NAC: gas prices going up.....more...

[Ben Pearre]

And now that I'm subscribed again, here's one from the last time I was
on-list:

On 2005-03-05  1:46, Lyle Seaman wrote:
> I expect gas prices to be relatively high for a good long time.  I'm
> resigned to it,  because the only way they're coming down now is a global
> economic crash, and that would be worse. It would be nice if the dollar
> wasn't so cheap, but if we can't cut defense and entitlement spending, and
> we can't raise taxes, then the debt is going to keep growing, and the dollar
> is going to stay weak.  Between the soft dollar, and the fact that global
> demand is consistently growing at a faster rate than new reserves are being
> discovered, high prices seem inevitable.  I'm no economist, but this is
> high-school stuff.
> 
>  Much as I enjoy my gas-guzzling A8, I'm going to be figuring out a
> convenient way to cart my groceries home those three blocks from the grocery
> store. 
> 
> The big question is consumer behavior -- will the higher prices cause people
> to alter their behavior enough to significantly reduce demand?  How
> expensive does gasoline have to get before commuters start carpooling again?
> Will $3/gal do it?

I haven't filled my tank in a month or so, but what's the verdict?  I
seem to recall gas is now around $3 in Boulder, probably more in CA.
Are people carpooling more than before?  I have little sense for the
state of such things, but I still see a lot of single-passenger FUVs.

Cheers :)
-Ben

--
Ben Pearre     1990 200TQA "Hyatt"        http://hebb.mit.edu/~ben