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Across the Fence:  Are Gas Prices Affecting You?  |
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Lazycreek
Farmgirl in Training
39 Posts
Charlee
Mt Ida
AR
USA
39 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 17 2005 : 9:14:35 PM
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Things may not get better soon. Article in paper said that people in China are sitting in gas lines like we did in the late 70's. Demand there is twice what they have available right now.
We are doing everything we can to cut back, but we live in the boonies and there is only so much we can cut back on. I have to get to work. I have been filling up when I get to half a tank. That way I don't pass out at the pump.
Believe in the power of your dreams |
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KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl
666 Posts
Karen
Chippewa Falls
Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts |
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Morning_Dew
Farmgirl in Training
17 Posts
Karen
cottageville
sc
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2005 : 08:57:46 AM
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i didn't read all the posts but i see the price of gas has enraged most of us. i drive my son to school and pick him up its our pep talk time, and the time he get just to tell me whats on his mind. i hate to think he'll have to ride the bus and we lose this wonderful conetion we have. with the price of gas here at 2.58 a gallon i'm not sure we can continue to have this time together.
the hubby has been toying with the idea of making other forms of fuel and i have friends who are trying a methane full to run their stuff. i'm all for find and using clean forms of fuel like wind, solar, and water power. likes like we are getting closer to the days wages for a loaf of bread... at tank of gas is almost there now.
prices are going up everywhere do in part to the high gas prices the trucking industry has to pay. i thought we had gas reserves somewhere??? even if they were used it to help lower the cost for the shipping of goods it would help keep the cost of everyday goods were they are now and not keep going up.
every gardener should make time for the humming BIRDS and honey BEES, stop and smell the flowers. |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 07:49:39 AM
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Gas went up to $2.96 and premium I saw was $3.03 here in central Illinois this morning-I heard on the news that consumers were contacting Attorney General of IL to investigate.
Yesterday morning it was $2.57 and the news was reporting a price influx so I went and filled up at noon and paid $2.66. By 4 pm, it was up $2.83...How can gas go up every 4 hours???
Jan |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 08:23:42 AM
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Jan, it doesn't need to go up so much.
Karen is right - we DO have oil reserves. If you remember the Clinton era - every time the prices of oil seemed to be rising, he would threaten to open the reserves - and the prices would go down EVERY time. Hmmmmm..... Why doesn't Bush the Oil Man do that?
All these prices with the hurricane are an excuse. Yesterday it hit $70/barrel for a little while until those in charge decided that was a bit much and reduced to to $68. Two bucks. Wohooooo. I understand we lost 4 of our 11 sources of oil (those 4 in the Gulf) and they may not resume production for a while. But to raise the prices that much - when many of us are already conserving as much fuel as we can - is simply greedy.
Those people evacuating a few days ago HAD to buy gas, and were forced to pay higher rates. It makes me so mad - if they don't buy the gas their lives are in jeopardy - and these oil people make MONEY off of their unfortunate circumstances! Grrrr...
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 8:24:00 PM
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My daughter called tonight and told me to fill my gas tank tonight because by tommorow gas will be up 1.00. Here in Kansas average price is 2.79. She said her co-worker from Topeka ( the state capital) said it is 4.00 a gallon there. Not sure of the accuracy of this, but seems the oil powers to be are using the katrina disaster for further gain. Bush is supposed to release oil reserves...what is the holdup W??? Americans cannot continue to take this hit. Now with so many in the Gulf states that have lost everything, the scope of that disaster is hard to comprehend. Don't know about the rest of you but mighty America is being humbled by powers beyond our control. I for one am very, very afraid.
Being is what it is. Jean Paul Sartre |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 9:10:06 PM
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Connie- Your entire community will be impacted by this gas spill near your library. The people who live in this community need to be aware of some things: If they have wells; they have been contaminated with up to 25 carcinogenic chemicals,. The water table will be adversely affected for years to come. The soil does have to be removed and hauled away to an environmentally approved site for hazardous waste. The most important thing is that the oil Company is 100% responsible and should begin immediate action for site cleanup. This is not something they can just come in, lay new sod down and say everything is better. The sooner the EPA is brought in to evaluate the situation, they can hold the company accountable to replace repair, clean and make amends. Sadly, these elderly neighbors should not have to deal with such a nightmare at this stage of their lives and dealing with the company will be .How do I know all this? My parents and 5 of their neighbors all had wells contaminated by a gas station who had known for 4 years that their underground tank was leaking and did nothing. The levels of contaminants in the water were so bad when you turned on the faucet it smelled like kerosene. The levels of Benzene in a glass of water were enough to kill anything that drank it. And the gas station was 4 miles away!
with a happy heart |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 9:17:04 PM
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I think Bush would rather drill the life out of the Arctic Reserve than open reserves. Follow the money, and somebody is making tons of it!
