Suppose we decided to revolt against gas prices. What sort of revolt would be effective? I don’t think running out into the street and blocking traffic would be addressing the right people. I don’t even think that demonstrating at gas stations would be effective. The people who run the gas stations are just pawns in the game. What do you suggest?
Cut back on your gas consumption.
The best and most permanent way to revolt against high gas prices is to arrange things so that you don’t need the gas any more. Live near work and services, telecommute, download your movies, buy things online, drive a fuel-sipper, live in a passive-solar house, take the bus, drive an electric car and recharge it from solar, ride a bike, ride a horse, ride the streetcar, invent and commercialise a new energy source, whatever. Obviously, for this to be effective, some large-scale reorganisation, both of lives and of places, is needed.
Convince the Chinese and Indians to stop buying oil.
Guess again… Demand has already decreased, but the price keeps going up!
Then I’m revolting now!
It worked (temporarily) in the UK in 2000.
I think we are already doing it. We have some of the world by the balls food wise. I guess we shall see how it all shakes out.
It’s a matter of time before the middle east decides that they can only squeeze us so much before the bubble bursts.
There’s likely a dandy recession coming (or already here). That’ll do it.
Well… if they don’t find you handsome , they should at least find you handy
As others have noted, cut back on consumption and arrange your life so you need less gas. The price will continue to rise of course, but it will have less of an impact on your life because you will not be so dependant on it.
I actually think high gas prices are a good thing in the long term, low prices just encourage behavior that is self destructive.
You obviously don’t live in the United States. There is no other option to get to work for many of us.
The problem is that many people can’t cut back very much. My office is over 100 miles from my home. I’m fortunate that I can telecommute two days a week; and I’ve also bought my former roommate’s Prius, which got 48.3 mpg on the last trip compared to 22.3 mpg in my Jeep on it’s last trip. I’m hoping to be able to telecommute a third day each week. Other than that, I’d have to sell my house (in a poor housing market) and move closer to work. Of course I couldn’t by a house in Seattle for what I’d get for my house.
Other people might be driving older cars and can’t afford to buy a more efficient vehicle. And they may have to do a bit of driving (from less expensive areas) to get to work. With the downturn in the economy, people might not be getting raises. So they’re stuck. They can’t afford to buy a new car, they can’t move closer to work, and their fuel costs have increased by a third.
No crap. The only place I ever drive anymore is work. I do all my shopping on the way there or back. There’s no more “cutting back” to do.
Dude, I wish I could ride my horse to work. Or to the store. Or the drive-through (ride-through?). Alas, I don’t live in Norco, and it might get some funny looks. That, and my mare is an arena princess. Take her on the trail, and she’s a big scaredy cat.
I’m so grateful DeathLlama’s commute is about 3 miles, and mine is 6. He drives a compact, but I drive a full-size truck. It’s hard to pull a horse trailer, haul bales of hay, tons of sand, bags of feed, etc. in the Civic I used to drive…but $4 a gallon for a truck that gets about 17mpg hurts even when it’s used sparingly!
What’s rough is how the gas price trickles into everything else. Hay prices have skyrocketed as the price to transport the bales jumps to compensate for increased gas prices. Produce prices are way up–I was stunned to see the price of apples today (sure, it’s off season, but still). Price of utilities has gone up, too.
It hurts, but we adjust.
Weird thing is, it was only a few years ago that gas prices were the LOWEST I’ve ever seen. This is maybe 5-6 years ago? …Prices were under $1/gallon; I think the lowest I ever saw was something like 79 cents. WTH happened there? Did demand increase THAT much in the last few years?
That was more like 10 years ago. I had just received my license, and gas was $0.79.
Shhh, that’s crazy talk.
I’m currently working in Indonesia, but I’m an American. I’ve purchased my home in the city (Washington DC) where I will be working once I’m done with this assignment. Americans have ordered their lives around the car and in a way that is ultimately not sustainable. Gas prices are going to continue to go up, so living closer to work, developing public transportation and driving fuel efficient vehicles are all going to be necessary steps people take in the near future to address this problem. Again, I think this will ultimately be good for the US as it creates economic disincentives to continue destructive behaviors.
No it hasn’t, worldwide it’s increasing.
You may well have arranged your life on the (unconscious) assumption that petrol will always be cheap, but that is not a law of nature; you DO have the choice to live near where you work, work near or at where you live, or get decent public transport built to connect the two.
Late 2001 gas was under a dollar in most areas. The national average was a little over a dollar but that’s because a few really expensive places - NYC, LA, SF Bay Area - were keeping the average high. Where I lived at the time it was about $0.89, and we weren’t the cheapest. Six and a half years ago. That was a lowpoint but I don’t think I ever paid over $2 outside of SoCal until the war.