Manfred,
I had assumed that you sent the cost comparison out in jest. However, the
thrust of the comparison seemed to me to be that, even with the recent price
increases, gasoline is still a bargain.
I agree with you that increased gasoline prices, either as a result of
increased taxation or as a result of gauging by OPEC should result in some
sort of conservation. However, if this is the case, there must be a fair
bit of time lag in the response: the sale of SUVs appears to continue
unabated in North America. You may well be correct in that high fuel taxes
reduce other taxes. In Canada, the revenue from fuel sales goes into
general revenue and not to fix up the highways.
Seems to me that there are only a limited number of options to reduce
gasoline consumption for day-to-day use, switch to smaller cars, form car
pools, or drive less. Of these options, the first one should be the
simplest, provided the car will have sufficient carrying capacity. The
second option is, IMHO, the best: car pools with five members can reduce the
fuel consumption by a factor close to five. The last option is only viable
if there are alternative modes of transport available or unless one wants to
move closer to work.
In North America, most of the long distance transport is fossil fuel
(diesel) based. Virtually all trains are diesel-electric and trucks are
diesel powered. According to the news yesterday, 20% of the pollutants are
generated by truck transport. One way to reduce this would be to go to
electrically powered trains and use either hydro power or nuclear power. To
make public transit more palatable, the population density in the cities has
to increase. Public transit works in Paris and London but not in Los
Angeles or Tucson.
I'm in the nuclear energy business but, for the last 10-15 years, have been
more occupied with finding environmentally safe ways to bury the waste
rather than finding neat ways to produce power by the neutron.
Chuck Vandergraaf
Pinawa, MB
> ----------
> From: Manfred Brown[SMTP:m-brown@dircon.co.uk]
> Reply To: Manfred Brown
> Sent: Sunday April 09, 2000 1:52 AM
> To: 'Morgan List'
> Subject: RE: US Gasoline Pricing
>
> Chuck,
>
> I sent these out for fun but am prepared to enter the debate seriously.
>
> Most people see the low gasoline prices in the USA, a quarter of the price
> in the UK, and laugh at some people in the wealthiest nation in the world
> bitch about how high the prices are. Personally I agree with high taxes on
> gasoline for environmental reasons with the perhaps naïve assumption that
> his will mean lower taxes elsewhere. I drive a +8 and am willing to pay
> for
> the pleasure but use a more fuel efficient car for shopping, etc.. Global
> warming and diminishing fossil fuel reserves are realities of the world in
> which we live and to bury ones head in the ground is sheer folly - and I
> work in the oil industry!
>
> With respect,
>
> Manfred.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-morgans@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-morgans@autox.team.net]
> On
> Behalf Of Vandergraaf, Chuck
> Sent: 8 April 2000 17:33
> To: 'Manfred Brown'
> Cc: 'Morgan List'
> Subject: RE: US Gasoline Pricing
>
> Manfred,
>
> Yeah, I've seen these figures before but other than being cute, they miss
> the point, IMHO. Most of the items that are mentioned can potentially be
> poured down somebody's throat and need to be of high quality. Others
> (brake
> fluid, for example) are also of high quality but are used sparingly. I
> would
> imagine that ink for ink jet printers ranks up there as well. When I drove
> from Calgary to Pinawa a couple of years ago in my Toyota MR2, I averaged
> 100 kph over the ~1450 km distance. I was using ~7.3 litres per 100 km
> (39
> mpg). I could not possibly consume any of the potable fluids mentioned at
> that rate, not sustained over 14 hours, anyway. White Out is probably an
> endangered species. As for Evian, there are alternatives "L'eau du
> faucet"
> is good enough for me."
>
> I'm not saying that gasoline prices are too high. Gas prices are just
> very
> visible and gas is bought often enough to remind the buyer. Considering
> the
> wide range in prices in the world, it's no wonder we think we're being
> fleeced! Governments are not likely to step in and government officials
> must be rubbing their collective hands with glee: every increase results
> on
> more of our hard-earned money making a one-way trip to their coffers.
>
> Chuck Vandergraaf
>
> ----------
> From: Manfred Brown[SMTP:m-brown@dircon.co.uk]
> Sent: Saturday April 08, 2000 5:01 AM
> To: 'Morgan List'
> Subject: US Gasoline Pricing
>
> Below is something I was sent from the US. Puts the price of
> gasoline into
> perspective.
> Manfred
> 1987 +8
>
> Gas Out
> -------
>
> More thoughts on the proposed "Gas-out" April 7-9. Here are a few
> things
> that the magazine Autoweek has brought to the public's attention.
> And
> thanks to subscriber Christine for passing it along to us!
>
> .... This is what it costs to buy a gallon of.....
>
> Diet Snapple - 16oz for $1.29 = $10.32 a gallon
>
> Lipton Iced Tea - 16 oz for $1.19 = $9.52 a gallon
>
> Gatorade - 20 oz for $1.59 = $10.17 a gallon
>
> Ocean Spray - 16 oz for $1.25 = $10.00 a gallon
>
> Evian water - 9 oz for $1.49 = $21.19 a gallon. $21.19 FOR WATER!!
> Maybe
> that's the reason "Evian" spelled backward is "Naive" ...
>
> STP brake fluid - 12 oz for $3.15 = $33.60 a gallon
>
> Scope - 1.5 oz for $0.99 = $84.84 a gallon
>
> Vick's Nyquil - 6 oz for $8.35 = $178.13 a gallon (Of course, you
> are paying
> for all that alcohol, too).
>
> But here's the real kicker!!
> White Out - 0.7 oz for $1.39 = $254.17 a gallon (i.e Tipex in the
> UK)
>
> So next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on
> White
> Out!!!
>
>
>
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