Price of gasoline

[Lady Rainbow]

We don't have viable public transportation, either. Part of it is politics (they have light rail...in the southern part of the city. The northern part, where I live, gets really jipped when it comes to "equality"). My husband works 20 miles north of home, my son's school is in Uptown, a 15 minute drive. And the CAT bus system isn't widespread enough to get where you need to go.

So, I have to drive everywhere. Which doesn't help the gas bill, but I limit my driving.

Over here, gas is running anywhere from $3.69 to $3.99. The news always has bulletins to where you can get "cheap gas" at $3.50. Just over the border in South Carolina, it's about $3.35 to $3.75, depending on where you go.

[Alelou]

Maybe a combination of economic necessity and enlightened leadership will help us bring back the public transportation that used to be common in American cities. The trolley from Albany used to come all the way out here, in fact the area is still known as "Journey's End." Now everybody has to drive or take infrequent buses and make connections hither and yon.

Of course, I also thought it sounded pretty ominous when a local developer started putting up a new neighborhood called "Journey's End." At first I wondered if it was an unusually frank name for a new nursing home. I notice the sign is down lately. Maybe somebody clued him in that it wasn't necessarily the most comforting name for a development...

[Entilzha]

In Estonia gasoline cost in automated gas stations is around 1.67 $ a liter and about 1.69 $ a liter in regular gas stations.

[CX]

At home, I either have to drive 30 minutes to Minot to go to work, or 20 minutes to Towner to go to work, depending on where I work for the summer. In Grand Forks, when I'm at school, I usually don't do a lot of driving, maybe once a week, but it has nothing to do with being environmentally friendly, and if you asked me, that's a big part of why gas prices are so high - it's all sin tax. Which is stupid as there's no viable alternative. Anyway, I still do drive about once a week when I'm at school, because the simple fact of the matter is that the city buses simply aren't very efficient as a means of transportation. What takes me an hour or a little more to do by just getting in my pickup and going would take most of the day if I waited around for the bus.

[Alelou]

We don't have a sin tax on gasoline. Europeans have sin taxes on gasoline (and boy do they ever). We have roads and bridges taxes on our gasoline. At least that's what it's SUPPOSED to go for.

[Asso]

This morning I paid gas oil 1,387 euro per liter.

[Linda]

Marine gas is about a buck more than automotive gas. I am glad the Coast Guard will be paying for most or our marine gas! And actually, when we go fishing, we just motor to our spot and turn off the engine. It will be the family cruises to other towns along the lake which will be costly. I guess we won't be doing as many of those as we planned.

What scares me about high gas prices is not how much it takes to fill the tank on my little Saturn. Its that bus tickects, food, just about everything you buy will be going up in price. What are people who have been struggling to make ends meet before this gonna do now?

[JadziaKathryn]

True, Linda. It pinches the budget all over. When the price of transport goes up, everything goes up. I bet more people will be turning to buying local when possible if it helps keep the price down. That's been gathering steam at home (it's bigger in Tasmania) but a lot of it was about quality and not price.

The problem with that is that eight months of the year you really can't grow things at home unless you have some massive greenhouses...

[Alelou]

What scares me about high gas prices is not how much it takes to fill the tank on my little Saturn. Its that bus tickects, food, just about everything you buy will be going up in price. What are people who have been struggling to make ends meet before this gonna do now?

The food pantries are really hurting. At our local one we saw a big spike last year when gas and heating oil prices were up. I have a job now so I'm afraid I'm not volunteering down there anymore, but I'm sure the number of clients is way up. A lot of families live marginal lives at best (often because of their own issues and addictions), but this kind of thing makes it difficult for even the straight ones to get by with low-wage work.

By the way, a shout out for Panera. They donate ALL their leftovers at the end of every day. God bless 'em.

[blacknblue]

The food pantries will be hurting even more when the farmers start hurting even worse. Consider how much diesel it takes to run even a small tractor for twelve hours a day. Or a flatbed truck, etc.

Furniture too. And building supplies. Everything from diesel to chainsaw fuel and chain oil will cause the price of timber to shoot for the moon, which means even cheap furniture will cost you an arm and a leg and a gonad.

