Disgusted

[OttawaChris]

What else can I say... 82.9 is the sign at all the gas stations this morning.

Why the f**k do we even have a government anyway? Oh wait... yah I forgot... same sex marriages and potheads are more important than eveyone that operates a vehicle to get to work.

[Colonel SB]

I hear ya Chris...But you see the thin is Potheads and homosexuals don't pay the government to look the other way!

Well I gotta go syphon some gas outta my neighbours cars :)

[Lisa]

It's called supply and demand. Demand went up after the black out so they're charging what the market will bear. Don't like the price? Use an alternative such as biking, walking, car pooling, bus (I happen to know Ottawa has an excelent bus system) or buy an electric car. If the government had stepped in and said what you could charge for your herps when you were in business what do you think your reaction would have been? My guess is that you would have been up in arms. It would also be like the government saying your job should only be worth $10/hour and the employer shouldn't have to pay you a dime extra. As much as I hate the price of gas and feel like I am getting raped at the pump, no one is forcing me to drive, and could be taking an alternate method to get around. Lets hear it for less government interferance in our lives (and that's what same sex marriage and legalizing pot is, the government interfering less in our private lives).

Cars are NOT a nessessity, I got along fine with out owning one for 24 years and know many people that get along with out one currently.

Want to show your displeasure with the pumps? don't buy anything from gas stations where you don't like the prices. No chocolate bars, no magazines, drinks and definetly NO GASOLINE!

I remember a few years back, people were trying to band together to not buy gas on a certain day. Their results were in effectual. You know why? because everyone bought gas the day before or the day after. The gas companies weren't affected by a single day. If you want to make something like that work, then don't use your car for a whole week. I don't mean buy gas the week before and stock pile it for the week when you aren't buying gas, I mean don't use your car which will mean you won't need the gas. If everyone did this think of the effect on the oil companies. They would notice a whole week where people used alternative transportation and didn't need to buy gas.

[Ed_r]

Demand went up after the black out

You really don't believe that do you? :rolleyes: Thought you were smarter than that!!!

Not sure if our neighbors to the north Get Labor Day, But we do here and it is considered the last trip of the summer for pretty much everyone. It is a huge travel day and the gas companies know it. The gas companies greed will ruin the rest of the vacation markets economy. Will people stop going on vacations? Hell No!!! So the gas company will always win!

Course you could do what I do. I bought a diesel car. While gas prices here are up to $2.00 a gallon ( I know thats cheap to you guys) But diesel stays at $1.50 a Gallon. They will not raise diesel fuel like they do Gas, because all the truckdrivers would pretty much strike and shut down the entire country. Gas companies won't mess with the truckers. So I reap the bennefits of diesel. Plus I get 50 MPG, so my money goes a very long way.

You watch after labor day the gas prices will all of a sudden start tricling down to normal again.

[Lisa]

Actually, with the line ups after the black out demand did go up. also there were shortages with some gas stations running out of gas. Prices have been up since the day after the black out and continuing to rise. And demand does go up labourday weekend with everyone traveling and such. The demand is there and always will be there with people too lazy to use alternatives. You said it your self, people will guy the gas regardless of the price.

[OttawaChris]

Suuply and demand is right... they reduce the supply when the demand is the same so that the prices can jack up (we can thank our "friends" at OPEC for that... maybe Georgie boy dropped bombs on the wrong countries eh?)

In many cases a car IS a necessity... I work about 30km west of Ottawa... there is no bus service and carpooling is not an option either. I have no problems with the government capping or regulating the prices on necessities (you didnt like paying a fortune for Hydro did you?) And if you read the stickers... the majority of the price of gas is DIRECTLY affected by the government because its tax.

I always find it humourous (a joke that is losing its appeal) that suddenly every gas station in the city jumps their prices to the exact same amount but there is no price fixing according to the government. Isnt it also hilarious that the gas always seems to jack in price right before a long weekend? ;)

Within the city your ideas are great, but the unfortunate part is that you forget about rural areas (which make up about half of Canada's population) Also, Ottawa's bus service leaves a lot to be desired... OC transpo (our bus service) is affectionately known as No-see transpo.

The only action plan I ever saw that makes any sense to me is the one where they say to boycott one specific company (Ie. Esso , Petro Can or Shell) When one company is starving they drop the prices therefore forcing the others to do the same... basic economics there.

As for regulating the prices on herps... maybe they should LOL some people seem to think they are selling gold instead of reptiles!

[Scales Zoo]

[quote]They will not raise diesel fuel like they do Gas, because all the truckdrivers would pretty much strike and shut down the entire country. Gas companies won't mess with the truckers.[quote]

You got that right! When I drove long haul we used to joke that if we stayed home for 2 weeks because we were fed up with the price of fuel, and low wages, the country would grind to a halt, and there would be mayhem.

