http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-01-small-town-gas_N.htm

 

High gas prices threaten to shut down rural towns

July 2, 2008

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

 

FORKS OF SALMON, Calif. — The price of gas isn't an annoyance here. It's a calamity.

 

Peggy Hanley uses a generator that burns a gallon of diesel fuel every hour —at about $5 a gallon— to power Forks General Store, the only place to buy groceries for miles around. There's no electric service, so Hanley, the owner, uses the generator to run eight refrigerators, nine freezers, lights and two ice machines for the store, which has been in a trailer since a fire destroyed the original building in 1994.

 

Here's a visual "how we're feeling it". This is a suburban commuter express bus that takes the interstate into downtown Nashville. A friend sent these to me.....

 

 

At least they're not getting squished in like they do in Asia.

They don't look to squished to me.

^Yeah, but you should see the folks riding outside.

 

For emphasis:

 

I see, so the white people get to ride on the inside...

HAHA!

 

 

Police: Woman Traded Sex For $100 In Gasoline

UPDATED: 9:47 am EDT July 2, 2008

 

FORT WRIGHT, Ky. -- Police said a woman they arrested last week in a prostitution sting traded sex for gasoline.

 

Police in Fort Wright set up the undercover operation and said one of the suspects they arrested engaged in sex for a $100 gasoline card and other gifts.

 

Angela Eversole, 34, of Fort Wright, was charged with prostitution and doing business without an occupational license. She pleaded not guilty at a Tuesday arraignment. 

 

http://www.wlwt.com/news/16768006/detail.html

See, we NEED more transit options!!!!

"Doing business without an occupational license"?  I love it.

Yes, spend more money not solving the problem...

 

----------------------------------------------------

Get reimbursed for driving to work?

Posted by Stephen Koff July 02, 2008 14:05PM

 

You don't need a politician to know that gas prices are high. But maybe you want one to do something about it.

 

With Congress on its annual Fourth of July break, lawmakers across the country are touting their proposals for bringing down fuel prices. Sen. George Voinovich has been going around Ohio telling folks that this country needs to drill more and build more nuclear power plants. Sen. Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada has been saying the answer is more alternatives.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2008/07/get_reimbursed_for_driving_to.html

Welfare for drivers?

^Exactly.

 

What a wise, wise use of taxpayer money.

Please email or call LaTourette and let him know how stupid the below is.  I already have...

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2008/07/get_reimbursed_for_driving_to.html

 

Get reimbursed for driving to work?

Posted by Stephen Koff July 02, 2008 14:05PM

 

You don't need a politician to know that gas prices are high. But maybe you want one to do something about it.

 

With Congress on its annual Fourth of July break, lawmakers across the country are touting their proposals for bringing down fuel prices. Sen. George Voinovich has been going around Ohio telling folks that this country needs to drill more and build more nuclear power plants. Sen. Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada has been saying the answer is more alternatives.

 

Today, U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette of Concord Township has been saying that whatever the long-term solution is, consumers need a little short-term help, too. His proposal: The "Commuter Relief and Fuel Efficiency Act of 2008," which would reimburse commuters for up to 30 miles per day, round trip, five days a week.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/02/fossilfuels.travelandtransport

 

Gas guzzlers and 'ghostburbs'

High oil prices are having a dramatic effect in the US, with public transport riding high and SUV production falling. Now, energy policy has moved to centre-stage in the coming presidential election. Polly Ghazi reports

 

Polly Ghazi The Guardian, Wednesday July 2, 2008

 

SUV factories closing, bicycle sales and train use rocketing, commuter belts becoming "ghostburbs" as residents flock to the inner cities . . . welcome to 2008 America, where soaring oil and petrol prices have triggered a sudden revolution in travel behaviour and a seismic upheaval in the automobile industry.

 

Four dollars (£2) for a gallon of petrol may seem like peanuts on this side of the pond, but in the shellshocked US, where pump prices have doubled since 2004, it is proving to be the breaking point for millions of recession-hit households. In March 2008, according to the US department of transportation, Americans drove 11bn fewer miles than in March 2007 - a 4.3% drop, and the first downward trend in 30 years.

 

More at link above:

^----"Consumers are either abandoning their beloved SUVs for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles or turning in droves to alternative forms of transport."

 

    True, but they are also foregoing excess travel, that is, driving fewer miles. 