We're pretty rural and have already cut back some, but will be doing more cutting. Maybe we should go back to gas rationing like we had in the 70's. I remember the odd-even gas days. I think it made us more responsible consumers.
Meadowlark is right about using the Katrina disaster...prices are bound to rise!
sadly, Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 9:21:15 PM
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I put gas in my car tonight and it is $2.69 a gallon. I heard that it will be at least $3.00 a gallon by the end of the week. I hardly drive at all now. I make a trip into town, round trip 2 miles, once a day if I need to go to the library, store, etc. But I am now considering walking if I need to go somewhere. I am going to stop driving as much as possible. I get very discouraged over all this as now the excuse for the prices going up again will be Katrina. Yeah right! Reminds me of the 70s when we were held hostage with a supposed gas shortage.
"If you are lucky enough to have a garden, you are lucky enough!" |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 9:40:04 PM
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I am at the point of trying to find an old used motor scooter and a couple of helmets to take my 7th grader to school in the am and to pick her up. We live in the country on a gravel road part of the way into town, which is just about a mile staight in to her school. It is feasible now when the weather is nice, but not when it gets too cold or it rains or is foggy. I don't want to jeaperdize her safety or health for the sake of high gas prices. People drive like idiots on this road kicking up gravel, so do the large semis. It is just too risky.
Being is what it is. Jean Paul Sartre |
Edited by - MeadowLark on Aug 30 2005 9:43:39 PM |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 04:34:07 AM
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Want some information that will really cook your noodle?
President Carter realized the nation's oil dependency was a problem, and drew up a 20-year plan to wean America off of its dependency. Mentioned it wasn't good for us to need oil from other countries, to be using those resources, etc. If people had just stuck with him instead of condemning him for not being able to get those hostages free from Saudi Arabia (or wherever it was) - we wouldn't be in this trouble today.
And think about it now - we no longer condemn our president for not being able to free hostages. I venture to say the vast majority of Americans don't even think about it anymore - unless the terrorists send us gruesome images of the hostage's heads getting cut off with steak knives.
Now we are in deep-oil-doo-doo - and I really don't see Bush pushing anything much in the way of alternate fuel and demanding that new cars use something else. There have been hydrogen-powered engines for at least a decade. Some brilliant high school kid usually comes up with something, gets his name in the paper, a blurb in Newsweek - and that's the end of it.
I'll go back to the horse and buggy. My town is fairly horse-friendly so... why not? A horse has to be cheaper than a car by the time you count the price of the car and upkeep AND gas. I'll sell my 1994 Cherokee and buy a horse...  And name the horse Cherokee or Jeep.
Oh sure, it's soon to be a requirement that a vehicle gets X miles per gallon, but when does that kick in? And if people still want to buy a Hummer DESPITE the fact it gets 10 miles to the gallon - well the world is full of fools. 
Ah, well, until we get the horse - I'm working on designing a little lightweight cart my Shepherd mix can pull. She can haul groceries. Way back when, dogs were working animals too. Maybe I'll start a fad ... |
Edited by - greyghost on Aug 31 2005 04:45:50 AM |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 05:04:47 AM
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I took my daughter to her first day of school this morning. Gas hit $3/gallon today. Other than taking my daughter to school and myself to college my Blazer is going to have to be parked until the consequences of Katrina are over. I drive 23,000 miles a years. That's $3,285 a year for gas at the current price.
quote:
Ah, well, until we get the horse - I'm working on designing a little lightweight cart my Shepherd mix can pull. She can haul groceries. Way back when, dogs were working animals too. Maybe I'll start a fad ...