Can you imagine them being out of fuel at the pumps, and coffee, cigarrettes, beer, diapers milk and bread at the store? I know a few people who are out of sorts if they miss their morning coffee, and others who would die without their tobacco, not to mention the trouble being without diapers, milk and bread, not to mention meat and fruit and veggies.

Maybe it is not such a bad idea to deliberately go without these things from time to time so we appreciate them more. I used to spend 3 months in the mountains each summer, with no electricity, phone, TV, computer and only the company of a few saddle horses. I ate what we packed in, and hunted or fished for extras. Funny how the phone was downright aggravating upon my return to civilization!

We have become a society of convenience and is really apparent when we have visitors to our small town Saskatchewan where there is no 24 hour convenience store, no late-night pizza delivery, stores close Sundays. Lifestyle chages are in order when city people move out here, but it is reversed when the kids from here move to the city, they think its great

The price of fuel is still rediculous, since most of it is refined in Alberta and shipped to the states, and sold for cheaper across the border.

Sheila

[Invictus]

Something to consider about Government regulations. The problem is, the government's responsibility has to stop at the natural resource - that being crude oil. Once crude is turned into gasoline, it is no longer a natural resource - it's a manuafactured product. I sure wouldn't like it if the government told me that they were going to regulate the price of the terrariums that I build because the oak trees that went into the plywood are a natural resource, would you? It's regulated at the level of the resource itself. The government DOES say how much the loggers are allowed to charge to sell raw trees to the pulp mill. After that, it's business and economy.

[Wrath]

Did you mean 89 cents? I paid $2.03 on the gallon yesterday, it was the cheapest price I could find. :(

Thank god for my honda. Those 5 gallons are going to last me at least a week. :)

[burmer]

Did you mean 89 cents? I paid $2.03 on the gallon yesterday, it was the cheapest price I could find

Damm $2.03 a gallon. I thought I had it bad paying $1.61 a gallon. The prices are starting to get insane. I get pissed every time the tank gets empty at the thought of filling it up again.

[gauts28]

Some people should find better excuse then the black out for the price of the fuel here around Montreal the fuel was 89.9 a liter for most of the week and we where not touch by the black out. Nobody should forget that a few years ago the government pass a law to protect the independent stations ‘cause the big companies where selling the fuel about the same price to us then the independents stations. It’s true that the price of a barrel of oil is on the rise but there is a limit. If there is nothing wrong with what the fuel industries are doing, why we don’t pay the same price throughout the country and United States. In the U.S. a gallon of gas is about what, 1.25 a gallon here is more then 4$ for a gallon Also here in Quebec half the price of a liter of fuel is taxes. And an other problem is we. Do you see manifestation, boycotts or anything to see the prices drop, no we always talk about doing something but we never do? And don’t think that by using less your car using less gasoline is going to drop the prices, Its in industry in a down fall soon or later we wont need them anymore and they know it so they are going to suck every penny they can out of our pockets.

Somebody talk about the truckers, well I work as a fleet manager for a trucking company, a couple of years ago we try and make a strike but our dear Quebec government pass a law that we could not do manifestations. They did the same thing with the nurses. That is the new thing here, raise you voice and we going to shout you up no matter what.

[Bryce Masuk]

44% of the cost is TAX Dont like it too bad
Either force the government to better fund companys like ballard so they can get some car's running on hydrogen on the damn road or suck it up

[marisa]

Cars are NEEDED by us! My boyfriend simply cannot get back home during the afternoon shift from Toronto. The bus doesn't run to our hick farm town after 10 sometimes. Maybe its midnight now though...but definitly not at 3 am.

The other thing that upsets me is not the current up in prices but the raise in prices you see on Fridays because of the weekend coming and on long weekends. It's B and S IMHO. Happens every single time around here. Like clockwork.

Marisa

[gauts28]

You are right Marisa. There is not enough bus. I live near Montreal Qc and If you live on the island of Montreal you are fine there is enough bus but if you live outside the island you are ##%%^ . And we pay a tax on our licenses plates for the public transport the closer to a big city the higher the tax so it cost me 80$ a year no matter if I take the bus or not. Somebody said we should suck it up. Well we Canadians that's what we do best. 44% tax on fuel in BC 50% in Quebec and our health care system is going down, we have a prim minister who cannot speak either French or English, Our immigration system is the worst in the world and we pay that much taxes just to finance the friend of the friend of somebody in the government. And we should suck it up. It’s because people say, “we should suck it up” that we have so many problems in this wonderful country. Canada used to be one of the top countries for the quality of live and in the last pole that came out a few months ago we drop to the 10th position. Well let’s be Canadian about it and say people suck it up…

[Bryce Masuk]

