Roy Schestowitz newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote in
<6511964.kiY8JMUdtQ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> __/ [ Matt Probert ] on Saturday 22 April 2006 16:18 \__
>
> > <rant on>
> >
> > I notice petrol prices are rising every week. I guess they're not
> > included in the UK inflation figures!
> >
> > Look out for more record profits from the British oil companies next
> > quarter!
> >
> > <gnashing of teeth>
> >
> > Someone's extracting the urine out of the British motorist, and
> > without wishing to appear racist, I am glancing westwards.....
> >
> > (No, Mecca's the other way)
> >
> > </rant of>
> >
> > Matt
>
> I was in the States until Thursday and was told that, in a period of just 6
> months, the price of petrol doubled (maybe an exaggerating/figure of
> speech). Everybody was talking about the price of fuel and noone could every
> find the gas station that had sane, welcoming prices. So you are not alone
> in this. Demand for gasoline in the East is rising as well, so think green.
>
There is a limit to how much petroleum can be turned into petrol/gasoline
at any time. Keep trying to use ever more of it and either the market has
to be tightly regulated (in which case you pretty much have to nationalise
the oil industry eventually) or prices go up. The only thing the consumer
can do is find ways to use less.
That's all there is to it. Before moaning about how hard this is for you
bear in mind that when you take the increase in gas and electricity costs
that I pay in an average week and compare them with the two pounds a week
my benefit has increased by, then I'm one pound fifty out of pocket per
week. That's two percent of my income after housing costs.
Everybody in the developed world is being hit by this. It's not going to
get better. Ever.
The answer for many in the USA is going to be buying cars that can use
Ethanol 85. That will at least be a bit of insulation from rising
petroleum prices. In the UK it's pretty much got to be a matter of finding
ways of making fewer car journeys.
--
eric
www.ericjarvis.co.uk
"live fast, die only if strictly necessary"
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