Gasoline costs about 60% more than it did during the last "oil crisis" when oil was $2.50/gallon in inflation-adjusted dollars (year 2005) .  (Source: US Dept of Energy)

 

 

Petroleum costs about 80% more than it did during the last "oil crisis" when oil was $80/bbl in inflation-adjusted dollars (year 2005) .

 

 

To look at the "price at the pump", one would think that gasoline costs four times what we remember, but that is an artifact of inflation.  It has only been a short period of time since oil prices drove the cost of driving back above those 1970s levels when my friends found their way to the Honda or the Datsun dealer to buy a 2000 pound vehicle because it got fuel economy in the 30 mpg range.

 

Driving Down Real Estate

Will higher commuting costs kill the suburbs?

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/144114

By the way, in case I forget to say this tomorrow, I hope everyone has a...

 

Happy Oil-Dependence Day!

 

I'm going to do my patriotic duty tomorrow and walk on America's sidewalks, ride my American-made bicycle and take public transit driven by Americans (instead of driving my Korean-made car fueled two-thirds by imported oil).

Driving Down Real Estate

Will higher commuting costs kill the suburbs?

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/144114

 

The first line in that article says it all: "We were surprised by how far outside of Boston we had to look to find a home we could afford."

 

You hear people say this all the time, but what they usually mean is "we were surprised how far outside of _______ we had to look to find a 3K-4K sq. ft. home on a 1/2 acre lot, with a 3-car garage, full-sized chef's kitchen, finished basement and bonus room we could afford.".

Driving Down Real Estate

Will higher commuting costs kill the suburbs?

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/144114

 

The first line in that article says it all: "We were surprised by how far outside of Boston we had to look to find a home we could afford."

 

You hear people say this all the time, but what they usually mean is "we were surprised how far outside of _______ we had to look to find a 3K-4K sq. ft. home on a 1/2 acre lot, with a 3-car garage, full-sized chef's kitchen, finished basement and bonus room we could afford.".

 

Yeah, the whole time I was thinking about "what's his house look like? Does he have 1 kid, or 17 kids? Does he own four cars?" etc. etc.

(instead of driving my Korean-made car fueled two-thirds by imported oil)

 

And herein lies many of the great myths about automobiles. People instantly lump brands into distinct categories based upon their supposed manufactured location. Japan, American, Korean, etc.

 

My 2006 Toyota RAV4 was manufactured with 70% domestic parts, with the remainder made in Japan.

 

My parents 2009 Honda Accord was manufactured wholly in the United States in Ohio, with only scant Japanese components.

 

My dad's 2006 Chevrolet Silverado was manufactured in the United States but a substantial number of components came from Mexico.

 

Now, my Cannondale R400 was made in the US with components from Tiawan. My moped was manufactured in Japan with components from the US.

I get it. But I wrote it that way so I wouldn't have to write an e-mail like this one that no one will want to read because it lacks a concise zing. And it's way too complex to say "well I drive a Hyundai which is headquartered in South Korea, created by South Koreans, financed by Korean, Japanese, American and European financiers, its corporate officers are Korean, and while the the car was assembled in South Korea, its parts were manufactured in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan and other places."

 

Now, would you want to take the time out of your busy schedule to read that anymore than I want to write it? Pretty cumbersome.......

10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1819594_1819592,00.html

 

Why You Should Care About Solazyme: It's Algae

 

Solazyme is not the only bio-engineering company trying to put a dent in the world's energy troubles with biofuel. However, it may be the closest to actually becoming a game-changer when it comes to what we fuel our vehicles with.

 

...

I'm taking this "unpublished report" with a grain of salt, just as I do the insistence of the US gov't that biofuel production has barely increased the price at all.  It's as unrealistic to think that Third World rises in demand or weather induced disruptions in supply aren't increasing the cost of food as it is to think that diverting grain production for use as biofuel isn't doing the same.  I just wish that on hot topic items like this there was someone who we could trust to provide unbiased information.

The only biofuel that is hurting our food supply is corn ethanol.  I wish people would recognize that and use biofuel made from sugar cane or one of the other energy rich crops that aren't a staple food to everyone's diet.

^Any biofuel that relies on diverting arable land from food production will, theoretically, increase the cost of food- whether it's corn ethanol or not.  Increased Meat production has a similar impact (similar to X's point, it's hard to believe increased consumption of meat in China/India has not also contributed to higher world grain prices).

 

Plus, the US is not Brazil- we don't have the climate (yet) to plant sugar cane in most of our agricultural areas.

