How much is gas by you now?

[larryhead]

I just saw a sign on the way home that said $4.35/gallon... it was $4.25 a few days ago.. how long before we hit $5???

:angry:

[slam]

chicago was the first metropolitan city to hit the $4 avg price i think. we quickly passed it...

good riddance cheap gas!

[zero2056]

$3.69 today and flipped to $3.79 by late afternoon.

[slam]

i remember one time driving home from college, and i paid $0.75 a gallon in northeast missouri. at a casey's. i remembered thinking "i'll never see gas this cheap again in my life"

how right i was.

[hotfoot]

gas was $4.50/gallon at the intersection of Ashland/Fullerton/Clybourn the other day.

[larryhead]

this site shows a weekly breakdown of prices across country.. chicago is in the lead for whatever reason:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html


i was debating filling up my tank the other day, but when i saw it was $4.25 i was like fuck that, and thought i'd wait a few days.. looks like that was the wrong decision! time to stockpile that shit next to my bird flu generators and water jugs :dizzy:

i wonder how long before cta fares increase.. i noticed taxis are already charging a $1 gas charge.

[notorious]

i remember in high school that $8 would fill up my metro and last like a month.
i loved that car

[Soul Queen]

Its been over $4 bucks here for awhile. I have an extremely scewed sense of what real gas should cost.

One thing is certain, its fucking ridiculous. I make an okay living and can afford to pay. I feel so bad for all the people who cant. I read something recently that food prices are not expected to decrease but increase for the next 10 years.

It makes me worry about my grandma and all those other people who are on a fixed incomes.

[larryhead]

I read something recently that food prices are not expected to decrease but increase for the next 10 years.

definitely. i mean it's all tied together right? you need gas to produce the food, and then to transport the food. how many times have we been told that it's better to "buy locally grown produce" because it has a smaller carbon imprint...

i dunno.. our generation is fucked three ways from saturday... not to mention all the other stuff.. the credit crisis splitting the population into two classes, evaporating social security, global warming, depressing housing market conditions, recurring recession(s), the war on terror, the patriot act, etc etc.

i need a drink.

[larryhead]

i remember in high school that $8 would fill up my metro and last like a month.
i loved that car

Those days are gone forever.. read this, from a few days ago on 5/21/08...
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080521145247.aspx


“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”


“[Maxwell] expects an oil-induced financial crisis to start somewhere in the 2010 to 2015 timeframe,” Energytechstocks.com reported. “He said that, unlike the recession the U.S. appears to be in today, ‘This will not be six months of hell and then we come out of it.’ Rather, Maxwell expects this financial crisis to last at least 10 or 12 years, as the world goes through a prolonged period of price-induced rationing (eg, oil up to $300 a barrel and U.S. pump prices up to $15 a gallon).”

[hotfoot]

i remember in high school that $8 would fill up my metro and last like a month.
i loved that car

can't find the original article i read, but apparently geo metros are selling like hotcakes on ebay. some dude has been making a killing fixing them up and reselling them.

here's an article that refers to it: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/16/geo-metros-going-for-big-money-on-high-gas-prices/4

[slam]

i remember in high school that $8 would fill up my metro and last like a month.
i loved that car

i remember my sister had a metro. it was an adventure to drive! turning off the a/c was like the turbo button.

[False Alarm]

i almost shit my pants the first time i was sitting at a stop light in notorious's metro and he removed the steering wheel and dropped it into my lap.

[notorious]

i almost shit my pants the first time i was sitting at a stop light in notorious's metro and he removed the steering wheel and dropped it into my lap.

hours of enjoyment that car. i remember us also driving it back to ISU and recreating scenes from Days of Thunder.

[notorious]

can't find the original article i read, but apparently geo metros are selling like hotcakes on ebay. some dude has been making a killing fixing them up and reselling them.

here's an article that refers to it: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/16/geo-metros-going-for-big-money-on-high-gas-prices/4

Unfortunatley the car is beyond repair. my cousin (the power lifting one...the female powerlifting one) rolled it and destroyed it.

[JVO]

I just heard on the news that the reason why Chicago gas is so expensive (aside from the obvious reasons) is because it is the most taxed gas in the country. Every time you buy gas in Chicago, 14 different taxes are applied to it. The National average is 6.5.

