This is INSANE!!

Here it is up .60 since sunday

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"Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness."
Thomas Jefferson to George Washington 1787

I was planning on a road trip to Upstate NY this coming weekend. However, if gas stations along the I81 corridor are going to start running dry, now I'm not so certain about that. I was going to haul a load of furnature in my truck, so I'll be drinking a lot of gas for this trip anyway. I just don't want to be stranded in Northern PA with no gas. This coming weekend was supposed to be a big travel weekend, so you would think that gas companys would be prepared.

hmm this give me an idea. Get to VT then "sorry honey theres no gas to be had, guess we'll have to stay"

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

I wouldnt take a road trip back east right now.No telling if supplies will be there,let alone at what price.

BooBoo

We are still going to the lake but might tote a full gas can in the trunk...JUst in Case..

Grandmotherbear -

Carrying a can of gas in your trunk is not a safe thing to do! Please reconsider.

just joking boo. We just got back from out east

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

Best advice:

1) Don't panic.

2) Stay home.

Gas here (western Wis) was $2.89 yesterday AM (Wed) and last night $3.25. Sure glad I filled up everything in the last week or so. My motorcycle won't need to be filled for a few weeks, and my truck doesn't get used much so it is good for quite awhile. My wife's car is full, and that lasts for weeks of driving to work, groceries once a week, and church. She can walk in the mornings if the weather isn't bad, and I pick her up on the motorcycle at night.

I got tired of commuting more than 5 miles back in the mid-70s, and since then we have made sure we could walk to work if necessary, although it sure is convenient to drive.

YESTERDAY
11:00 a.m. $2.49
12:00 p.m. $2.79
1:00 p.m. $3.19
Today ?????????

Doesnt seem a supply problem here,just increasing price.May as well fill up for less than pay more tomorrow.
We paid 3.19.9 yesterday,wonder what is happening here today.If my package comes,I will go to post office to get it and see.

BooBoo

philadelphia, pa area update
1st gas station out of fuel
2nd try was 3.19 a gallon
filled up
time to buy a motorcycle
and what the hell is going on in new orleans
human nature is pretty sad sometimes
gonna be an interesting year
kinda sad also, but glad i currently live in the city
if things get ugly... i figure the cities will have 1st dibs at most things
statistics are on our side
to help the most people most efficiently... you go where the numbers are
hope everyone is well

Yesterday just before gas went to 2.79/gal, I saw a tanker filling up a local stations tanks, then today, same station, 2.99....exxon/phillip66 etal are crooks...gotta kick em when they are down. Kind of makes me wonder how they sleep at night.
Another thing, did anyone one see the idjut in the white house say "If you don't need to buy gas, don't"? I don't know about any of ya'll, but I buy gas because at this point in time, I haven't any other way to get around...now, if we REALLY were to want to conserve, let's get rid of all the behemoths in the shrubs, congress critters, etc....little caravans that they have every time they go some where....not to mention all the gas guzzlin hummers that aren't really needed.....
I agree that we don't need to panic, and make a bad problem worse, but then again, just maybe this is the kind of kick in the pants this whole country needed to wake em up out of the apathetic stupor most folks are in???

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I support our troops, I love my country, but fear my government.....

All 5 locale stations and the Big 2 truck stops "out of fuel".


Kenneth in NC

Walking is an excellent alternative. Much healthier too.

PCdreams and everybody, please don't take any of this the wrong way ... I love all of you dearly, but I love my country so very dearly too, and that is why I am going to rant a little bit ... *PLEASE* forgive me in advance ...


I would suggest to those of you who will *listen* that there aren't any "easy" solutions to this dilemma. In a way we are all responsible.

Do you drive a GMC: Denali, Tahoe, Suburban, ... or a Ford: Excursion, Expedition, ... a Lincoln Navigator, or another form of gas guzzling car ?

If you do, I would suggest that you *re-consider your vehicle of choice and if after doing so you still insist on keeping what you have, then by all means please take a hard look in the mirror, because *you* are a part of the problem!! I realize that not everyone can afford to purchase any vehicle they wish at any given time ... I know for many folks it is hard enough just to get by ... If so you will need to find other ways to cut back on your consumption ...

With respect to Energy, Hurricane Katrina has hit us where it hurts the most at a time when we are especially vulnerable due to a number of factors:

1) World Oil Demand is starting to exceed Supply
2) The Global Infrastructure ( Production, Exploration, Transportation, Refining ) is stretched way too thin and/or is aging and/or is becoming obsolete ...
3) Oil that is easily refined and processed is becoming difficult to find ( Light, Sweet, Crude is not as easy to produce as it once was ) ...
4)Expertise, Engineers, Professionals are short in number and will be dwindling over the next decade
5) Political leaders who are savy enough to be able to "read the tea leaves" do not have the intestinal fortitude to make tough choices

And then a Hurricane came along and hit a major Oil, Processing/Refining, Transportation hub and took a lot of infrastructure out ...

