TRUMBULL, Conn., June 23, 2008
Energy Costs Force Lifestyle Changes
New Indications Show $4 Dollar-A-Gallon Gas Has Americans Altering Their Transit, Work Habits
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Americans Change Travel Habits
With gas prices zooming past $4 a gallon, there are new signs Americans are ready to make big changes including where they live, what they drive and how they get to work. Nancy Cordes reports.
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When Connecticut mother-of-three Kristen Carley wasn't ready to give up her SUV, but wanted to save on gas, she found carpooling options online. (CBS)
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Talk about riding the rails.
Mary Sarotte needed to cut her driving costs. So she moved to a Pasadena, Calif., apartment building that straddles a light rail hub - saving herself $210 a month on gas.
"I'm filling it up about once a month, instead of once a week," Sarotte said.
High fuel prices are forcing many Americans to question some of their most basic assumptions about where they live and how they work.
In a recent survey of 900 Coldwell Banker realtors, a stunning 78 percent said rising fuel costs were causing their clients to consider city living.
"Four-dollar gas seems to be causing a consumer reaction that $3 gas didn't," said Samantha Gross of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "Consumers really believe that these high prices are here to stay."
Sales of hybrid cars surged 25 percent during the first four months of the year, while large SUV sales plummeted 30 percent.
Kristen Carley wasn't ready to give up her Audi SUV - so she found another way to save on gas; extreme carpooling. The Trumbull, Conn., mother-of-two uses the free Web site dividetheride.com, to share driving duties with 15 different families.
"Financially, it's big. It's huge," Carley said. "I recommend it to everyone because it really will save you money at the pump and that's really what we need right now."
All across the country, an avalanche of employers are offering - even mandating - four-day-work weeks as a way to cut their own fuel bills.
Tiny Glouster Township in New Jersey estimates that closing municipal offices on Fridays will save $35,000 a year.
"The gas, the electric, it's so overwhelming," said Gloucester Township employee LaTonya Brown.
With Americans downsizing their cars, their homes, even their workweeks, analysts now predict that demand for fuel this year will drop for the first time in 17 years.
It could be, they say, that 2008 will go down in history as the year U.S. gas consumption started a slow-but-permanent decline.
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See all 100 CommentsThis is how third world people live. That''s why Americans complain about smelly cab drivers because have to keep the car windows rolled down which makes people sweat.
Bill Clinton had put this economy back on track in the 90''s after Bush the dad destroyed it in the late 80''s
Then Bush the son comes in and takes our country full of hope and prosperity and turns it into a nation of Serfs.
Now only Obama can turn it back into the right direction but it''s still going to be very painfull.
Ps. If it really matters? My father was trained my monastery monks in 1919? And his father fathers wife was name was Maria Angela Dominique Ratti! who was the pope in the 1930.s da, Ambrogio Dominique Ratti.
So you really can turn from sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior through his atoning blood paid for our debt at the cross!
If its the truth well then hush and allow the truth to take care of you!
Ps. If it really matters? My father was trained my monastery monks in 1919? And his father fathers wife was name was Maria Angela Dominique Ratti! who was the pope in the 1930.s da, Ambrogio Dominique Ratti.
So you really can turn from sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior through his atoning blood paid for our debt at the cross!
If its the truth well then hush and allow the truth to take care of you!
And Unless I die this truth is what you have to deal with!
CBS stop the posting of posts on the other feed!
Posted by Providence_J at 08:03 PM : Jun 23, 2008
Wasn''t it you religious types that elected and then re-elected Bush so that he could oppose abortions and g`a`y marriages?
Now we have g`a`y marriages that we DIDN''T have before, we STILL have abortions, and our country is on the verge of collapse due to a never ending war and a collapsing economy.
How exactly did "religion" help?
Unrelated-
The regime just can''t seem to catch a break!
"A US court has for the first time rejected the classification of a prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay as an "enemy combatant"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7470405.stm
Say hello to your speculators down at the NYMEX. CBS had an outstanding article back on June 10th called "Oil''s Spike: Fueled by Speculation?" Look it up and read it. Watch the video called Gus at the bottom on how the price oil is decided. It''s called speculation.
Regardless, I KNOW McSame McBush ISN''T.
If you want 4 more years of a government that serves it''s own interests and the giant corporation who feeds them (ie, the oil companies) you should vote for McCain.
If you want "100 more years of war" (as McCain himself says he wants to give you) then vote Republican.
If you want another 4 years of an incompetent, corrupt government who can''t even catch a wheezing diabetic in a cave, the vote for Bush Junior.
If you want more of money taken out of your paycheck and given to slacker Republican millionaires who have never worked a day in their lives and laugh at those of us who contribute to America then vote for John McSame.
Finally, if you believe in America vote for Obama, vote for the one, overriding thing that makes America great: the ability to recognize our mistakes, take action to correct them and make this country better.
If you want to stay in the sewer the Republicans have created, then don''t.
