Let's see a show of hands.....

[-m-]

Of who'd still be driving if gas prices went over 5 per gallon?

I just heard on the radio that there is speculation that gas will go up to 10 dollars per gallon in the next 2 years. My plan for awhile now was to pay off my wedding this year and then work on buying a cheap little commuter car next year. I don't think I'm going to be doing that anymore. These fuckbags will be getting enough of my money as is with one car.

Anyone got a plan to deal with the skyrocketing cost of fuel that doesn't involve taking the greasy weenie and paying anyway?

[jaesun]

I'm going one of two ways...

or

[reason]

i would like to say that i would use a bicycle or a scooter to get back and forth from work.... but i would probably be lazy and just pay it..... Not that I would want to.

[PETA]

good lord... buy some gasoline futures now at $4/gal if you believe it

[-polyx-]

Because of my profession I am forced to drive many places, often. I operate a 4 cylinder machine and not a suburban, thank god, so my fuel costs are minimal compared to some folks in these parts. I will continue to drive.

But what we can do about it? This is where it gets tricky.

Let's look at some examples from the past and present to get a glimpse of the depth of the situation.

- In the mid 1970's there was an individual who was looking for a way to get better fuel efficiency out of vehicles. He invented a carberator (sp.) that was able to pull over 30 miles a gallon on a V8 engine. That is more efficient than most modern fuel injected vehicles. Why did no one hear of this wonderous invention? Exxon bought the invention for a sizeable amount of money, patent included and locked it away.

- More recently, an individual has found a way to pull hydrogen from distilled water and then ignite it. This produces a very hot flame thats only by product is oxygen the other element in H2O. You may have heard of this in recent news. I believe the gentlemen who invented the gadget used it to power a blow torch. Guess what happened... the government's D.O.E. snatched this puppy up along with the patent.

- And just a couple of months ago, there was a gentleman who found a certain radio wavelength frequency coupled with a special device he invented that ignites saltwater. That is the most abundant form of water on the planet. The radio wave field does not harm humans in any way (as far as preliminary testing has concluded) yet we have heard nothing of this invention either.

Why you might ask?

Think of the massive nature of the oil industry and the billions upon billions of dollars that have been invested in the infra-structure of this country. Do you think they will allow another fuel source to be thrown into the market with all of that money invested and all of the cash they make now a days? Certainly not. And it is the governments best interest to keep new technologies under wraps, well, if they want to still receive lobbyist funds. Like it or not our economy is rooted in the success and downfall of our large multinational corporations. If the oil industry died overnight, we would have millions of people out of jobs in this country alone.

I would like to see a change myself, but it will take a slow phasing in process to avoid any catastrophes in the economy. (as if it wasn't already in the pooper.)

[ONE FM]

Motorcycles ftw..

I do believe the government has squashed technology that could replace oil over the years. However, I think public demand is soon going to override any efforts to keep things quiet and it'll make it worth someone's while to introduce something new and more cost-effective. The main problem has always been getting investors and enough backing to make something cheap enough that it would be viable. I think with gas prices soaring and concerns about the environment, we'll see some big changes.

[zerojunkie]

Telecommute, if you can.

[-m-]

I'm not asking why gas prices are high. I'm asking what everyone intends to do about it because it seems imminent at this point. Xian do you find that speculation far fetched?

Also, commuting on a motorcycle in the city is INSANE. I prefer to live, thanks.

As far as alternative fuel sources go, I'll believe it when I see it.

[Ash]

already looking at hybrids and alternative fuel cars for my next vehicle purchase. I will be moving in a year and the proximity to public transportation will be taken into serious consideration. A scooter is looking better and better these days.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by -m-

I'm not asking why gas prices are high. I'm asking what everyone intends to do about it because it seems imminent at this point. Xian do you find that speculation far fetched?

Also, commuting on a motorcycle in the city is INSANE. I prefer to live, thanks.

As far as alternative fuel sources go, I'll believe it when I see it.

Miles, I can honestly concede that I have a pretty poor command of the relevant facts to have any clue what'll happen w/gas prices.

I have read that there are several large fields and pipelines coming on line (Caspian fields etc) that should help ramp up supply. Lot of problems in the caucasus region are directly related to this... pipeline routes and transfer fees. I've read that global commodities supplies move in cycles and we (the world) got hit with a huge bump in demand (from China and India) after a drop in supply that followed the huge glut of supply during the Clinton years. It is argued that the supply will build back up and prices will drop. One of the biggest problems is the drop in value of the dollar which contributes to rising crude prices... but mostly, the problem is the refining bottleneck. I doubt we'll see $10/gl gas. $5... could be.

I miss the days when gas was $.99 a gallon.

[zymote]

Originally Posted by -polyx-

Because of my profession I am forced to drive many places, often. I operate a 4 cylinder machine and not a suburban, thank god, so my fuel costs are minimal compared to some folks in these parts. I will continue to drive.

I have to drive quite a bit as well, and these rising gas prices really scare me. Unfortunately, due to the market segment I work in (downtown condos, high end urban and lakefront properties, and investment properties), a luxury car is pretty much required.

Originally Posted by -polyx-

But what we can do about it? This is where it gets tricky.

Let's look at some examples from the past and present to get a glimpse of the depth of the situation.

- In the mid 1970's there was an individual who was looking for a way to get better fuel efficiency out of vehicles. He invented a carberator (sp.) that was able to pull over 30 miles a gallon on a V8 engine. That is more efficient than most modern fuel injected vehicles. Why did no one hear of this wonderous invention? Exxon bought the invention for a sizeable amount of money, patent included and locked it away.

I get 27-29mpg out of my V8 right now, at least on the highway and at a reasonable speed. The technology is already pretty much there, and once there's more demand, we'll see it implemented more.

Originally Posted by -polyx-

- More recently, an individual has found a way to pull hydrogen from distilled water and then ignite it. This produces a very hot flame thats only by product is oxygen the other element in H2O. You may have heard of this in recent news. I believe the gentlemen who invented the gadget used it to power a blow torch. Guess what happened... the government's D.O.E. snatched this puppy up along with the patent.

Water splitting is old news. If anybody from Denton remembers the crazy hippy bus that used to park next to the Argo (the bus had a VW van welded to the top), it was powered in part by a splitter. The problem is efficency, as it takes a huge amount of electricity to do this, and results in a net energy loss once it's all said and done. It's far from secret, either - unless the Discovery Channel just got classified.

Originally Posted by -polyx-

- And just a couple of months ago, there was a gentleman who found a certain radio wavelength frequency coupled with a special device he invented that ignites saltwater. That is the most abundant form of water on the planet. The radio wave field does not harm humans in any way (as far as preliminary testing has concluded) yet we have heard nothing of this invention either.

Sources?

Anyway, the market is in flux right now, but things will balance out one way or another. Either supply will meet demand (and the dollar will pull out of the shitter), or technology will rise to the occasion. Plug in hybrids are a good example of this - they can completely eliminate the need to buy gas for anyone that drives less than 60 miles a day (most of the population).

And to get back on topic - unfortunately, I'll have to take the wiener no matter what, until they start making luxury electrics/plug in hybrids.

[Sinner]

I'm getting one of these:

[jaesun]

Originally Posted by MicahB

I'm getting one of these:

Planet killer!!!