Gas Rage In Staten Island

[bigjim]

NEW YORK- A car whose driver was apparent distraught over the rapid
fluctuations in gasoline prices allegedly drove his car into two gas
pumps at a service station located at the corner of Amboy Road and
Clark in the Richmond section of Staten Island. The driver, a 43 year
old Staten Island resident, was heard shouting "What are they doing for
us?", "We can't can't afford to live!", "Food or gas we must choose!"
as he was taken into police custody.

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

NEW YORK- A car whose driver was apparent distraught over the rapid
fluctuations in gasoline prices allegedly drove his car into two gas
pumps at a service station located at the corner of Amboy Road and
Clark in the Richmond section of Staten Island. The driver, a 43 year
old Staten Island resident, was heard shouting "What are they doing for
us?", "We can't can't afford to live!", "Food or gas we must choose!"
as he was taken into police custody.

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

 

[AustinMN]

Qui si parla Campagnolo blurted out:

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

I think the American car industry set itself up. They were already
offering extreme bargains before Katrina took out so much petroleum
capacity. They are in for a royal screwing now.

Austin

 

[Mark Hickey]

Qui si parla Campagnolo blurted out:


I think the American car industry set itself up. They were already
offering extreme bargains before Katrina took out so much petroleum
capacity. They are in for a royal screwing now.

You're probably gonna see some DEEP discounts on the whale-size SUVs
(though they'll probably make it up by increasing the price of the
econoboxes).

Hopefully this "crisis" will last long enough to make a real
difference in people's attitude about what constitutes "reasonable
transportation". Maybe some of 'em will actually figure out that
bikes are a good option?

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

 

[wafflycat]

Hopefully this "crisis" will last long enough to make a real
difference in people's attitude about what constitutes "reasonable
transportation". Maybe some of 'em will actually figure out that
bikes are a good option?

That would be a good outcome, but if the general populous on your side of
the pond is anything like the general populous over here; it won't. When we
had the fuel blockades a few years ago, there were *serious* fuel shortages.
Cycling was wonderful - as the number of cars on the roads decreased
*noticably* as people really did limit their motoring. As soon as the
blockades stopped - back to normal...

This morning I filled the car with diesel. Price 94.9p/litre. If my
mathematics is correct, this equates to £4.32 per UK gallon, or £3.58 per US
gallon, which is roughly $6.55 a US gallon and this is normal price over
here. People are not noticeably using their cars any less as fuel prices go
up - people cut back in other areas first, I think. The filling station
forecourt was just as full as normal on a Friday morning.

Cheers, helen s

 

[andy gee]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in

NEW YORK- A car whose driver was apparent distraught over the rapid
fluctuations in gasoline prices allegedly drove his car into two gas
pumps at a service station located at the corner of Amboy Road and
Clark in the Richmond section of Staten Island. The driver, a 43 year
old Staten Island resident, was heard shouting "What are they doing
for us?", "We can't can't afford to live!", "Food or gas we must
choose!" as he was taken into police custody.

Oddly enough, Staten Island has some of the best cycling in the city,
including what I think is the city's highest street, Todt Hill Road
(colloquially, "Boot Hill.") However, it's pretty much a circular trip.
The main bridge heading north and east, the mighty Verazano, named
after the first intrepid pioneer to attempt delivering pizza to the
Dutch, has no bicycle facilities. Of the two bridges south and west
into New Jersey, the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing
(actually named after a guy named Outerbridge, and Outerbridge Bridge
doesn't quite scan) only the Goethals has a sidewalk and that's been
closed for SEVEN YEARS with no sign of it opening anytime soon. There
is a nice bridge due north to Bayonne ( as seen in War of the Worlds)
but to continue a trip south from there means a massive detour. You do,
however, get a free boat ride, bicycles more than welcom, on the famous
Staten Island Ferry. There's just no other way out except back the way
you came. No wonder it's the city's highest percentage of households
owning cars. (52% of NYC households do not even own a car.)

So this guy really is pretty much stuck.

--ag

 

[Jim Booth]

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

How about getting ANWR on line. We Alaskan's are trying to help....but a few
environmental groups keeps us from doing just that!

JIM

 

[Skip]

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

So, how do you get around without a car since I'm sure you don't want
to be identified as a fat American who has been set up by the car and
oil industry?

 

[corvuscorvax]

So, how do you get around without a car since I'm sure you don't want
to be identified as a fat American who has been set up by the car and
oil industry?

Personally, I ride a bike to work. But I would like to extend a
heartfelt thanks to those who continue to rumble around in their
gas-hog SUVs. My Exxon-Mobil stock is really doing well this week. It's
better than selling crack: I think the gas junkies are hooked harder.

CC

 

[Luke]

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

Yes, the skyrocketing cost of crude will no doubt force SUV lovers to
confront the cost of their vice; however, we fool ourselves to think
that gas guzzling status seekers alone will suffer the consequences of
this latest round of petroleum price shocks. Expect a rise in the cost
of fresh food, everything and anything that utilizes plastic, petroleum
based textiles, the transport of people and goods - including those
lovely bikes from Asia and Europe; in short, expect the price of most
everything to rise to some degree.