They still are. I have four of them. One will pull. Goats are also used to pull carts. The only goat I have that is trained to pull a cart is now elderly but he could still manage a light load easily.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com |
Edited by - ThymeForEweFarm on Aug 31 2005 05:07:19 AM |
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thehouseminder
True Blue Farmgirl
361 Posts
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 05:23:17 AM
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Yesterday afternoon, gasoline here in Omaha was $3.29 for regular unleaded, $3.39 for Ethanol blend, and 3.69 for premium (which I NEVER buy).
Fortunately, I bought gas in the morning while it was still $2.69. I'm thinking of walking to and from work, about two miles, and saving the gas for trips to the grocery. Sure glad I grew a lot of veggies this summer because I'm sure food prices will be affected too.
Lucinda
Who loves a garden still his Eden keeps, Perennial pleasures plants, and wholesome harvest reaps. ---Bronson Alcott
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Edited by - thehouseminder on Aug 31 2005 05:50:08 AM |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 07:41:52 AM
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There are several stations locally that are OUT of gas completely-One local station posted $9.99 a gallon just so no one would stop~~~
Jan |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 09:18:24 AM
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Last year my neighbor went out and bought an old VW Rabbit that runs on diesel. Although the diesel is high he only fills up every week and half to two weeks and is thrilled about the mileage, he says it's GREAT. I guess that's one way to be more economical though far from ecological.
with a happy heart |
Edited by - bramble on Aug 31 2005 09:21:41 AM |
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countrymamma
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
Rural Manitoba
Canada
78 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 09:41:33 AM
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Has a Canadian we are already paying over $4 a gallon US. This morning its gone up 10¢ a litre, making it $1.14 a litre.
I love country living, however this price increase along with the price increases of everything else is killing our pocket books!!
~Carol |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 10:24:49 AM
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We have been so spoiled in this country. The price of gasoline in most other countries has always been a great deal higher than we have had to pay. We became hypnotised to the false dream that oil was an infinate commodity. It is not and we must all wake up now and do what we can to prepare to live without using it so freely and frivolously. I feel it is important that we all take our anger and fear and redirect it into creatively figuring out how and what we can do to become less dependent upon this false god. I suggest that we as a group of intelligent farm women and men put our heads together and share what we each do to avoid having to use so much fuel. This way of life we are now living is really fairly new as far as history goes. Our grandparents did not consume gasoline in such great quantities and I would venture to guess that our great grandparents did not use it at all. With the oil supply now predicted to run out much sooner than formerly thought we may be going back in time soon. The really interresting thing about all of this is that few of us realise how completely surrounded we have become by oil based products and how closely it can be linked to a lot of the current trend in environmental illnesses that have been the modern plague. We wear polyester and other petroleum based fabrics, our homes are wrapped in tyvec, our countertops are covered by plastic laminates, our furniture is full of plastic and petroleum based products even covered by it, our carpets are mostly petroleum based as well as all the stain resistant coatings. Our soaps and cleaning products are often petroleum based and even the siding on a lot of homes is petroleum based. I could go on. We need to pull our heads out of the sand and help each other find and relearn all the survival practices of our grand parents. On this forum we have already been sharing with each other some of these wonderful skills. I am reading a book right now that I think we all would benefit from reading. It may not apply to you directly but it is full of information we can all benefit from knowing in case we need to go backwards in time and raise our own food to survive.
"All Flesh Is Grass" by Gene Logsdon. Mary Jane has it in her library and I think we all should own a copy. Might I also suggest that we all begin to check out books at our libraries that teach us the fine arts of animal husbandry so that we have a base of information we can draw upon in an emergency for example how to raise chickens, even a small flock, to supply us with eggs and meat. Also learn what edible wild foods are growing near where you live. Learn about back yard root cellars, things you can do even in the city to store your produce without refrigeration from a simple thing like a garbage can buried in the ground. Begin now if you have not already done so to educate yourself. Do not count upon our government to provide.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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connio
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
connie
springtown
texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 10:54:26 AM
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Hey Farm Girls!
As the beloved Mr. Rogers would say, "Boys and girls, the government is not our friend!"
Reading all of the recent posts and listening to the news and going to the gas station simply leaves me feeling powerless and overwhelmed which is atypical for me. I have been a political activist all of my adult life and have also encouraged my nieces and nephew to believe that they can also make a difference in society. I am now feeling quite disillusioned when faced with the immense power of greed in our
world.