The 9/11 Truth Movement, Free Energy Suppression and the Global Elite%u2019s Agenda
http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=182&Itemid=60
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4168006n
Also Ben Stein on CBS
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/25/sunday/main4125912.shtml
Shrub: "OH, Looooook"......Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk".....
This Bud''s for you icepuck:
2000: Bush Gang takes over - the oil industry averages $20 billion in profits.
2007: Oil industry averages $120 billion in profit, that''s a 600% increase in 7-years. And the amazing thing is the profits somehow mirror the increases in gas prices - who would have thunk it.
I''m crying in my Stein for those poor oil-execs.
GRACE
Port Hueneme
Lawmakers Say Urgent Action Is Needed To Curb Speculation Driving Historic Fuel Prices
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2008
THIS CBS Story has no comments section......
Congress once again visiting with their Owners....
Pelosi: "Okay, you guys look all worried and guilty, and we''ll yell and call you crooks, and then you can go back to your Waterfront Mansions and we''ll meet you for Coctails"......"About 7ish good for you"???
Obama Camp Closely Linked With Ethanol
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/us/politics/23ethanol.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Same S h i t Different pile
Bush doubled the national debt. The global smart money said, ''lets get out of dollars. Gee, what should we invest in that will keep or increase its value?''
I would wait for you to figure out what they invested in, but I don''t have quite that much time.
"As far as Bill Clinton is concerned he didn''''t balance anything ( except Monica on his xxxx ) "
I knew it. You''re upset that Clinton was getting something you aren''t. Take it up with a s*x-councellor. Don''t bore the rest of us with it. On the budget deficit, he came closest to balancing it that ANY republican has in the last 30 years. Why do you think I can no longer vote for them?
Bush was faithful to his wife. That''s easy to do when your scr*wing the rest of us.
Bout time. This is exactly what the Saudi''s and others fear, seriously. There is no way that they will easily say bye bye to Dubai.
Posted by ubrew12 at 09:08 PM : Jun 23, 2008"
Price of gasoline when the Democrats took over Congress in Jan 2007: $2.14.
Price now, 17 months later: Over $4.09.
Thank you Democrats.
(That''s sarcasm for you dumb Kool-aid swillers)
---------
Just imagine the reaction that $5 and $6 gas will cause.
The larger the company the more they''ll make in profit. If you open a family owned store would not a corporation make more than you? That''s how it works in an oil industry. They aren''t making 100% profits. They''re simply making about 8-10% profits. Is that huge makings? No it''s not. The media isn''t saying that are they? All we hear is the amount in dollars.
Just for info, CBS made 14% profits.
"I''''''''m crying in my Stein for those poor oil-execs.
Posted by ubrew12 at 09:08 PM : Jun 23, 2008"
1. Price of gas in Jan 2001: $1.52.
2. Price of gasoline when the Democrats took over Congress in Jan 2007: $2.14. Up $0.62 since Jan 2001.
3. Price now, 17 months later: Over $4.09. Up $1.95 since Jan 2007.
Thank you Democrats for doing over THREE times as much as the Republicans in less than one quarter of the time! And everyone says that you are a "do-nothing" Congress. ^_^
(That''''s sarcasm for you dumb Kool-aid swillers)
Ps. If it really matters? My father was trained my monastery monks in 1919? And his father fathers wife was name was Maria Angela Dominique Ratti! who was the pope in the 1930.s da, Ambrogio Dominique Ratti.
So you really can turn from sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior through his atoning blood paid for our debt at the cross!
If its the truth well then hush and allow the truth to take care of you!
And Unless I die this truth is what you have to deal with!
CBS stop the posting of posts on the other feed!" Posted by Providence_J
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You need to get treatment for your brain tumor.
As ThinkProgress points out, that%u2019s not true at all.
The truth is that Hurricane Katrina caused oil spillage so significant it was clearly visible from space. It also wreaked environmental havoc near the scale of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. %u2026
As Sen Reid correctly pointed out, this recent push by George Bush & John McBush represents %u201Cnothing more than a cynical campaign ploy that will do nothing to lower energy prices, and represents another big giveaway to oil companies already making billions in profits.%u201D and the NYT went further to note that %u201Cthe only real beneficiaries will be the oil companies that are trying to lock up every last acre of public land before their friends in power %u2014 Mr. Bush and Vice President *** Cheney %u2014 exit the political stage.%u201C
In fact, the oil industry has yet drilled in just 19 percent of the more than 40 million acres they already can that are not covered by the current ban %u2014 40 million acres that represent 79 percent of America%u2019s technically recoverable offshore oil reserves. Using generous estimates from the latest analysis from Bush%u2019s own Department of Energy, allowing for unlimited drilling both offshore and in ANWR %u201Cwould lower the price at the pump by less than 6 cents by 2025.%u201D
How much do you reckon a gallon of gas will be in 2025, with or without the hypothetical $0.06 a gal. savings?
