Gas Out - Fake Out I recently received the email yet again telling everyone not to buy gas on a certain day because then the oil companies will get the hint and will lower prices.

Hogwash.

Its a hoax, and its been going 'round the internet and email since the 1990's. It didn't work the first time, and I'm quite sure didn't work the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or or or either. It won't work this time. All its doing is clogging up everyone's email. Please, give it a rest!

If you're so concerned about the price of gas, buy a smaller freakin' car :-p Or better yet, WALK! Ride a bicycle!

See, this is what gets me about Americans complaining about the price of gas. Its cheaper here in the US Than Anywhere Else on the Planet! My friends and family in Canada and the UK and elsewhere are *really* paying through the nose. And here in the US we grumble about $3 per gallon. And then continue to drive monstrosities that get 6 miles per gallon. UGH! Ok ok...its really difficult to afford the $3 per gallon when we only make $7 an hour...but seriously, get a smaller car then! Sheesh!

Do you know how many pizza delivery guys I know who drive monster SUVs and pickup trucks? Its just crazy!

Most of the gas here in the US comes from Canada, and yet Canadians are paying twice what Amerians are. For the same dang product, drilled from Canada, and piped to the US.

Check this out...

Spike in gas prices across country; some in Vancouver pay about $1.28 a litre
2 hours, 49 minutes ago
By By Merita Ilo

ADVERTISEMENT

TORONTO (CP) - A spike in gas prices is putting an extra squeeze on drivers' wallets.

The latest hike, which has motorists in the Vancouver area forking out $1.28 a litre at some pumps, was being blamed on the kidnapping of six oil workers in Nigeria, low gas inventories and growing demand for gasoline in the United States. Whatever the reasons, the result is the same for Canadian drivers.

"Consumers are exhausted and frustrated," said Bruce Cran, the president of the Consumers' Association of Canada.

"We've got no satisfactory explanations as to why these huge price rises take place year after year," said Cran, whose group received hundreds of calls Tuesday from consumers frustrated with steadily rising fuel costs.

Gas prices rose sharply across Canada to as much as $1.28 a litre in the Vancouver area and $1.10 in Toronto.

According to MJ Ervin & Associates Inc. a Calgary-based consulting firm, the national average price of gas on Tuesday was reported at $110.2 a litre, up five cents from the average price in March.

Average prices in some other cities were $1.16 a litre in St. John's, N.L., $1.22 in Victoria, $1.17 in Montreal and $1.09 in Ottawa.

Analysts blamed the recent hike on strong demand and low inventories in the United States, tension in the Middle East and Nigeria, production cuts by OPEC and problems at oil refineries.

"At this point it doesn't even matter any more what the reasons behind the price rise are," said Cran.

He said his group was surprised the constant price hikes have not led to civil unrest.

"We're probably too nice in Canada," he said.

"We don't see riots. I don't know at what figure Canadians turn nasty."

The "there's nothing we can do about it" attitude was obvious at several Toronto gas stations Tuesday.

Toronto cab driver Ali Hasnoo said rising gas prices are inevitable and for him, it's just the cost of doing business.

He covers about 200 kilometres every 12-hour shift so for him, it's a cost that amounts to about $30 a day.

"You get used to it eventually," he said.

"There's nothing you can do. There's no alternative. You can't use any other substitute for gas so basically you have to buy it."

Some analysts predict the higher gas prices are here to stay.

"Because of the decline in the gasoline inventories (in the U.S.), the difference between what it costs to buy oil and what it costs to buy the refined product has skyrocketed . . . almost to record-high levels," said Bart Melek, Global Commodity Strategist with BMO Nesbitt Burns Economic Research.

Six foreign oil workers were kidnapped and a Nigerian sailor was killed when dynamite-wielding militants attacked an oil vessel early Tuesday.

A Nigerian spokesman for California-based Chevron said four Italians, one American and one Croatian were abducted.

The company had shut down an oil station, decreasing production by 15,000 barrels a day.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague thinks the solution to the current situation of rising gas prices in Canada is to stimulate competition in the petroleum industry and "to get some new players in this field."

Otherwise, he said, we'll continue to have these problems every couple of weeks "with the industry coming up with its usual summertime excuse of warmer weather means higher prices."

Canadians are not the only ones to suffer at the pump.

The average price of a gallon of gas at U.S. pumps rose to US$2.96 on Tuesday, nearly 80 cents US a litre.

That is up more than a penny from Monday and more than 29 cents from a month ago.

Driving the U.S. market are concerns that an inventory report, expected Wednesday, will again show an increase in crude oil stockpiles, and a decrease in gasoline supplies.

Last week's U.S. Energy Department report showed an unexpected drop of 2.8 million barrels in gasoline stockpiles and said U.S. refinery use declined to 87.8 per cent of capacity.

Refinery problems cause a bottleneck in the refinery supply chain. Oil inventories build behind the refineries, causing the price of oil to fall. On the output side, gasoline supplies fall, typically causing prices to rise.

"Until we start to see refineries come back from the maintenance season ... the market's going to continue to be led by gasoline," said Erit Wittenauer, an energy futures analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis.

"There's a fear built into the market that there won't be enough gasoline for the summer driving season, " Wittenauer said.

Now, my maths skills totally suck, so doing the conversion would make my head explode, but a US gallon equals 3.79 litres, and the Canadian dollar is about 89 cents US. In the UK, they're paying about 89p per litre. One US dollar = about 50p GBP.

The only thing this "don't pump gas on May 15th!" may do, is increase sales on the 14th. :-p

Well...I must go walk the dogs...talk amongst yourselves. ;-)  ¶ 7:17 PM