to let the reality of how much of everything we have all messed up get me down. I'm sure there is a way to fix it, I just don't see it yet.Until then, just gotta enjoy the little things in life, I was serious about the carpe diem part. Gas doesn't hurt me too much, cause I don't really waste money on a lot of anything, so if it goes up, it just means I change my budget. It sucks, but in the short term not much I can do about it. I hike closer to where I live, and probably won't be going to the beach as much this summer.

Though, if I had my own piece of property, I would love to make/buy a still and grow some sugar cane. You can actually run most vehicles on e85 with no changes to their fuel systems at all. And by running pure ethanol in my mr2, I could actually tune the car for it and gain 10 or 15hp. Go faster, save money, and save baby seals? Not a bad deal!

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Originally Posted by ctrlfreq

That's a great idea and all, but people have already stopped spending money on those other things. This decrease in consumer spending is why the dollar continues to devalue, pushing us into a recession, and raising gas, food, and consumer good prices even more.

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The problem here isn't consumer spending; people cutting down on buying needless things is good. Hopefully we will stop wasting resources producing them. The problem is what our economy is based on. We no longer produce things in our country. We buy, buy, buy. As soon as the buying stops, the economy stops. Many people spend their whole lives working to buy things they don't need, when in fact they never learn to enjoy life, cause they are too busy working hard to buy those things they never get to enjoy. Don't even get me started on consumer debt, credit cards, and how messed up our tax and banking systems are. What's causing prices to go up is the falling value of the US dollar. Which has a lot more to do with how our economy and national bank/debt is setup than anything else. A lot of people are getting richer right now, but a lot more people are getting poorer.

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Originally Posted by ctrlfreq

Unfortunately, in doing so, the money in your pocket would continue to devalue, so you would still have less, and while in shape, you wouldn't really be able to afford food for yourself and your family.

The problem with being, not only a developed nation, but the most affluent nation on earth, is that you can't simply go back to acting like a third world country and maintain your standard of living. Sure, we can save our pennies, but that very act makes them worth less, and in the long run won't do a thing to solve our economic issues.

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Once again, this shows the problems with our economic system. There is a medical term for growth for the sake of growth; it's called cancer. With our current system, if we stop growing, we die; that's what's happening right now. But in nature, it's the other way around; if you don't STOP growing, you die.

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Originally Posted by Houzi88

We could have a national "don't buy gas" day?

Or just buy gas as little as possible.

But basically there's nothing really that we can do, unless people start making more and more cars that are more efficient but other than that we're Fu:cens0r:

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That would never work. People would just buy gas the day before or the day after. It might have more of an impact if we had a national don't use gas day. And we have the technology to make cleaner, more efficient cars. The oil and auto companies just don't want it to happen, and they have enough power in this country to keep it from happening. Though I don't believe in government regulation, it's the same as the idea of people sueing McDs for being fat. We need smarter consumers in this country. If people start buying more economical cars, manufacturers will start making them. GM created a functional electric car, the EV1, in the 1990s. It had a functional range of 300mi per charge, and could be built for a reasonable price once at full production levels. But people would rather buy hummers than electric vehicles.

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Originally Posted by NickMyers03

i would love to have a hybrid...but at 50K for them there is no way for me to get one. i would save money by buying a 20K car and using what i save per month for other stuff.. we go green as much as we can but the cost of going green is larger than standard materials.

a statement above said to ride a bike to work, as some of us work 1-2 hours away ( driving) this would not work. i wish it could but it doesnt. im actually thinking about buying a motorcycle so i dont burn as much gas during the nice days...

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See my above statement, hybrids are a joke. Most of the ones on the market don't realistically average better than 45mpg. VW has been making a diesel version of the Lupo (don't think it's available here due to stupid US standards that don't make any sense and are there because of the oil and auto industries) that gets 78 mpg, and cost's less than 20k brand new. A 1989 civic HF gets 45 mpg in a 20 year old car! (and surpasses all current US emissions standards).

However, most hybrid cars have sold quite well, which is the bottom line. The cars were created because there was a demand for them in the market. Now we (consumers) need to create a demand that will cause some real change.

Trouble to me, is not the price I pay at the pump. I can afford it. The biggest problem is, the cost of living has to rise when gas prices rise. Costs to transport food, fuel, goods, people.. goes up when gas prices rise. At this rate, when all of the small local shops are gone because walmart put them out of business, people will complain because they can't even afford to drive to walmart.

