Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:24:56 -0700
Reply-To: Debra Clark <clark10006@COX.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Debra Clark <clark10006@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Lowering Gasoline Prices
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Although I agree that sprawl and life-style are mostly responsible for our
predicament, I'm sure that if gas was rationed (not that I'm calling for
this) we'd see a lot of folks finding ingenious ways of saving fuel. For
instance, why are we spending $1.00 of gas for that $1.50 loaf of bread?
Poor planning. I know, I've done it too but if I was faced with a certain
amount of gas, I'd think twice. Let me tell you what a farce I see when
taking my kids to school in the morning. I see lines backed up a block or
two with idling cars waiting to drop off their kids at the curb of the
school. These are usually young kids and the parents don't want their
kindergartners or first graders dodging the traffic. But do they park the
car around the corner and simply walk their child up to the school? No,
they idle in traffic for twenty minutes. Many of these children are also in
walking distance but the parents don't want young children walking on their
own. (rightly so) These are the same parents who complain that they don't
have time to exercise. Getting up twenty minutes sooner and walking your
child to school will solve more than one problem. By the way, my kids now
walk to school with the neighborhood kids. Most of the kids walk now
because we would pass them in their cars (idling in the long line) while we
were on foot! They got tired of standing still!
I think there is more that we can be doing but we're a disposable society
that sees gasoline (and so much else) as being in endless supply. Gas
crises come and go and we have become immune to them.
Debra Clark
Santee, California
clark10006@cox.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "G. Matthew Bulley" <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 1:46 AM
Subject: Re: Lowering Gasoline Prices
> And not to poo-poo it for another more logical reason, but follow me for
> a moment...
>
> American suburban sprawl is reliant completely on cheap fuel. Many
> Americans have no current alternative but to purchase the quantity of
> fuel they do to complete their daily errands. Not long ago, outside the
> door many homes there was a palette of transportation options: walking,
> biking, horseback, trolley, train, passenger ferry, airplane, or car;
> each one appropriate to different distances, or reasons for traveling.
>
> Few can walk to the barber shop, ride a bike to pick up the evening's
> veggies, take a trolley downtown to work, or catch a train to the next
> town for dinner. It isn't that you should HAVE to use these other
> means, you should just be ABLE to, safely, and at the distance
> appropriate to that mode of travel. For most of us, our options have
> dwindled to one, the petroleum-powered car.
>
> We've built our schools out in the boondocks, so kids can't walk to
> school, and Mom or Dad are required to plan their day around their job
> as chauffer. Our workplace is in one area of town, completely remote
> from daily shopping, further separated from where we live. It isn't
> uncommon for someone to spend $1.00 in gas if they have to run out for a
> $1.50 loaf of bread.
>
> Although statistically, due to age, infirmity, finances, or inability,
> about 50% of the population can't drive, if you don't have a car in
> America, you're screwed.
>
> People aren't buying fuel and pouring it out on the ground for
> entertainment, (although SUV's run a close parallel to this). Sadly, the
> amount of fuel people are purchasing is tied to our automobile-dependant
> lifestyle and municipal infrastructure.
>
> So skip buying your fuel on Tuesday, if you want. You'll just buy twice
> as much on Wednesday. Besides, oil companies are at the whim of
> producing nations. The US has about 2%% of the existing petroleum
> reserves, OPEC has a little over 70%. So hold your breath if you want
> to, eventually you'll have to breathe, and people who don't like the US
> have all the air.
>
> There are groups of people working toward long-term solutions to
> America's addiction to cheap fuel, while repairing the damage to
> community/social problems caused (almost directly) by our
> hyper-dependence on car-travel. The solutions to our cheap-fuel
> addiction are far more complicated than boycotting your local fuel
> vendor a couple days a week.
>
> If you are interested, a good place to start learning is at
> http://www.cnu.org
>
> Developing business and guiding change since 1996,
>
> G. Matthew Bulley
> Bulley-Hewlett
> Corporate Communications
> Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com
> Alliance: www.ntara.com
> Phone: +1.919.658.1278
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
> Of Bob Stevens
> Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2002 9:36 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Lowering Gasoline Prices
>
> Stop and think for just a minute. About 25% of the population have
> computers, and less than that have access to the internet, unless I'm
> grossly mistaken, which would not be the first time. Not trying to put a
> poo-poo on your idea, just use reason.
> You wouldn't be from the marketing department of the "other" oil
> companies,
> would you?
> Bob Stevens
> '91 Westy
> Happy is he who bears a god within.
> -- Louis Pasteur
> http://communities.msn.com/BobsPhotoShare
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: The Lecrones <saljel@NFDC.NET>
> Reply-To: The Lecrones <saljel@NFDC.NET>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Lowering Gasoline Prices
> Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:15:39 -0400
>
> Subject: Lowering Gasoline Prices
>
>
> > MIGHT WORK, MIGHT NOT?
> > **********************************************
> >
> > Subject: Lowering Gasoline Prices
> >
> > I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the
> summer.
> Want
> > gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent,
> united
> > action. Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea: This makes MUCH
> MORE
> > SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was
> going
> > around last April or May!
> >
> > The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't
> > continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of
> an
> > inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever
> thought
> of
> > this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read
> it
> and
> > join with us!
> >
> > By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is
> super
> > cheap. Me too! It is currently $1.97 for regular unleaded in my town.
> > (California)
> >
> > Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us
> to
> think
> > that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50- $1.75, we need to
> take
> > aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the
> marketplace....not
> > sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we
> consumers
> need
> > to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas
> come
> down
> > is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing THEIR gas!
> And
> we
> > can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How?
> >
> > Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we
> CAN
> > have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price
> war.
> >
> > Here's the idea:
> > For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two
> biggest
> > companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not
> selling
> any
> > gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce
> their
> > prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.
> >
> > But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon
> and
> > Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do!! Now, don't whimp out on
> me
> at
> > this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach
> millions
> > of people!!
> >
> > I am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send
> it to
> at
> > least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least
> ten
> more
> > (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the
> sixth
> > generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION
> consumers!
> >
> > If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends
> each,
> > then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level
> > further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! .
> >
> > Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If
> you
> > don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do
> is
> send
> > this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a
> mathematician.
> > But I am... so trust me on this one.)
> >
> > . How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out
> to
> ten
> > more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could
> > conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!
> > .
> > I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did
> you?
> > Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to
> you,
> > please pass this message on. PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR
> PRICES
> > AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK. YOU KNOW THEY LOVE HOLIDAYS
> AND
> > SUMMER TRAVELERS.
> > =====
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "The only disability in life is a bad attitude."
> >
> > --Scott Hamilton. Olympic gold figure skater who recently retired
> after
> > successful treatment for cancer.
> >
> >
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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