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The cost of gasoline

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by bwilson4web, Mar 10, 2022.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    In addition to catalytic converter theft: https://www.wafb.com/2022/03/02/thieves-drilling-holes-cars-steal-gas-atlanta/

    ATLANTA (WSB) – Gas is expensive right now, but you know what’s more expensive? Repairing a damaged fuel tank.

    Thieves in Atlanta are drilling holes into people’s tanks to steal their gas.

    One victim, who identified himself as Tyler, said someone drained his tank, and now it’s draining his wallet.

    “It’s kind of ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve got almost $2,000 worth of damages, not just in the gas tank, but also damage to the fuel pump, which is a pretty big issue.”
    . . .

    Thieves don't care about you and your property. EVs are relatively immune except from the tax code.

    Bob Wilson
     
  2. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    That would be last year.
    There was also the Colonial pipeline hack in 2021, and another shutdown in late 2020 because of the vid.
     
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I would add: BULLDOZER OPERATOR BLAMED IN FAIRFAX ACCIDENT - The Washington Post

    By Lee Hockstader and
    Patricia Davis
    June 13, 1987
    A federal official said yesterday that a bulldozer operator's mistake caused a gasoline pipeline rupture in western Fairfax County Thursday that forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and an elementary school.

    "There seems to be no other conclusion that anybody could reach other than it was a mistake on his part," said Richard L. Beam, director of the Transportation Department's office of pipeline safety. "Probably he didn't realize how deep he had the blade" of the bulldozer.

    County officials and other authorities also were focusing their investigation on whether F.E. Gregory & Sons Inc., the bulldozer operators, had properly notified the pipeline owner that work was planned in the area. Notification is required by state and local laws so utility companies can clearly mark underground lines and monitor construction work. A spokesman for F.E. Gregory said, "Because of the seriousness of the question and the accident yesterday . . . we're not making any statements."
    . . .

    Earth moving equipment and poor maintenance has done a lot of damage too.

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    'uber adds 'temporary' surcharge while gas prices surge'
     
  5. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    But also don’t pass said surcharge to reimburse their drivers (per my friend who does all the delivery apps)
     
  6. slowmachine

    slowmachine Member

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  7. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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  8. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    gasoline.jpg

    Bob Wilson
     
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    makes sense, times like these are always an excuse for increasing corporate profits.

    of course, i continue to hope that prices keep going up, and we get more serious about the grid and alternative energy (except nukes)
     
    #29 bisco, Mar 19, 2022
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2022
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  10. bat4255

    bat4255 2017 Prius v #2 and 2008 Gen II #2

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    Yes, greed is a beautiful thing isn't it.
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The airlines are old hands at that. Are they still at it?
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    haven't seen any news, but nothing would surprise me. i heard flights were pretty much back to pre pandemic levels. people are tired of hanging around
     
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  13. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    I posted this article in another thread but it applies here also.

    We are very lucky this isn't like the 1978 gas shortage where gas was rationed and it went up to $4 a gallon in 1978

    The Gas Shortage of the 1970’s - Oh, The Madness! | Groovy History

    For younger people the current gas situation probably seems like something that has never happened before but for older people this situation is old news and not half as bad as we have seen it before.
     
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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i wonder if any long term good came out of that crisis, or if we didn't learn a thing
     
  15. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The historical gasoline prices listed here indicate an average price of $0.62 per gallon in 1978. That was substantially up from $0.36 in 1973.

    Were you converting the figures to 2022 dollars? According to cpicalc, even that would be only $2.80 in today's dollars.

    If the price had hit $4 in 1978, that would be equivalent to $18.04 per gallon in today's dollars. But again, that is not anywhere in the history I'm seeing.

    Where did your $4 a gallon figure come from?

    Edit: I see it was mentioned in the linked article as a "spiked to" figure for May of 1974. That would have been the equivalent of $23.35 per gallon in today's dollars.
     
  16. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    "By May of 1974, it had skyrocketed to over $4.00 per gallon. The shortage and price hike were reportedly due to two major oil refineries being closed. Supply couldn’t keep up with demand and everyone was scrambling to get the gas they needed; mainly so they could get to work. Vehicles of the 1970’s were gas guzzlers, so a tank of gas didn’t last long. It got so bad that people were regularly stealing gas from unattended vehicles."

    I was alive then - and I did pay over $4 a gallon for gas as many older people can vouch for the price then. I lived off base and actually spent a few days living on base just so I could be sure to report for duty on time in case I couldn't get gas, in order to avoid the military justice system for not reporting to duty. I don't think I am imagining things.

    Similar situation in 1978 also.

    Why in the world would I post that if it wasn't true? I have no agenda or anything to prove.

    Here are 3 times in the last 50 years when gas prices or shortages were big news | History | lancasteronline.com
     
    #36 John321, Mar 19, 2022
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2022
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I did find that same quote within the article you linked in #33. You'll see I referred to it in my edit of #35. Again, it refers to May of 1974, and was either a local effect, transient effect (during closure of two major refineries) or both, such that the national average price for 1974 as a whole was still $0.39.

    So what seems to be going on is that a lot of the information available today for that far back has been aggregated by year and nationwide, and at that scale it's harder to see price swings that happened week-by-week or in specific locations.

    The place where week-by-week retail prices were consistently recorded seems to be a thing called Oil & Gas Journal, first published in 1902. There seems to be online access available for 1989 and later, but that doesn't help for the 1970s. I've just requested a few 1974 and 1978 issues through my library, but probably won't see them until next week some time.

    Sometimes people do post things they know aren't true, but keeping each other honest online is about more than just that. There are a lot of ways that, even when no one is being sneaky, details from 50 years ago can be more complicated than what we remember, and hard to get right.

    That article also says "the national average price for a gallon of gas nearly doubled from 1978 to 1980, topping $1 for the first time". Of course that doesn't rule out that prices of $4 could have been seen earlier than that, as strictly local or regional prices. It just means the national average was nowhere near $4 then, and indeed not until June 2008 (same article).
     
  18. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    Of course you are right.

    Why in the world do you quote every part of a post detailing personal experience with your input?

    Maybe all post should be previewed by you before they are posted for everyone to see.

    I think I'll move on, his is kind of creepy.
     
    #38 John321, Mar 19, 2022
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2022
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  19. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Ehh, it's a thread on "the cost of gasoline", opened by Bob, with about a dozen people participating.

    So it's kind of like a "conversation". Nothing wrong with posting a personal experience, like "I remember paying $4 some time back in the '70s." Understanding that somebody else might have a personal experience like "I remember when $4 was hit for the first time in June 2008."

    So when that happens, sometimes it leads to wondering who's wrong or who's crazy, but sometimes it leads to figuring stuff out, like "ah! there were some local isolated spikes to $4 in 1974, and the national average hit $4 for the the first time in 2008", which turns out to be better information than any one person opened with.

    It's cool when that happens in a conversation. That ending up with better information than any one person came with is what's supposed to happen in a conversation.
     
  20. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I remember riding my high performance bicycle past the gas lines with a backpack of laundry or food. It was a 4130 steel frame, toe clips, and sew-up 100 psi tires. But I was. 24 year old Marine and the bicycle helped my physical conditioning.

    Bob Wilson