[hotfoot]

Unfortunatley the car is beyond repair. my cousin (the power lifting one...the female powerlifting one) rolled it and destroyed it.

i assume she just rolled it back over after she flipped it?

[zero2056]

Those days are gone forever.. read this, from a few days ago on 5/21/08...
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080521145247.aspx


Ahh... more doom and gloom from our wonderful media. I hate the media. That is probably already apparent from other posts. By the media spewing forth that garbage, only causes the oil futures to rise which then causes your cost per gallon of gas to increase again, and again, and again.... its a self-fulfilling prophecy which won't stop until everyone stops buying into it.

I don't typically get donned with the title of "optimist" but consider these facts:

Methinks $10-$12 gas or even $6-$7 gas (it will eventually get there, whether its in 4 years, who knows) is going to make way for a huge influx into alternative energy resources, which will either come from the existing auto-makers/energy companies, or be developed by a new kid on the block which will cause the existing powerhouses to adapt or disappear. Not to play to much of a "conspiracy theorist" card, but I also believe that technology exists today (being hoarded by the auto makers, and other energy related companies) that can provide a viable alternative energy source. It just makes more sense right now for them to keep everyone on the "oil standard".

The United States has the largest proven reserves of mineable coal reserves in the world. What's this mean? Well... if oil continues its ridiculous (market speculation driven I might add) hike in prices caused by wall street and other world markets, then I'd predict our first alternative source of transportation will be electric cars, trucks, etc.

The United States has enough coal within its current borders to last over 250 years at current rates of consumption, which is sufficient time (in my opinion) to find another energy source to use after that is exhausted. Also, if you can simply plug in and "recharge" your vehicle, one could also make a play for nuclear produced electricity (the waste product of nuclear of course being an issue).

Coal plants are able to be made much more efficient and less polluting today than the current pollution belching plants you see today... we just have to invest in the new plants and technology. Also, as a positive economic note, due to our large reserves, the US could also become a net provider of energy rather than consumer (the Saudi Arabia of Coal). Other large coal reserves exist in China and Russia, with some level of reserves found in the majority of countries.

The United States also has the 6th largest amount of proven natural gas reserves.

I'm not saying it isn't going to get uglier before it gets better, but as prices push higher there will be an increase in the demand for an alternative (whatever it maybe), which will lessen the demand for oil.

Keep in mind, we haven't even reached the price levels that European's have been paying for gas for years (as we hit $4, they're exceeding $6). They've also managed to grow their economy with high energy prices. We've always had an artificially low gas price.

The United States also has oil reserves that are currently "off limits" (Alaska) and just to our north, Canada has a huge supply of unconventional oil known as oil sands that are largely untapped (counting the oil sands, they have a large amount of proven reserves second only to Saudi Arabia). Canada is also our largest provider of oil. There is a tertiary source also available called oil shale which exists in Canada and the US, which is costlier to extract, but becomes more viable at $135 per barrell.

I guess overall I have faith in Human Ingenuity, and a solution to the problem will be found. My hope is that they can figure out how to make the hydrogen fuel cell work.... Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, and its by product is water vapor. The bad of the hydrogen fuel cell is that you have to get hydrogen to the proper state before its useful, which requires other sources of energy to do so, usually resulting in the release of CO2. Oh well, go lab coats go!

High prices are bad for the short term, but good for the long term. No pain, no gain.

[zero2056]

I just heard on the news that the reason why Chicago gas is so expensive (aside from the obvious reasons) is because it is the most taxed gas in the country. Every time you buy gas in Chicago, 14 different taxes are applied to it. The National average is 6.5.

I spent one weekend in Chicago and swore never to return. Everything must have 14 different taxes applied to it, because everything I encountered was two to three times more expensive than good ol' MO.

[notorious]

i assume she just rolled it back over after she flipped it?

nah. she got pissed and squeezed like an accordian

[hotfoot]

I spent one weekend in Chicago and swore never to return. Everything must have 14 different taxes applied to it, because everything I encountered was two to three times more expensive than good ol' MO.

That's how we keep out the country folk--with our big falutin' high taxes. Let's us give more money to single moms and the gays.