Gauts What i was Saying is DO something about it Or suck it up Because if you arent Part of the solution you are part of the problem. If you think canada is going to hell take a look at the states they are already below where we are headed

B.C. is going to hell Cambell wants to sell all we have in order to balance the budget his agenda benifits him and his rich buddys while the common man suffers

[lordkovacs]

in case you are interested... I am a member of Greenpeace and can tell you Esso is by far the worst of the oil companies. Boycott them. Reason being, despite them turning the highest profits, they don't even acknowledge that cars burning gas is not good for the environment! They have the weakest environmental implementations of any major oil company. BOYCOTT ESSO!
cheers,
MIKE

[lordkovacs]

buy a hybrid car. that's my next car for sure. honda and toyota make decent ones, though a little pricey. just think of hte gas you will save though!

[Bryce Masuk]

When you figure it out a hybrid isnt much cheaper at the current gas prices and the cost of hybrids and regular cars in the comparable brackets they dont even get much better gas mileage

[ciliatus902]

I think we take our vehicles for granted too much. In places like Europe the price for fuel is much higher, and so cars are used much less. I would be willing to bet that there are millions of litres of fuel and millions of dollars of peoples' money wasted every year because people are too lazy to walk to the store or bike to work. I think that if more money was invested into public transportation and bicycle pathways, the results would be evident in both our bills, our air quality, and our overall quality of life.

Thanks for listening,
Mike

[OttawaChris]

The thing with Europe is that you can drive across entire countries in a matter of a couple of hours... we are far too spread out here to do that.

Do you want to walk 5km in -40 degree winter weather with 40lbs of groceries? Thats not lazy its just not do-able.

I agree that better public transit is a great first step... but thats only the tip of the iceburg.

I like what Gauts is saying because he is right... I am sick and tired of everyone just turning the other cheek. It has gotten to the point that we can't vote for the politics we like... we have to vote for the ones we hate the least!!!!

[Alicewave]

A manual transmission Insight gets 70 miles to the gallon. Find me regular car that gets that good of gas mileage. For someone that does a lot of commuting, it pays for itself and helps the environment. I do wish they would lower the price on them. They probably will when they become more pupular.

[Bryce Masuk]

A volkswagon golf gets 49 mpg with a manual transmision. and the price is quite a bit lower. the car is also much simpler and nearly any mechanic can fix it. now if you want to get your hybrid fixed you will need to go to a factory certed mechanic for the model you choose. then you have the expense of replacing Nimh batterys in the next few years. They dont hold memory but they get worse and worse after every run in your car. not to mention the more complicated computer system that will more then likely bite the dust since hybrids have not been on the market long. they have quite a few bugs that need to be worked out over time. the price is still lower on a regular car when its all added up as of now. the system is a fairly good idea it has been proven in many other applications as in trains and mining dump trucks give it time and it will do well but right now its not worth it if you want to be easyier on the inviroment and save gas car pool when ever you can I realize it doesnt work for some people but for those who it does its the best option

[marisa]

Ottawa Chris is right. Its just not o.k. for some of us to go without a car. Period. especially here in Canada when you work an hour and ten minutes away, and live in a town with limited bus stops/hours/ etc.

And guess what? The gas comapanies KNOW this. They need MORE taxes? My BF gets over 30% of his money taken off each year and THEN has to pay yearly taxes and THEN pay taxes on food, gas and everything else. It's not right the way the world is today folks! LOL

Marisa

[RaVeNo888o]

gas cars may be 'better' as some ppl have mentioned, and that its not really much cheaper if you have an electric car. i dont think that the cost of running the car is the main concern here, rather, the price the environment has to pay.

[Ed_r]

Bryce is right My Jetta TDi gets 49 and sometimes if i really baby it a little better. Its stick, and virtually maintenace free. No spark plugs, no wires, no basic tune up parts your conventional car has. So its a touch louder than a gas car. The amount of money I save in fuel and maintenance pretty much paid for the car. Hybrids are cool but as stated you can't go just anywhere to get them fixed. Also helps I do all my own work anyway. I easily get 500 miles out of 12 gallons of fuel, sometime if its pure highway i gan get almost 600 on a tank, I rarely push it that far though.

Plus as I said before , with it being diesel they WON'T raise the fuel costs, other wise the truckers will strike. Thake the bull by the horns and stop putting money in their pockets. If it really bothers you, do something to hurt the gas companies. Yes they still produce the diesel, but the profit margin isn't as large as gas.

[gauts28]

Ed_r
I see your point about having a car and a stick trans. but diesel is cheap and there's a reason for that. It is not really good for the environment. A lot of pollution comes from diesel cars and truck. And here in Canada, the diesel fuel is still 4 times higher for a gallon then in the U.S. Also As I said earlier for the trucker stuff it’s not the same (CDN vs. USA) because here there is to many trucking companies that eats right out of the government hands. If you try to complain they always going to say that it’s not that bad (of course they say that they receive money under the table)

[Ed_r]

but diesel is cheap and there's a reason for that. It is not really good for the environment.