 

In order for biofuel production to have no impact on food production, it would have to be based on non-food crops (like switchgrass) or agro scraps grown on marginal lands.  By all accounts, the technology is not there yet for this to be viable.

 

 

^Any biofuel that relies on diverting arable land from food production will, theoretically, increase the cost of food- whether it's corn ethanol or not. Increased Meat production has a similar impact (similar to X's point, it's hard to believe increased consumption of meat in China/India has not also contributed to higher world grain prices).

 

Plus, the US is not Brazil- we don't have the climate (yet) to plant sugar cane in most of our agricultural areas.

 

In order for biofuel production to have no impact on food production, it would have to be based on non-food crops (like switchgrass) or agro scraps grown on marginal lands. By all accounts, the technology is not there yet for this to be viable.

 

 

 

Yes I'm aware of all that.  I'm well versed on biofuels.  However, you are wrong about diverting arable land from food production.  You can make biofuel and food from the same harvest depending on what is being used.  This being the US we have a lot of alternatives including Sweet sorghum, waste products, TDP, methanol, and algae to name a few.  Sugar cane is currently the best energy crop because the amount of ethanol it produces is 3-4 times that of corn and you can use the waste product to create electricity.  Brazil uses about 0.33% of their arable land to create all the ethanol they make which is enough for 40% of their domestic fuel consumption along with electricity generation by what is left offer.  Biofuels aren't a catch all solution but they should be implemented in some forms and they should be implemented correctly.

^I think we're on the same page that bio fuels derived from bio mass that doesn't displace food crops won't impact food prices.  Of course, if using biofuels is really a good thing, we could start by reducing the hefty tariff on Brazilian exports.  Or raising the tariff on imported petroleum.

^That's why I say <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html">"Bring on the algae."</a>

With gasoline prices high and rising, a new financial milestone has arrived: the $100 tank of gas.

By CHRISTOPHER MAAG, Published: July 6, 2008

 

By late spring, owners of pickups and sport utility vehicles with 30-gallon tanks, like the Cadillac Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Suburban, started paying $100 or more to fill a near-empty tank. As gas prices continue to rise — the national average stood at about $4.10 a gallon Saturday — membership in the triple-digit club is growing. Now, even not-so-gargantuan Toyota Land Cruisers and GMC Yukons can cost $100 to fill up.

 

For people who love their big vehicles, the pain is acute.

 

To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06tank.html?hp

Another great article in the NYT. Some people think SUVs aren't the problem. This article promptly shows why SUV owners are worthy of the evil eye and arched eyebrow when ever you see one. This is also why I have very little sympathy for GM, Ford, etc. I'll only post a part of it

 

American Energy Policy, Asleep at the Spigot

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ, Published: July 6, 2008

 

JUST three years ago, with oil trading at a seemingly frothy $66 a barrel, David J. O’Reilly made what many experts considered a risky bet. Outmaneuvering Chinese bidders and ignoring critics who said he overpaid, Mr. O’Reilly, the chief executive of Chevron, forked over $18 billion to buy Unocal, a giant whose riches date back to oil fields made famous in the film “There Will Be Blood.”

 

Jad Mouawad contributed reporting.

 

To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06oil.html?pagewanted=1&hp

Moving out of exurbia is the obvious remedy, but good luck finding a buyer for your paperboard albatross. Morning Edition had a series a couple of weeks ago about how fuel prices are affecting Americans, and they profiled a father of five from Lima, OH who couldn't unload his 2000-something Ford Excursion (8-10mpg) for more that 1/4 of what he paid for it. I almost felt bad for him.

>“I don’t know if it gets better gas mileage, but I like her car because it costs $100 to fill it,” said Ms. Hammond, 40. “I think $100 for a tank of gas is cheap now.”

 

It's funny to me how people keep talking about how much it costs to "full up" their cars when everyone's gas tanks are a different size.  It's kind of like saying you ate a "whole pizza".  That said, when the tab came to $52 to fill up my Honda Civic's 13 gallon tank the other week, I must admit I was a bit upset, even though that will last me 3 weeks or so.   

Vancouver appears ready to OK light rail

The tougher question is where will it end in the city?

 

Saturday, July 05, 2008

ALLAN BRETTMAN

The Oregonian Staff

 

VANCOUVER -- If opinion polls are to be believed, if a recent public hearing is any guide, the popular consensus has opened Vancouver's door to light rail.

