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Is there really an excuse for the gas prices???

So I turned on the news this morning to find that the gas prices have risen once again. The reason: the high cost per barrel of oil. But is this really the reason? Is it greed? The financial experts are citing that the reason is for a refinery explosion in Texas and tensions between the US and OPEC countries. Also OPEC is threatening to reduce crude production thus increasing the demand and increasing the price. Maybe it is time for government intervention but will that really curve the problem? The price in Buffalo is 86 cents per litre on Monday whereas in Toronto it was 1.05.9. Why is there such a difference in price? TAXES!!! We won't see a decrease, at least not anytime soon. Bring on the Hybrids and electric cars. Does anyone else have any comments or opinions related to this?

Economists are predicting the price from oil in one year to be about $92/barrel. It could mean lower prices for drivers.

I'd say the safe bet is to just get used to it. Oil is a diminishing resource. Supply down, demand up = higher prices.

Just be lucky that we don't live in Quebec...
$1.25/litre kinda sucks...

actually its 1.20$ up from 1.07$ like wtf.

i heard someone farted somewhere and this demanded more profits for the oil companies.

Free markets always win.

Do you drive a car?
Do you pay for gasoline?
If you answered yes to either of these then you're part of the reason why prices are where they are. Free market my friends, the suppliers will charge what the consumers will pay. When people stop using gasoline then the prices will come down. Personally, I want the prices to continue to climb.

I wonder how high the prices will have to go up before people finally say enough is enough, and take the bus. Or buy a car that's more economical.

I'd rather pay $2.00/Liter than depend on public transit.

Until it hits that mark, I'll continue to drive without complaints.

Move to Wisconsin, everything is cheap there. Especially gas...

quote:

Originally posted by infinity HiGH I wonder how high the prices will have to go up before people finally say enough is enough, and take the bus. Or buy a car that's more economical.

A very long time. Buying a new car is at least a $14,000 investment. Filling up a tank, even at expensive prices (for a small car) is like $50.

quote:

Originally posted by rabbitjoker Free markets always win.

Just like free markets are always free.
-----
Don't look now, but electric cars are going to have the same problems. Batteries are, and have always been expensive, and just as destructive to the environment when disposing of them. Hydrogen cars well, our primary source of hydrogen is through the electrolysis of water, and well, we can't get around the laws of thermodynamics, so to get the energy to seperate the oxygen and hydrogen, we're putting more energy in [in the form of nuclear or coal based power plants] to get the fuel for those cars.

Personally, I'm a big supporter of nuclear technologies. Why? Because the waste albeit toxic for thousands of years, is far less in volume, and is relatively harmless outside of it's immediate vicinity [unlike the gaseous by-products in any type of combustion]. Just send those used fuel cells into space! And the only major accidents Nuclear has caused [although potentially catastrophic], occurred when people decided to do something stupid like override the automatic systems hardwired into the system for safety.

prices are getting out of hand but..meh...so far i am good


i fill up for about $0.79 - $0.82 a liter... it works out when i work across the border and get to fill up at the duty free.

As people have said before the prices are supply/demand depended. The supply is not only depended on the crude oil that is extracted from the earth, but also the refined oil that has been processed and is ready for consumption.

Part of why there was such a huge increase in price after hurricane Katrina is because the storm played havoc with the refining process, disabling the refineries. Same thing with the refinery fire in Texas recently.

Yes, there is plenty of oil sitting around in reserves, and the supply of crude is pretty steady, but thats not what we put in our tanks. Remember last summer when pumps across Toronto went dry? Again, a refinery problem, and not a crude supply shortage.

For the people complaining about prices being high, when is the last time you bought a bottle of water, or ice tea, or pop at the gas station or convenience store? You just paid $2/liter for any of those products. Think about how ridiculous that is. Until then, be thankful you are are paying LOW gas prices! Our prices are artificially low compared to many parts of the world.

I'm happy taking the bus for anywhere I need to go.

quote:

Originally posted by Orko I'm happy taking the bus for anywhere I need to go.

Bus ... pfffff ... move to where you want to go, then walk everywhere

quote:

Originally posted by Orko You just paid $2/liter for any of those products.

Exactly!

