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Originally Posted by Zero1986
Petrol prices here have gone up to around €1.50 per litre ($2.09 in USD) which is bloody ridiculous. In the long run I guess it would encourage governments to invest more in public transport because of an increased demand and also invest more in alternatives to petrol and diesel such as electric-power and bio-fuels. It can also lead to a cleaner environment. In the short-term however a lot of people, myself included, are going to have to suffer financially because of these increases in prices.
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Unless my conversion from liters to gallons is wrong, you are paying around $8 per gallon. Now THAT'S something to complain about!
I feel the people in the U.S. have been spoiled by having gas prices and taxes stay low for all these years due to the government frequently placing short-term economic gain above other concerns. Keeping prices artificially low is not a band-aid that will stick, and yet the U.S. tries this method again and again.
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Originally Posted by nonsubmissivewife
I think what happens is that people are just cruising along, and then someone looks up and sees those golden arches and in a matters of a couple seconds they say "Hey! A McMuffin sounds great!" and suddenly turn into the drive. Which still sounds pretty annoying doesn't it?
Your rant on people complaining about gas prices reminded me of an even I read about online. Did you know May was Bike Month (as in bicycles)? I had no idea. And May 20th is Bike-to-Work day, at least here in Houston. I've been toying with the idea of riding my bike to work on a regular basis, except that I work in an office with no way to clean up when I get there after my sweaty bike ride. However, if gas prices DO go up too much, I may consider attempting it anyway. Saving gas AND working out...couldn't be a bad thing.
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You're probably right about the McDonalds' people and those cursed McMuffins.
I also didn't know there is a bike month! That's a nice idea. Biking in Houston could be hard if it's hot...and isn't it often hot? Maybe you can think of your post-biking sweat as a sexy, healthy glow! Either that, or pretend you just got out of the shower and are still wet. Or both.
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Originally Posted by Freebase Dali
Too bad no one complained on the news that they might have to start living without electricity or without heating for their homes. Maybe then they could just complain about how long it would take to integrate alternative fuel sources to power what underlies a major portion of our current existence. Meanwhile, higher prices would do nothing but harm the consumer. The real pressure needs to be on innovation and governmental allocation, without harming the people who simply rely on what's available.
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And yet lots of people use their cars when they don't need to. (I, for one.) Having higher prices will encourage some people to reduce unnecessary driving and consider car-pooling.
Unfortunately, the poorer people suffer the most from higher gas prices; wealthier people can just pay the higher prices with negligible impact on their standard of living. And that's wrong. Perhaps the U.S. will increase taxes on the wealthy to help solve economic problems. (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
Innovation certainly can help, Freebase, although it won't help people *now*. Example: the Prius. A nice idea, but a huge expense for most people. The Prius isn't going to reduce dependency on oil significantly. Also, there isn't enough corn to turn into ethanol to fuel our current driving habits *and* eating habits. Even if you turned all the grasslands into cellulosic ethanol, that still wouldn't supply current fuel demands. Eventually, people's habits and expectations will have to change. I wish governments would take more steps to encourage this.