[Bookworm]

I'm just happy I don't have to drive. If I calculated it right the price here is about 8,45.
I live in the capital area so I use public transport and I also bike.
We don't even own a car. Sometimes we lend one from our parents.

[Alelou]

The food pantries will be hurting even more when the farmers start hurting even worse. Consider how much diesel it takes to run even a small tractor for twelve hours a day. Or a flatbed truck, etc.

Furniture too. And building supplies. Everything from diesel to chainsaw fuel and chain oil will cause the price of timber to shoot for the moon, which means even cheap furniture will cost you an arm and a leg and a gonad.

It's already bad -- particularly since a lot of the federal surplus that they used to get free doesn't exist anymore. America's Second Harvest does a great job of taking in and distributing stuff to food pantries from regional food banks but I believe they're not getting as much federal stuff or corporate donations as they used to. And trucking is a big cost on both ends of that.

Our local food bank runs off the thrift store where it sells used stuff people donate -- which is a good thing, because they can't depend on the regional food bank or food drives to keep it supplied. A lot of food has to be bought full-price at the grocery store. And of course they also have to pay rent ... and pay to dispose of the stuff people donate that's so crappy nobody's going to buy it, not even for fifty cents. Around here you have to pay for trash disposal and I swear some people just donate stuff because it's cheaper than disposing of it. Even worse are the ***holes who drive by regtularly to put their trash in the food pantry dumpster. One guy I caught doing that was driving a brand-new truck. Grrrrrrr. Still, it's a labor of love for a lot of wonderful old ladies and a few old men. It was started by a woman who thought it might be a good way for her to cope with widowhood 28 years ago or so. I never knew her but she was apparently quite a terror. She sure did a lot of good for this community, though.

[hth2k]

Current for regular unleaded was 3.85 last night. My commute is 110 miles every day. Van gets ~24 mpg and the little convertible gets ~30 mpg both freeway driving. Mostly little to no traffic due to the time when I travel which is after rush hour and opposite from the bulk of the traffic.

If I can sell the business this summer I can eliminate the commute.

HtH

[Alelou]

Yikes. Good luck selling the business.

[Mitchell]

It ain't so much the tractors as the impact of all that ethanol made from corn. That and the cost of getting everything where it needs to go since we seldom seem to buy stuff locally made or produced anymore.

Gas around here is $3.76 - $3.86 for the cheapest grade. The others are already over $4.

But the Europeans among us are probably laughing at our whining when our petrol is so cheap.

Uh Sorry, But CX is right.
Their has always been a sudden Jump in fuel prices, Every Spring. Long Before Ethanol was ever even dreamed up.
Its like clock work, Planting time comes Jack up the Price, Harvest Time comes Jack up the Price. Its really freakin annoying.

The food pantries will be hurting even more when the farmers start hurting even worse. Consider how much diesel it takes to run even a small tractor for twelve hours a day. Or a flatbed truck, etc.

Furniture too. And building supplies. Everything from diesel to chainsaw fuel and chain oil will cause the price of timber to shoot for the moon, which means even cheap furniture will cost you an arm and a leg and a gonad.

Well On my two larger Tractors (100, 140HP), Runnin 12 hours a day can each burn through 25 gals a day each pulling either a 5 bottom plow, or 13 ft cutting disk.
Thankfully Ive only got one more day of plowing to do for the year. But Ive got everything else to do yet. Im excited, pissed off, an Tired all at once.

Right now all my tractors are pretty much runnin on what ever lil drippings are still sloshing around in their tanks.
Just ordered a 1000 gallons of Off road Diesel last thursday, they cut us a deal. $3.87 a gallon. Some Deal. I remember when I graduated HS, Back in 00 the price for Off Road Diesel was Under a $1 a gallon. Use to buy it off my dad for My Ol truck so I could drive to school cheap. Couldnt afford to do that these days.

On road Diesel as of last Week was $4.32 a gallon. Hurts like hell to fill up my 34 gallon tank on my Truck.