Gas prices.... Gouging?

[blueerica]

I love that I'm in an economics class when all this is happening. Too bad I wasn't available during the first parts of this discussion, most of what I would say was said by Morrigoon & sca...

Ultimately, the sacrifices aren't going to be made on a large scale, just not yet. Changes will be small; people are likely to drive less, or (at most) consider a trade-in for a more economical vehicle. I know I've curtailed my own driving habits, and my monthly gas expenditures have gone up (between price hikes and new work-school schedule) well, over $100 a month, which adds up for little part-time-working old me! So I find ways to take it easy. And there will be limits. If prices go beyond my personal threshold, I will drive less, etc etc etc...

[scaeagles]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

The interesting thing is that there are already viable options available. The problem is not so much viable options as it is infrastructure, and no one wants to spend money on infrastructure to get it done.

The preeminent example of this is in Arizona. There was a huge push 5 years ago or so to convert cars to use CNG (compressed natural gas). Anyone who purchased a car that used it, if structured properly, could get a reimbursement from the government for the price of the vehicle. No joke. However, these cars could run on both CNG or gasoline at the flip of a switch, so there was no requirement that purchasers actually use CNG.

Anyway, one can convert any gasoline engine to use CNG for under $1000. No loss in horse power, no adverse affects whatsoever. The problem exists in that there are only 4 filling stations in the entire metro Phoenix area. That's a bit impractical. The nearest one to me is some 17 miles away. If there were CNG filling stations on every corner, I bet at least half of drivers in AZ would convert, especially if the state offered to pick up the cost of conversion.

I also watched a special on the History Channel on "future tech". They already have vehicles that run on Hydrogen fuel cells. The technology lacks mass production and therefore is incredibly expensive, but it could come down if someone were to invest in it and provide the infrastructure for refueling....or whatever one does with a hydrogen fuel cell.

And based on some research I did yesterday on the USGS site, we have some pretty nice oil reserves of our own in lots of different places. Why not get it?

[TigerLily]

somehting I found of interest. On the news they said for gas at the pumps to hit $3.00 a gallon the price per barrel should ahve been $95.00, but the price per barrel was only $65.00...seems like gouging to me.