I dont know about anyone else, but I have only ever commuted to work sometimes an hour, sometimes an hour and a half, and as it stands, either you drive yourself, or pay a taxi. Paying a taxi around here would seriously cost me A LOT more than I make in a day. NOT WORTH IT. I do well driving myself.

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Originally Posted by NickMyers03

a statement above said to ride a bike to work, as some of us work 1-2 hours away ( driving) this would not work. i wish it could but it doesnt. im actually thinking about buying a motorcycle so i dont burn as much gas during the nice days...

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I used to bike to work and school back when I lived in Chico, but you could ride from one side of the town to the other in 30 minutes. If you live more than a 30 minute bike ride to or from work (which is only 10 minutes driving or so) then I don't see riding a bike as feasible.

But however, I don't understand why you would want to live one or two hours by car from where you work. That's 1-2 hours of your life that you lose every week doing nothing but sitting, and you're not getting paid for it!

I hope that's 1-2 hours in traffic, by the way, cause you're just crazy living 100 miles from where you work if not. It only takes me 15 minutes, by car, to get to work or school right now. I can't stand traffic, it's such a horrible waste of money and time, plus it just upsets me.

If you calculate it, at 1 hour a day each way, 5 days a week, you lose 10 hours of your life every week sitting in traffic, not getting paid. Kudos to those people who listen to audio tapes or NPR while driving, at least you're trying to make use of such a waste, but still, that's horrible!

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Originally Posted by NickMyers03

i would love to have a hybrid...but at 50K for them there is no way for me to get one. i would save money by buying a 20K car and using what i save per month for other stuff.. we go green as much as we can but the cost of going green is larger than standard materials.

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See what I said above about the prius, civic hf, and lupo. But as to the whole buying green thing, I find green and organic products to be as much of a joke as anything else. Personally, I try to buy local or grow it myself whenever possible, its better and cheaper that way (PS farmers markets are awesome!).

With green/organic it's all just marketing. What constitutes organic? The standards are kinda fuzzy, especially when something "contains organic ingredients." Pah. How much gas did it take to ship it across the country? What's the size of it's carbon footprint? How about packaging? We pay a ridiculous amount of money just for packaging.

And with regards to "green" plastic or paper or whatever products, in most cases, I don't need the product in the first place. Not being wasteful is the greenest thing of all. Plus, the same comments concerning carbon footprints apply.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Trouble to me, is not the price I pay at the pump. I can afford it. The biggest problem is, the cost of living has to rise when gas prices rise. Costs to transport food, fuel, goods, people.. goes up when gas prices rise. At this rate, when all of the small local shops are gone because walmart put them out of business, people will complain because they can't even afford to drive to walmart.

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See what I wrote above. The problem with things is we transport them too far, when we should be able to get many things locally or go without all together. I once watched this documentary where they caught shrimp in the UK, shipped them to India to be shelled and packaged, then shipped them back to England! Now how dumb is that?

I agree with you on the shipping subject, TwoMetal. I cannot see how it is cheaper for companies to ship things overseas to assemble, then ship back.. Maybe it is. But it seems ridiculous.. Maybe the fuel prices raised will make it less profitable to do so? The way I see "buying green" is this. I live in an area with wind power. Big old windmills supply us. This to me is greener than burning coal or other power sources. Now as for heating, we have a gas well on the property here where we rent. No shipping costs for fuel, save for them drilling the pipes into the ground, which had near-zero environmental impact on the land. My friends who live with propane tank delivery.. it is astounding to see how much their tanks travel to get from the supplier to their homes; much less before that!
Want to know my opinion on the best way to live greener? Don't have kids. :) I have chosen not to, and I figure that I have some wiggle room then. As I have not doubled, tripled, or more, my footprint on Earth. I am glad that my husband agrees with me on this one.. I mean No Offense on parents out there. I do things daily that contribute to the demise of the Earth; we all do, just by merely existing and living as humans in this century. Being online right now, on plastic computers, using electricity and bandwidth and satellites and whatnot.. none of us can claim to be fully organic and with nature, sadly. But this is just my lifestyle.

I've been seriously looking into buying a scooter to drive to work. even taking into consideration that I couldn't drive it in the winter, if I got the gas mileage that they claim, the thing could pay for itself within a couple of years. Less if gas prices continue climbing the way they are.

I just bought a motorcycle to try and save some gas(and have fun). I wish it would be against the law for all these idiots I see driving huge SUV's to go get groceries.