This is one reason that I moved to the country 2 years ago. I felt that I at least could have control over my tiny world and could make it a place that honored love, honesty, generosity and self reliance. Simplicity rules in my home. I have few possessions now and have found that this brings me great peace.
As far as gas is concerned, I am going to have to apply for a promotion so that I can afford to drive to work. Buying a new car is not feasible at this time. There are no jobs in the country that pay as well as I can earn in the city. I would cut my salary by 50%, and this would certainly be a greater hardship than the cost of gas.
I am lucky though because I have options. I worked hard to pay for an excellent education and have a Master's degree with 30 years of work experience. I also have no dependents other than my animals! I just feel like weeping when I think of all of those who are sick, elderly or did not have the life opportunities that I have had. Many of these people also have children to care for--how do they do it?
This must be why our local food bank is receiving requests in record numbers.
Where will this all stop? I have no answers any more.
Connie
cozycottage |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 1:37:50 PM
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Eileen,
I totally agree! We are all to blame, even those of us who are conservationists have been less so. I am so sick of Hollywood, Las Vegas Etc. and the total glutany of American society. Look at what the mass majority of our people are doing and watching. Who needs a Suburban to go to the grocery store alone having just one child and living in the middle of the city. Forget the Hummers. Our teens emulating Paris Hilton and the likes. Did anyone ever watch her show where she was on a farm in rural Arkansas? I thought everyone laughed at it thinking she was the idiot, but in actuality the nations youth laughed at the farmers. A good majority of this nation is out of touch with reality, people, earth and where their food comes from. I used to run weddings for a living and I was always baffled by the bride who had an outdoor wedding by a lake and then complained that night that there were actually bugs outside. That in a nutshell says it all about how out-of-touch people are.
I love this website because we, regardless of background or location, all seem to be on the same earthwise wavelength and it gives me someone to talk to.
Thank You all!
Marianne
Connie, I too moved to the country 2 1/2 years ago for the same reason. |
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owwlady
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Jan
Tomahawk
WI
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 3:30:31 PM
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| Woke up today to see the price of gas is $3.29 per gallon. I can't even afford to drive anymore. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation. Something's gotta give. My friend is taking all his money out of stocks and putting it in a money market to keep it safe. He thinks things are going to start falling apart in this country. I hope something changes first. |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 4:48:57 PM
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Jan - economically the worst thing that can happen to an economy is for people to lose faith in it. Pulling stocks and cutting back are (so we are told in economy courses) the worst things for people to do.
I however, do not condemn it. I too am worried like your friend. My husband and I had a very long conversation tonight about buying land and an older home. We have some money in the bank that we have worked very, very hard for and I think I just want my home and my land paid for. I want to know that if the economy fails, that we are fed and as close to self-sufficient as we can possibly be. The banks can fail, but so long as I pay my property taxes, chances are my land and home are safe.
I, like your friend and all the rest of us, look out for me and mine first. That means I absolutely will cut back on my spending and absolutely am looking for the safest place for my money. |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 5:14:08 PM
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All these prices jumping that much is ridiculous. Do we sense a little price gouging going on? And after Pres. Bush said he was releasing some of the oil reserves!
"If you are lucky enough to have a garden, you are lucky enough!" |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2005 : 10:05:17 AM
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Last night while driving on bare fumes I passed several gas stations who were having a change of price per gallon war and the highest I saw for regular was $3.89! I was having a heart attack, thinking I'm not paying that! But like an oasis in the desert I literally coasted into a station that had $2.92 posted for regular. Nirvana I thought! ( A month ago I would have said insanity!) The attendant filled my car to the tune of 32.00 and proceded to tell me that it was "my lucky day" because the boss just told him to change the sign $3.92!
Alot of what we are experiencing is just plain old capitalist market economics ;supply and demand , greed raising it's head in the midst.
with a happy heart |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2005 : 10:12:55 AM
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I totally agree Bramble! Farmgirls, lets band together and get a pony cart and a d##n horse and use that to go run our errands! I for one have had enough! We have my husband's dad's homemade pony cart that just needs a seat put in it and a harness for the pony. I need to locate another pony and I am really thinking about using it! So what if it poops in town! I think the Amish have the right idea! There are a few signs I'd like to hang on it too, to make a statement about this!
Being is what it is. Jean Paul Sartre |
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Across the Fence: Are Gas Prices Affecting You? |
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Are Gas Prices Affecting You?