Is it possible that OPEC, and Oil Companies will try to take advantage of this situation? Perhaps!! Want to know the best way to hit them where it hurts?? Stop sucking up oil without even thinking about it!!

If the USA could cut 20-30% of daily transportation requirements, we could hit these bastards where it hurts. *Blaming* OPEC and the Oil Companies won't do a thing!! Placing Long-Term Price Caps on Oil and Energy products won't help either. Want to know why? Because what will happen is the equivalent of RATIONING. This is Economics 101 and history is replete with examples of how caps easily go awry ...

The next few months are going to be tougher than we would like!! No doubt about it!! Hopefully, the refineries will get on-line within a month or two and the piplelines will start flowing again at full production fairly soon as well. Don't count on it though!!

Hit the bastards where it hurts!! Conserve wherever possible !!!

I'm glad I can say I wasn't one of the ones to put an oil man in the White House!

Yesterday 7 am- $2.44- 2.49, one 2.59, another 2.79

I got home (just a half hour later) and heard on the local radio that gas was up to 3.07 .

DH came home tonight and said the little country store where we usually get our gas is up to $3.14, as is another small store that generally has cheap gas. I've talked to the owners of both these places, and they don't raise their prices until they have to, and run on slim profit margins. They both are typically lower than any of the larger chains.

I did call my Congressman today and spoke with his secretary. Fat lot of good that'll do! Anyway I requested that ethanol and bio-diesel plants need to get huge tax credits. I also suggested that the big oil companies need to be regulated somewhat like public utilities- my electric company can't double prices in a year, why should the oil companies be able to? I understand that crude is a commodity and subject to market prices, but there should be some sort of cap on profit percentages. I also mentioned that if gas prices stay where they are- our household will have approximately $2000 less a year to spend on consumer goods and small luxuries like going out to dinner. Surely that can't be good for the economy!

Another scary thought- How will people in the Northeast afford to heat their houses this year???

I hope that we don't run out of fuel here in CT. We drive a rural mail route and have to fill our tank every day! We spent 2.69 the day before yesterday then 3.09 yesterday and 3.19 today a gallon for the "cheap stuff" not very good! I wonder what the prices will be here in the morning? We don't dare fill up the tank at night because it just might disappear overnight then we would have to fill up all over again in the morning. At these prices I think we'll play it safe. While we live in the rural part of the state we spend most nights here in the city with my 90 year old FIL because he needs us right now. Not good for us but it has to be done, family first. Adds 52 miles to our daily driving. If gas does go up really high the prices on everything else will be affected. Today my DH was talking to one of his friends who owns a trucking outfit. He told DH that the gas prices rising so much will change how everything is moved and done in this country. It cost him over $600 to fill his tanks with deisel today. This is someone who has moved our groceries, animal feed and more in his trucks. Now with the huge increase in the deisel prices he is going to have to go up on his transportation prices and this will snowball.

If the oil man in the White House had his way, we would have a greater supply of our own oil at hand. A Democrat senator from Louisiana said he was going to make sure nobody used this current crisis as an excuse to drill for oil in the Gulf. That senator's comment lacks sense. I call this current crisis a wake-up call, and a good reason to drill for our own oil not only in the Gulf, but also in the Arctic. Conservation is only a small part of the remedy to this problem. The world's demand for oil is growing quickly...especially in China. If we don't increase our own production now, the future looks bleak indeed. Forget the Tahoe....we won't be able to afford to mow our lawns.

Gas here in southern CA has been over $2 for a very long time. I stocked up on Monday at 2.71/gal and that's a bargain now. Most are around $3+ today.

I'm fortunate in that I can get by on less than 10 gallons a month if I needed to. Actually, I could get by on none at all if it really got down to it.

Car dealers have such a glut of traded-in SUVs that many are selling for 25% under blue book price.

RE: Exxon/Mobil, I use their Speedpass linked to a Citibank card that gives me 5% cash back on gas purchases. Also, Speedpass is giving me a 5 cent per gallon rebate for 3 months.

I pay all my bills over the internet. I don't even get statements through regular mail anymore. Whatever I can't schedule a payment for, I pay when the statement cuts. Making a late payment on credit/charge cards can really screw you up.

I predict these kinds of gas prices are here to stay. Rural areas where most everyone drives 30+ miles to get to work are going to be hit the hardest. The pain in that regard is just starting to take effect. The economic data released by the Fed yesterday shows the high fuel prices are finally taking a toll. These problems will be with us for quite a while. I expect rural real estate prices to get much cheaper over the next 2 years.

i dont think it is just the rural areas though we do certainly have quite a commute for work. When i worked and lived in tucson i had to drive 45 minutes to get to work in rush hour traffic. here in montana i drive 45 minutes to get to work in the nearest small city, same same

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www.MontanaSticksAndStones.com at Goshen Farm