June 23, 2004

We're mad as hell, etc etc
   by stacy <pfftnet@stacy.pfft.net>

I know, I know, it's not like me to write two stories less than a week apart, but I had this idea and wanted to get it out there and I didn't want to wait my usual month or so. So this won't get on the front page (maybe later).

First of all, oil! There's a million and one theories as to why the price of oil (and gasoline) is so high right now, and all probably have at least some tendril connection to the truth, even the wacko conspiracy theories. Mostly, I figure it's the oil companies and refineries making money while the making is good, and we'd all do the same if we were in a similar position, let's be honest here. However, I don't think we have to be helpless victims of their price gouging. Here's some ideas.

1. Obviously, buy less gasoline or other petroleum-based products. This is hard to do. You don't want to call off your vacation, or drives across town to visit mom and dad, and while you might be all too happy with a shorter commute, sometimes there's just no way around it. So, I guess, do this if you can, but what about everyone else who can't?
2. Rotation shopping! This is my great idea. Somebody please put some comments to this story if there's a flaw here, or you have a better idea. How it works: somebody organizes everything on the Internet, and they pick an gas company that nobody will buy any gas from in the next 2 weeks. Let's say the first time it's Exxon-Mobil. So for 2 weeks, you don't buy gas from any Exxon or Mobil stations. If it's absolutely unavoidable, buy one gallon and drive til you get to another station. Then after two weeks, we boycott another company (like Shell). I think with enough participants who are really serious about it, this would make the oil companies take notice, at the least. Right now, they have no reason to think that consumers aren't just their little sheep, cause they do what they want, we bitch about it, but they don't care about that. They care about the same thing as everyone else, $$$.

So what do you think? There are some other ideas I had that I don't think would really help, such as only ever buying a gallon or two of gas. But I think that over an average of weeks, the same amount of gas would be sold, so nobody would mind except the drivers who are having to stop for gas everyday.

Oh yeah, one more thing (not about gas). Why is North Korea the United States's problem? Shouldn't we just stay out of it and make Russia and China work it out?

Published: June 23, 2004
Editor: stacy