What, did they all just go to sleep when Bush became president? Six years of total Republican control of every branch of the Federal Government, and what''s accomplished? A doubling of the national debt. A $3 trillion war in Iraq. A quadrupling of gas prices (soon to be followed by food prices). A halving of home values. A halving of the dollars value on the international market.
FEMA took 5 days to realize New Orleans had been hit by a hurricane. The FDA is so understaffed, they can only tell us our tomatoes are filled with salmonella AFTER 23 states are actively infecting Americans with them. And WHAT do the South Koreans know about our BEEF that WE don''t know? Maybe ''mad cow'' is what''s happened to the countries Republicans! My opinion? EVERTHING is worse than it was 8 years ago. EVERYTHING!
"I married a Fashion Model and still married to her (I was in the garment Business) can you say the same."
No. Got pics? (just kidding).
By: Bill W. @ 9:00 AM - PDT
In a segment ending with the disclosure that %u201CFox News Sunday with Chris Wallace is brought to you by %u201CThe People of America%u2019s Oil and Natural Gas Industry%u201D and immediately followed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) front group%u2019s misleading ad, the Fox News host seized on one of John McCain%u2019s more recent flip-flops siding with President Bush%u2019s recent call to rescind the ban on offshore oil drilling and asked over and over why McCain won%u2019t cave all the way to big oil and also allow for oil exploration in the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Refuge, ANWR.
In the process of spewing talking points on behalf of his show%u2019s sponsor, Wallace brings Obama into the discussion by joining the growing list of conservative dittoheads in the media who have been repeating this same false claim made by McCain last Tues. about oil spills and Hurricane Katrina:
Wallace: Obama talks about environmental damage from drilling offshore but the fact is the moratorium was put into effect in 1981. There%u2019s been a lot of technological advances since then. We had Hurricane Katrina go through the heart of the Gulf of Mexico and ravage these oil rigs and there were almost no oil spills, so what%u2019s he talking about?%u201D
(cont)
Indeed, McCain does lead all other senators, and all others who ran for president, in contributions from the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics%u2019 analysis of federal data in the 2007-08 election cycle. McCain collected $724,000 through May.
The oil companies you are defending, have just recently been granted a monopoly control of Iraqi oil, 5 years after Bush told us that, invasion or no, that oil belonged to the Iraqis. They are poised to OWN an oil pipeline in Afghanistan, bringing Central Asian oil to the Pakistani coastline, five years after Bush told us our invasion of Afghanistan was about justice, not oil. Tell me, how are YOUR profits doing with these invasions?
Not all ''profits'' need be reported, especially when you sell oil on an international market and ''report'' your earnings in an increasingly worthless currency called dollars.
Comedian George Carlin once observed that ''freedom of choice'' in America seemed increasingly to revolve around trivial freedoms, NOT freedoms that our countries founders would have recognized as important. He said, as an example, we have less and less freedom from propaganda, as more and more media outlets get owned by fewer and fewer corporations.
BUT, we get 23 flavors at Baskin and Robbins! And HOW many jelly bean flavors are there? Smoking or Non? Aisle Seat or Window? Regular or Supersized!?!
Enjoy your $4/gal gas. Blame it on the democrats if that helps you. But, what real options do you have, other than to suck it up and eat it? And, why is that? I think Carlin would have known.
In the meantime, try the watermelon Jujubes...
One little thing such as a hurricane, eruption of a pipeline, Nicaragua war, Iranian threat, can cause great speculation on the floors of the NYMEX.
Oil is purchased at about 5 cents a gallon straight from the ground in say, Saudi Arabia. By the time it reaches the U.S. the speculation has made the price about $3.30 already. It isn''t done by the oil companies, it''s the men and women on the floors buying and selling while making money. Perhaps it''s better explained here. Look at exactly how much the stations make.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4168006n
I can''t wait.
Only then will we actually do something about this oil mess.
Find me a Middle Class Senator or Representative...
They''re all paid off..some just more than others...
Corporations run this government and we just let them do it..Lincoln warned back in the 1860''s about how, even then, that too much money in the hands of too few can ruin a republic. It has.
Re: "Ten years ago everyone was moving to the burbs to escape big city life. Now with the cost of commuting, watch the housing in the burbs take a dump, while all flee back to the cities."
Posted by Edward1975
That is an excellent and highly relevant observation.
There is a very good film available on this very topic:
"The End of Suburbia"
Part 1 here-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfqbCH_JPo
Re: "Bring on the $10/gallon gas!"
"I can''t wait."
"Only then will we actually do something about this oil mess."
Agreed.
Posted by ms38654ob
What OTHER country has those "Behomoths"?
---To that lady on the news that said; - "Ill NEVER give up my SUV", - Well, to her I say - "More power to you lady"! --- Drive that beastie! - Pay with the plastic! - Go more in debt to "THE BIG BANK"! - Live your high lifestyle with the $300,000 mortgage! ---Hubby will bust his butt to pay for all of it, - until HIS butt is BUSTED!!!
-----When your on the street, Ill stop & give you and yours some sandwiches. -------FOOLS!
We should have done this a long time ago!
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