Gauts28
I think you need to recheck your information. Diesel Is Way cleaner than any fuel that it in mass use. Other than alchohol. That is why there are no emmision tests for diesel cars, cuz there isn't any harmful emmisions from it.

If you loked yourself in a garages with a gas car with the engine running , you would probably be dead within an hour. If you did the same with a diesel car, it would parobably take 3 weeks.

Diesel is many times safer than gas. You also get lower insurance rates too. You could take a lit match and throw in into a bucket of diesel fuel and it will NOT ignite. Trust me I teach diesel mauntenace classes and do this for my students in each class. Try that with gas. Just let me get a few miles away before you do this.

In emmision concious states , in the US gas lawncare equipment in highly regulated. Diesel is non regulated.

The reason people don't buy a diesel, is they are not race car fast, they are a little noiseyer, fuel is not as convenient, and of course the biggest one is the General Motors diesel disaster for Oldsmobile. gave everyone the idea that diesels were unreliable.

Diesels are the cleanest burning internal combustion engines on the market. Not sure how clean the natural gas cars are.

The pollutants i thing your talking about, is the black smoke you see from the big trucks and equipment.... Well Guess what, that black smoke is all CARBON, which is a natural substance, and also the base substance of all humans. We are rfered to as Carbon based life forms.

So if you can tell me how diesel fuel is bad for the environment, Id really like to see it.

[ChaosCat]

Any of you who run diesel, you can use biodiesel :) And make it in your own backyard.. plus your exhaust smells like french fries!

Pssst don't tell anyone I told you that-the gov't would have my head! :)

j/k

No, really, you can make your own biodiesel and it can be cheaper to run any diesel car on. Unfortunately all the methods for alternative fuels for other cars were thrown out the window cause car manufacturers (not to mention our government) all have a big deal going with the oil companies.

*sigh* and there is no shortage. Its all bull.

-cat

[Ed_r]

Any of you who run diesel, you can use biodiesel

Biodiesel is an alternative but it does not have the lubricating properties and regular diesel fuel has. It will lead to premature fuel injection system failures, due to it's low lubricating properties. Right now Diesel manufacturers are only recomending a 5% blend of Bio additave to true diesel.

Actually there some companies in Canada that are producing Hempoil Fuel. Yes you read it right Hemp Oil. That what most of the push is for legalizing weed, not for regular use, And yes the government is funding the Hemp Oil projects.

So Instead of smelling like french fries Everyone behind you will be getting a contact high. :p

[Lisa]

I'm hoping to find my self a diesel blazer or jimmy... one came along but didn't have the $$$.

[stretch]

whats wrong with potheads? :)

[lordkovacs]

bryce... part of the allure of hte hybrid is the environmental factors...not just gas mileage. and believe me hybrid gets much better mileage!

[Bryce Masuk]

THe gas mileage is better but not enough to counter act all the other costs if enviormentalism is what you want use natural gas its much cheaper and better for the enviroment however the heads on your car will need to be re done after 100 000 km

Diesel engines are heavyer and not really ment for stop and go driving that will build large carbon deposits on the heads. diesel engines have insane torque you can make a diesel engine haul a$$ if you know what to do

[Lisa]

You know, the car isn't a nessessity. no one forces people to live an hour or more away from their job etc. No one forces you to live out in the boonies. We drive because we want to.

[Ed_r]

Hybrids still burn gas, so not very environmental.

As bryce said diesels are not for everyone. If you drive 5 miles to work and back it's not a good thing to get a diesel. Now if your driving 25 miles each way to get to work, then it is a good idea, because the engine can get hot enough to not carbon up. It's all in the application. Regardless of use diesels will get carbon deposits, the the nature of the beast.

Lisa it depends. Are you going to relocate every time you get a new job? are you going to turn down a job that pays allot more, but you have to drive 15-20 miles each way? Some need to drive to survive. Yes we could ann go back to caveman days where we could hunt and gather food that is local to our cave. But if you don't want to go back to it, the driving is a necessity.

[marisa]

Actually my BF is almost forced to work an hour away.

For one, the only place that offers his job that is worth working at is Rogers. Its the largest internet company in Ontario, one of the only ones in fact. He salarly would probably be half as much working for a smaller company. If they even need his specific job at a smaller company.

For two his parents left him this house in Bradford only three years ago, so he certainly isn't ready to move. Sure we could say "we dont have to drive" and move into Toronto, but then we would be paying more rent than we do right now with rent and gas combined.

It's a catch 22 I suppose.

Marisa