The only reason anyone is talking about gas prices is because it is finally affecting the rich white people in this country. Poor people haven't been able afford cars and gas for a long time and no one cares. we go and fight wars to protect the lifestyle of the rich people and die for it. Everyone of the people who can afford gas so they use so much of it just drives the cost up for all of us who cant afford it but they do not care.

I just want to start raising all my own food and stay home all the time. Most American's are greedy plain and simple so we will always complain about everything that keeps us from our gluttony.

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Originally Posted by Timbuktu

I just bought a motorcycle to try and save some gas(and have fun). I wish it would be against the law for all these idiots I see driving huge SUV's to go get groceries.

The only reason anyone is talking about gas prices is because it is finally affecting the rich white people in this country. Poor people haven't been able afford cars and gas for a long time and no one cares. we go and fight wars to protect the lifestyle of the rich people and die for it. Everyone of the people who can afford gas so they use so much of it just drives the cost up for all of us who cant afford it but they do not care.

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If people are rich.. I doubt that gas prices rising, even a few dollars a gallon, are affecting them much :) I can afford gas now, and I still care. I feel for people who are pinched tight, and I know that by the grace of my employer, that could be me next month.
As for big SUVs? Some need them! Look at me.. I live in a rural area, and if I had a little car, my driveway would laugh at me and spit me out all winter. As it is, I have gotten stuck in the snow a few times with 4wd. Now, granted, there are people out there who do not need big trucks (as, pickups are pretty close to SUVs, so I figure that you'd be against those too..) Farmers around here need pickups to live. To plow snow, pull trailers.. Without them, we would have no local produce.
Now, my beef is with people who own/drive large vehics, and do NOT know how to maneuver them. I too grind my teeth at the soccer mom in the huge Escalade who is going 20 in front of me in a 55 mph zone. But I also grind my teeth at the professional who cuts me off in his Jaguar. And I just might give an obscene finger gesture to the welfare recipient in the 1980 Ford Tempo if she cuts me off as well. I don't use the type of vehicle that a person drives, as a litmus test to say that I don't think they should drive. I am an equal opportunity hater :)
I used to be poor. I hauled myself up by my bootstraps, got a job that pays me well and hooked up with a husband who's likeminded and like me, came up from crap roots. No one should cry poor; if they do, chances are it is their fault, unless they are legitimately disabled or otherwise unable to work; then I would feel for them. And my tax dollars that I pay are enough that anyone who doesn't want to work should be able to go out and get welfare anyways, in my beautiful home state of NY.. Heh..

I know I said wouldn't post here anymore, but I got to reading...one thing led to another....anyway, here I am.

Just a few quick things.
1.) look into "brown's gas", it's the result of applying a DC current to water. The water separates into component parts and your left with something that has the combustibility of hydrogen with the stability of oxygen. You can run it through your current car ( for the most part) with only a few minor, inexpensive mods. It makes less power than petrol gas, but if you spend a lot of time at highway speeds, it's a great way to save a fortune! Here's how the system works. You pour water into a reservoir, usually no larger than a gallon. The water has DC current applied to it from your cars existing alternator, the resulting gas is fed into the intake manifold. The exhaust from burning pure "Brown's Gas" through an internal combustion engine instead of gasoline is.....water. The same thing that goes in in the first place. Google it, youtube it, it's out there!
2.) Welfare.... I am a full time student (grants and loans, otherwise I'd be slaving like everybody else), I work a part time job to cover daily living expenses(food,gas,etc), and in order help make ends meet (due to rising fuel costs) I decided to attempt getting on food stamps. I'm not ashamed of it, the system was designed to help people who need TEMPORARY assistance. I noticed in my paper work that if you didn't have a social security number it didn't matter, they wouldn't use it to verify your citizenship! I also noticed, in my paperwork that if your "seeking refuge" in Ky and haven't got a SS#, your eligible to receive ALL benefits automatically! On the other hand, if your working part time and taking a full load, your not...at least I wasn't...
3.) I wonder how much fuel is being used by a few thousand hummers, planes, helicopters and other vehicles buzzing around the middle east. Does anyone realize that a war on something as intangible as "terror" isn't able to be won? It can however be sustained, for grueling periods of time. Please feel free to research Halliburton, and Carlyle Group. Take note of where they're currently working and who is on the board of directors. Also, youtube "theramite", you might find some interesting stuff there.
I'm not a tree hugger by any means, but I understand the dangers we have put ourselves in through wasteful indulgences.

Keep your coins, I just want change.