 

Seems like only yesterday that every news story about light rail in Vancouver mentioned a public vote held more than a decade ago: Clark County rejected light rail by a 2-to-1 ratio on Feb. 7, 1995.

 

But perhaps a clogged interstate, a changing population and $4-a-gallon gas have converged so that it won't be much of a surprise Monday night when most members of the Vancouver City Council vote to support a light-rail line and new interstate bridge over the Columbia River.

 

more here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121523010341780.xml&coll=7

^nit pick, but I think it's Vancouver, WA the article is talking about.  No doubt because of gas prices but also because of increased congestion from metro Portland growth.

America's love affair fades as the car becomes burden of suburbia-Observer

...

The worst hit parts of the US are not yet the suburbs or the freeways of southern California, but the small towns that dot the Great Plains, Appalachia and the rural Deep South. Even more than the Inland Empire, people in these isolated and poor areas are reliant on cheap petrol and much less able to afford the new prices at the pump. Stories abound of agricultural workers unable to afford to get to the fields and of rural businesses going bust.

 

Even farmers are not immune. They might not need a car to get to their fields but their fertilisers use oil-based products whose prices have gone through the roof. A handful have started using horses again for some tasks, saving petrol on farm vehicles. ...

My relatives in Appalachian Pennsylvania already use small cars to get to their modestly-paying jobs.  Cannot even carpool when there are a scant number of people who *even* live within a few miles of you.

I don't feel bad for Detroit, per se, but I am pissed that they have been so short-sighted about the future. A big chunk of our economy, including in Ohio, is dependent on the health of the U.S. auto industry. That's a lot of jobs, from the design room to the factory to the dealership to advertising agencies to the mechanic.

Sometimes it helps to know the past in order to understand why we are where we are.  This from National Public Radio:

 

Model T: 'Universal Car' Sparked Gasoline Demand

by Renee Montagne and Dustin Dwyer

 

 

Morning Edition, July 7, 2008 · This year is the 100th anniversary of perhaps the most famous car ever made. The first Ford Model T — also known as the Tin Lizzie — rolled out of Detroit in 1908. It put America on wheels and helped forge a manufacturing revolution.

 

At Ford's Piquette Avenue Plant, in a room about 12 feet by 15 feet in size, Henry Ford and a handful of engineers worked to build what Ford called a "universal car."

 

More at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92216092

^A modern tour of the Ford Piquette plant, courtesy of Lowell Boileau's FANTASTIC Fabulous Ruins of Detroit website:

 

 

http://detroityes.com/industry/05fordhq.htm

I didn't see this anywhere else...pretty funny stuff.

 

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_98_percent_of_u_s_commuters

 

Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Another example of why America is doomed.

Always the optimist.

KJP:

 

http://www.theonion.com

 

Everything's going to be all right.

 

EDIT

 

FYI, we have a thread devoted to Urban Satire, and in it you will find many an Onion story. Enjoy: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10212.0.html

 

And lo and behold: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10212.0/msg,302490.html

The Onion ran a story that the US Congress was going to leave Washington for another town "unless they got a capitol with a retractable dome".  A Chinese newspaper found the story on the internet and actually ran it in their "international" coverage section.

 

A prolife writer actually got taken in by this one:

I'm Totally Psyched About This Abortion!http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33680

KJP:

 

http://www.theonion.com

 

Everything's going to be all right.

 

EDIT

 

FYI, we have a thread devoted to Urban Satire, and in it you will find many an Onion story. Enjoy: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10212.0.html

 

And lo and behold: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10212.0/msg,302490.html

 

Damn, now MTS is going to scold me for not using the search function!

It is not MTS's place to scold you.

 

IT'S MINE!

 

Shame shame shame shame...

"Expanding mass transit isn't just a good idea, it's a necessity," Holland said. "My drive to work is unbelievable. I spend more than two hours stuck in 12 lanes of traffic. It's about time somebody did something to get some of these other cars off the road."

 

of course there's always an element of truth to satire  :wink:

Costly bus fuel forces schools to travel less

Tuesday,  July 15, 2008 3:11 AM

By Nicquel Terry

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Increased gas prices could mean fewer field trips and bus stops for students in local school districts this year.

 

District officials say they must be more efficient because fuel prices are taking a larger bite out of their budgets.

 

More at:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/15/No_trips_2.ART_ART_07-15-08_B1_9CAONB5.html?sid=101

^We're always going to need trucks, but out of curiosity, I wonder how many of these guys could transition to jobs in rail transport?