alexol

Yes, correct. That doesn't change the fact that these countries manage just fine with their gas price.

alexol

Kind of obvious really - they don't yet have Tesla-brand electric delivery vans. They will...

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Not sure how you define 'manage'. We are currently getting plenty of articles about how to plan your trips. Like wait until you get 6 jobs before moving out, 10 tips to reduce gas usage, etc. The current high gas prices are caused by panic over the Ukraine situation. Just not too sure why a war in Ukraine causes immediate issues with creating oil shortages. Certain not in the US anyway. Other than maybe panic buying by oil companies with immediate rises in fuel costs. I suspect that when you buy oil the actual cost of that oil does not affect costs due to its purchase price for at least the two months it takes from the hole in the ground, transport, refining, transport again, unloading then distribution costs. So just why does the price hikes take place within days ?

BusterCrabbe Loc: Montreal

Because companies can and no one can prove collusion/price fixing....In Quebec, the provincial government has tried and failed. You can see gas prices change every day and sometimes 2x a day!!!!

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

No, it absolutely does not!!

alexol

The solution to high gas prices is simple: buy more economical vehicles, but most people would rather whine about the cost per gallon.

Let's assume you drive 15,000 miles/year, and we'll assume two gas prices, $3/gall & $4.50.

If your vehicle gets 12 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $156 per month
If your vehicle gets 15 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $125
If your vehicle gets 18 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $104
If your vehicle gets 20 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $94
If your vehicle gets 25 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $75
If your vehicle gets 30 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $63
If your vehicle gets 40 to the gallon, the higher price will cost you an extra $47.

An across-the-roof style roof rack increases fuel consumption by about 3-4%.

Incorrect tire pressures can increase consumption too. Every 1% decrease in pressure correlates to 0.3% reduction in fuel economy. Under inflation by 10 per cent (only 3-4 psi and many people are off way more than that) increases gas use 2%.

Drive conservatively (that should appeal to many on here) by reducing overall speed by 20 mph and you cut consumption by 30%.

For Mustanger above, 3800 miles at ~48mpg, it doesn't really matter what the price of gas is! Same calc and he spends roughly $10/mo more at $4.5 vs $3/gall.

therwol Loc: USA

CO2 is considered a greenhouse gas. There is pretty much agreement that rising levels of CO2 are responsible for the rise in global temperatures. As temperatures rise, permafrost in the arctic melts, and this releases large quantities of methane that have been lying under the previously frozen ground. You are correct. Methane is a worse greenhouse gas than CO2. Plants as well as the algae/plankton in oceans utilize CO2 and release oxygen. Vast areas of the Amazon and Southeast Asia have been deforested for agriculture, particularly for raising cattle, which is a double insult to the environment. Cattle produce methane. Rising CO2 levels are causing acidification of the oceans. The algae and plankton can only take so much of that, and then they die. This is a complex situation that requires international cooperation if anything is to be done about it, and I think it's way too late to get anything meaningful done before there are catastrophic consequences.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Mostly I agree with your statement. Methane is however not at all an important green house gas. Indeed, it is almost always not included in alarmist climate models. There is not much methane in the atmosphere and adsorption of solar energy is weak and in a region of the spectrum where there is little solar output.

alexol

Totally and utterly incorrect.

https://earth.stanford.edu/news/methane-and-climate-change#gs.uxjng4

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Well, we have 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 fish tank and a special needs son all of whom do better at home and our oldest son is only here when the Army Reserve or Red Cross don't send him somewhere so we have become homebodies. Plus the wife is a retired Surgical RN and that translates as "germophobe on steroids". She has a car also so what little driving we do is split between two cars and our local stores and restaurants all have multiple delivery services available. We plan our shopping lists, look for sales and buy in bulk to last at least a month except perishables and for many of those we have a chest freezer

I do make it to my favorite park for water birds 1 or 2 times a month but it is only about 7 miles away. Now that they are opening up for events again I will probably start going back out to the Railroad Museum and that is a bit over 50 miles round trip. I had planned to start going back in Nov for Thomas the Tank Engine and be the announcer but the day before it started I hit the hospital with major vertigo (could only stand up safely by holding onto something) but that turned out to be an inner ear problem and not a stroke. But with orders not to drive until I was vertigo free for at least a month I missed the whole week of the festival and then didn't go for the Santa Train thing because it runs until 8PM and the wife (me too) didn't want me doing a lot of night driving.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Before I retired from teaching it was 44 miles one way my driveway to my on campus parking and I taught almost every inter-semester break and summer school so when you add in side trips, shopping and weekends at the Railway Museum I was doing just above 1000 a week.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Probably thinking of one of the central heat pumps that is both AC and electric heat for the house. I had a house with one of those for 20 years.

I have read about people ducting the hot air from the AC side to a pool heater with small constant pump that keeps putting warm water into a swimming pool so their gas pool heater isn't needed most of the time.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Some parts we are still out on the front porch. We haven't gone through the door yet.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Because the service guys have to drive a lot further each day and don't have time to sit around while the van recharges.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

Those countries don't ship 70% of their commerce by truck--they use trains. The population is not as dependent on automobiles, either, because they have buses and trains going everywhere, on time, and often, usually subsidized by the government. Unless you have traveled there, you do not realize just how small those countries (and Europe) are--for example, France plus Switzerland have about the same land area as Texas, and Texas covers as much ground as Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria combined. One interesting map I've seen fits 30 European countries into the lower 48 states. According to a calculator I found on the web, driving time between Paris, France and Berlin, Germany is about 10 1/2 hours, a trip of 547 miles, just a little more than halfway across Texas. From Rome, Italy to Berlin, Germany is 735 miles, easily within the state of Texas, either north-south or east-west. Most Europeans have no idea just how big the USA is (and most Americans are equally unaware of just how small and densely populated Europe is). Europe and the USA (including Alaska) are almost exactly the same size, Europe being only 4% larger. Comparing travel options between the two is apples and oranges.