Would You Pay Double for Gas?

[ugabuga]

Would You Pay Double for every Gallon of Gas?

Our love-hate relationship with Oil:
Fishermen mourn the destruction of their way of life and defend Big Oil in the same breath;
Environmentalists call for restoring the battered coastline, not for changing the national energy policy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/us/25voices.html

A total of 517,847 barrels of oil were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico from 1964 to 2009, federal records show:
washingtonpost.com

We're likely to continue to have spills in the Gulf as long as we continue to drill in the Gulf.

If we stop drilling in the Gulf, gas prices will go up. Gas prices in Europe are double what ours are.

Would you be willing to pay double for every gallon of gas you buy if there'd be no more drilling in the Gulf?

 

[Geo]

I would BUT- I do not believe that our small contribution to the world's oil supply cuts our gas price in half. In other words, I do not believe if we didn't drill in the gulf that it would reasonably lead to a doubling in price. I would assume that such an increase would be related
to shenanigans by the market manipulators...

 

[Edgy Grammy]

I think that if I was 30 years younger and still driving I would buy me one of those hybird cars, They get like 50 miles per gallon...if you were careful and planned your stuff you could stretch that gallon out. My youngest son has a mega big car...I bet it takes at least a half of gallon to get out of the driveway, He is always filling up his tank.

 

[Geo]

Few things-

What made you say double? Why not just say triple or quadruple?

There are options/technologies already here that (if used) provide efficiency/reduced consumption to levels that would more than cancel out the amount of oil we put into the world market from drilling in the gulf.

 

[30ashopper]

Would You Pay Double for every Gallon of Gas?

Our love-hate relationship with Oil:
Fishermen mourn the destruction of their way of life and defend Big Oil in the same breath;
Environmentalists call for restoring the battered coastline, not for changing the national energy policy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/us/25voices.html

A total of 517,847 barrels of oil were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico from 1964 to 2009, federal records show:
washingtonpost.com

We're likely to continue to have spills in the Gulf as long as we continue to drill in the Gulf.

If we stop drilling in the Gulf, gas prices will go up. Gas prices in Europe are double what ours are.

Would you be willing to pay double for every gallon of gas you buy if there'd be no more drilling in the Gulf?

Would you be willing to pay 40% more at the grocery checkout isle, 10% more for the clothes you wear, 20% more for the drugs you take, 50% more for your plane tickets, and twice what you pay for a gallon of gas?

Your question is reasonable, but you have to ask the complete question.. the price of oil effects far more than the price of gasoline at the pump! Is making the gulf a drill free zone worth all the pain and suffering high gas prices would inflict on low income wage earners and families?

 

[Geo]

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

 

[ugabuga]

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

You're right about that.

My original question was meant to be rhetorical--an attempt to get at the issue of whether (& how much) we as a society would be willing to "sacrifice" to keep Our Gulf clean.

Shopper's points are well taken: if the price of gas goes up, many (most?) other prices go up.

Are we as a society willing to compromise our standard of living in favor of keeping our environment clean? If so, where do we draw the line?

 

[Geo]

Thx for clarifying the spirit of the thread. I'm back on board. So again- yes, I would pay increased prices I'm exchange for the guarantee of a cleaner gulf.

 

[30ashopper]

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

Geo, can you post some data showing the elimination of gulf drilling wouldn't impact gas prices in the states?

Thx for clarifying the spirit of the thread. I'm back on board. So again- yes, I would pay increased prices I'm exchange for the guarantee of a cleaner gulf.

Would you also be willing to force those higher prices on those less fortunate than you? People who's livelihoods are directly effected by higher prices at the pump, grocery store, and pharmacy? What's your solution for this?

 

[30A Skunkape]

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

You are correct. Here is an article just a few days old that made my eyes cross trying to figure out what might go into oil pricing...I bet less than 1% of the population can accurately describe what goes into the pricing of a barrel of oil. Crude Oil Rises as Storm System Threatens to Disrupt Gulf of Mexico Output - Bloomberg

But I have to say, based on what happens to the price of gas and heating oil when hurricanes enter the gulf, I have a hard time believing that 'shutting everything down' would result in anything other than the price of goods and services rising uniformly to a miserable level. I try to imagine what would happen in our little SOWAL bubble...so many of our relatively low paid workers have to commute in to work and our tourism industry, which is our economic life blood, is fully dependent on regional discretionary income. It does not take much imagination to envision an economic train wreck, but hey, I have been wrong before and will be again, so who knows.