Whenever I start to feel bad about the price of gas, I just think comparatively to what the price of other liquids we consume are and it tends to make me feel better haha.

Even though I don't consume 25 litres a week in Pop or Beer...

Relatively speaking, its still cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by exstasie Exactly! Whenever I start to feel bad about the price of gas, I just think comparatively to what the price of other liquids we consume are and it tends to make me feel better haha. Even though I don't consume 25 litres a week in Pop or Beer... Relatively speaking, its still cheap.

I understand that argument but I consume a lot more gas than water, or beverages in general. For instance I go through about 10-12 litres a day to go to work. That is needed just to go to work, either that or I spend an extra 2 hours out my day taking the bus. I do not drink 10-12 litres a day. So spending more on water doesn't seem to be justified either, but our entire economy is driven by oil and transportation. If oil goes up, EVERYTHING is effected.

quote:

Originally posted by Skipper Economists are predicting the price from oil in one year to be about $92/barrel. It could mean lower prices for drivers. I'd say the safe bet is to just get used to it. Oil is a diminishing resource. Supply down, demand up = higher prices.

On the news the other day I heard that it was $100/barrel this past weekend.

Also...our gas prices are nothing compared to Holland's. Theirs is like 2 times the price or something.

quote:

Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~* On the news the other day I heard that it was $100/barrel this past weekend. Also...our gas prices are nothing compared to Holland's. Theirs is like 2 times the price or something.

The price had hit $100/barrel weeks ago. Skipper was saying the projected price for a barrel of oil will be $92 a year from now. Also, most of Europe pays double what we do for gas.

For anybody that wants hybrid and electric cars, the technologies just are not efficient enough as Sly_Guy pointed out. Battery cells are crazy expensive to produce and dispose of and have short life spans. Our best bet is to just produce cars with smaller engines, which nobody wants. That is the best thing we could do for our selves and the environment. Remember hybrid cars are actually worse for the environment than most SUV's.

quote:

As Lithium Cars Arrive, Lithium Questions Persist As anyone who's recently replaced a laptop-computer battery will tell you, lithium-ion power ain't cheap. And because lithium-ion cells often show some degree of capacity degradation within a year, no matter how often or how vigorously they're used, and because they've been known to drop dead altogether before the three-year mark, you just have to cringe a little each time a slick new lithium-ion-powered vehicle shows up. A company called Hybrid Technologies today announced is 2008 range of electric vehicles, ahead of an official debut at next month's New York International Auto Show � six lithium-ion-powered vehicles, including a $39,500 electric version of the $11,350 Toyota Yaris hatchback called the LiV Wise and a 600-horsepower carbon-fiber-bodied sports car called the LiV Rush. The company already offers lithium-ion-powered versions of the Mini Cooper (dubbed the LiV Flash, and priced at $57,500), the Smart ForTwo (the LiV Dash; $43,500), and the Chrysler PT Cruiser (the LiV Surge; $55,000). Performance-wise, all of Hybrid's conversions will hum along for a claimed 100 miles or so and top out somewhere between 70 and 80 mph (except for the fairly frightening little Rush, which can hit 120 mph). Hybrid Technologies also claims its cars' battery packs are good for at least 1500 charges. But amid the usual optimistic statements on the company's web site related to earth-friendliness and pennies-per-mile operation, a few key ownership facts, including maintenance information, battery replacement costs, and warranty details, are conspicuous in their absence. (Surely, you don't suppose Toyota, Mini, Chrysler, or Smart will be taking responsibility for gutted and electrified versions of their cars, do you?) Companies selling (or about to sell) electric vehicles are quick to drop eye-catching phrases like "less than 2� per mile" and "135 mpg equivalent." But really, marketing-speak aside, just how much is this battery-powered plug-in wonder car going to cost? We'd be remiss at this point to leave out the poster child for the lithium-ion battery industry, the glam-tastic $100,000 Tesla Roadster (pictured above). According to Tesla, the Roadster uses cylindrical "18650 form-factor" lithium-ion cells (so-named because of their 18-mm diameter and 65-mm length � roughly the size of a standard AA cell), just like a laptop computer. But while the average laptop battery consists of eight of these 18650 cells, each one containing about 0.6 grams of lithium; the Roadster crams some 6500 cells into a steel-reinforced pack that tips the scales at a hefty 992 pounds. With a full charge, the Tesla pack contains roughly the energy of two gallons of gasoline and will provide "more than 100,000 miles of peak performance driving." Not bad if it's true, but when the other side of 100,000 miles is a dollar sign followed by a big question mark (we've heard $20,000 tossed around), it's a little scary. And yet, how many trunkless, roofless Tesla Roadsters will ever see the 100,000 mile mark? Doubtless very few, particularly when we consider that, according to Mazda, the typical MX-5 Miata (which does have a trunk, and air bags, and a price tag one-quarter that of the Tesla) accrues only about 5000 to 7000 miles a year. So the frequency of battery replacement is, if not a deal-breaker for the would-be electric-car buyer, then at least a matter of some concern. Admittedly, most people in the industry feel confident that current li-ion prices will fall considerably during the next few years, and that pessimism related to the global supply of the earth's 33rd most abundant element appears to be largely unfounded. Worldwide supply capacity for lithium carbonate (the base material of lithium salt and lithium) is between 80,000 and 90,000 tons a year; for 2006, demand amounted to about 84,000 tons, some 22 percent of which went to the battery industry. Naturally, as lithium-ion further displaces nickel-metal hydrid and other battery types, demand for the material will grow significantly, and it looks like China will be picking up the slack, and then some. Currently, Chinese lithium carbonate capacity stands at about 33,000 tons, but recent mining technology advances � notably the construction of a new facility in the Chahar Salt Lake Zone in the Qinghai province � are expected to bump that figure to more than 43,000 tons before 2010, which will produce a significant glut of the stuff and very likely drive down prices for lithium-ion batteries, making widespread automotive applications a whole lot more realistic. Money isn't everything, needless to say, and lithium-ion batteries come with a fair share of tangible concerns, as well. Cold-weather performance is one. Tesla employs a battery-warming system to save the charge, but other li-ion cars aren't so well-equipped. Safety � both in terms of vehicle crashworthiness and an ugly chain reaction called "thermal runaway" � is another. Tesla claims its engineers have gone to great lengths to ensure the integrity of the Roadster's battery pack, using a multi-layer protective case and a sophisticated electronic Battery Safety Monitor. And yet, when you witness the grim vision of lithium-ion cells gone bad (check out the video of an exploding laptop battery, below), you can't help but wonder. Perhaps harping on the weaknesses of the lithium-ion battery is akin to complaining because gasoline is flammable. The battery does its job quite well, thanks to a relatively high energy density, a low self-discharge level, and generally maintenance-free operation. And until the next great leap in energy storage technology � capacitors layered in charge-holding carbon nanotubes look quite promising � it's here to stay. Downsides and all.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/as-lithium-cars.html

quote:

Originally posted by Orko For anybody that wants hybrid and electric cars, the technologies just are not efficient enough as Sly_Guy pointed out. Battery cells are crazy expensive to produce and dispose of and have short life spans. Our best bet is to just produce cars with smaller engines, which nobody wants. That is the best thing we could do for our selves and the environment. Remember hybrid cars are actually worse for the environment than most SUV's.

I remember Cale telling me that before...hybrid cars and electric cars are more about appearing like they're better for the environment, but realistically they're not!

Just take TTC

guess what half of ttc runs on?

quote:

Originally posted by linear_algebra Just take TTC

yeah, the containers will take the TTC, the big families with 3 kids and groceries will take the ttc, people with back problem will take the ttc, ...

sick and tired of these hippies blurting out take the bus, stop using your private cars... borderline commies.

quote:

Originally posted by malek yeah, the containers will take the TTC, the big families with 3 kids and groceries will take the ttc, people with back problem will take the ttc, ... sick and tired of these hippies blurting out take the bus, stop using your private cars... borderline commies.

haha yeah...buy the family pass if ur travelling with big families with 3 kids....

I'll take the TTC once they make the following service improvements:
1) a direct line from my home in Waterloo to my office (no intermediate stops)
2) schedules to be determined by me and me alone
3) a vehicle and driver dedicated to accomodating any other transportation needs I may have
4) offer this service for less then what I presently pay for my vehicle and insurance.

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