More worrisome is how typical surburbanites -- I believe this
demographic comprises 45 percent of the North American population --
will cope. The very structure of their communities is based upon the
personal auto and availability of inexpensive fuel - an assumption
that's proving to be increasingly tenuous these days. Indeed suburbs
may prove to be this society's greatest misallocation of resources, so
profligate are they in their energy use.

The anticipation of oil price shocks deepening in the future doesn't
discourage me though: I'm an optimist. Perhaps this will usher in a
time of reckoning and, hopefully, intelligent energy generation and
conservation initiatives will gain more favour -- modest, but certainly
not least among them is the humble bicycle.

Luke

 

[Ted Bennett]

How about getting ANWR on line. We Alaskan's are trying to help....but a few
environmental groups keeps us from doing just that!

JIM

How would that help? It would be a very small proportion of US
petrochemical production, from everything I've read.

The best answer is to reduce consumption, and that isn't that difficult.
Most production goes to gasoline, and a lot of gasoline is used for the
short drives easily replaced by pedal power.

Ted

 

[marcus153]

The Staten Island Ferry is free;>).

Thanks!
Marc Sindell
Twin City Subaru
Montpelier, Vermont

 

[Bob the Cow]

Anything that will get the typical fat american outta his SUV is a good
thing. Fat america has been set up by the car and oil industry and now
are a gonna get screwed.

I'll tell that to Art who worked on my kids' bikes. He got along pretty
well on his artificial leg since Korea, but lately he's needed to put his
fat wheelchair into his fat SUV and drive his fat ass around visiting
nursing homes as a volunteer feeder.

Art would probably love to meet you, he swings a mean softball bat.

 

[Bob the Cow]

You're probably gonna see some DEEP discounts on the whale-size SUVs

You're right -- if the leading indicator is the number of these things
parked alongside the county roads with the "For Sale" signs in the windows.

(though they'll probably make it up by increasing the price of the
econoboxes).

Damn skippy they will. I'll bet it's pretty hard to find a 2004 Toyota
Camry.

 

[Doug Huffman]

No. The same gentleman that taught us that "an armed society is a polite
society" also taught TANSTAAFL, meaning There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free
Lunch. The tax payer pays for the ferry's fuel whether he wants to or not -
kind'a like a mugging. Be safe, go armed.

 

[Ken M]

They are practically paying people to take them off the lot now!

Ken

 

[Ken M]

From what I have heard and read ANWR is just a temporary fix. I read
that there is only enough oil there for about ten years. Plus I have
also heard / read that the real problem really has to do with supply
and demand, the supply that the refineries can produce. They were
operating at 95% capacity BEFORE the storm. Now Katrina knocks a few
off line for a while the MV driving world is not going to like the
results.

Ken

 

[Jonathan Kaplan]

I live in NJ. I've seen gas lines and stations run out of gas at $2.78
yesterday (which became $3.05 this morning). The highest I saw today was
$3.35.

I am a reformed gasaholic. About a year ago I traded my 12 mpg Dodge Ram
1500 pickup for a Ford Focus (25mpg). I then also purchased my father's
Prius (45mpg for real). I gloat when I see the SUV drivers filling their
tanks. There is no need for at least 75% of the SUVs. Especially in the
NY/NJ metro area, we get very little snow. People in the 60's survived with
rear wheel drive. Front wheel drive is adequate for our weather.

A minivan is much more practical and fuel efficient. Call me a radical, but
I think gasoline should be taxed at least $1.00 per gallon. Everyone who has
a vehicle which gets over 25mpg would get the money back as a tax credit,
the others can go bankrupt with their SUV's. Everyone I know who has an SUV
says that they will never give it up no matter how high the gas goes. I
guess they will like having a stylish paperweight!

 

[Lloyd Parsons]

I live in NJ. I've seen gas lines and stations run out of gas at $2.78
yesterday (which became $3.05 this morning). The highest I saw today was
$3.35.

Here in deep southern Illinois, gas prices are all over the place.

$2.69 in one town (and that one town only)
$3.09 to $3.69 is the range everywhere else. Some of our much more
rural gas stations are out of gas, the Hucks chain has been saying when
they run out of what is in the ground they are locking the pumps until
this flail blows over.

I am a reformed gasaholic. About a year ago I traded my 12 mpg Dodge Ram
1500 pickup for a Ford Focus (25mpg). I then also purchased my father's
Prius (45mpg for real). I gloat when I see the SUV drivers filling their
tanks. There is no need for at least 75% of the SUVs. Especially in the
NY/NJ metro area, we get very little snow. People in the 60's survived with
rear wheel drive. Front wheel drive is adequate for our weather.

I just traded off my pickup for a Pontiac Vibe. 30+mpg real combined
driving, over 34mpg on interstate.

A minivan is much more practical and fuel efficient. Call me a radical, but
I think gasoline should be taxed at least $1.00 per gallon. Everyone who has
a vehicle which gets over 25mpg would get the money back as a tax credit,
the others can go bankrupt with their SUV's. Everyone I know who has an SUV
says that they will never give it up no matter how high the gas goes. I
guess they will like having a stylish paperweight!

I think I agree with you here. If some want the luxury of a SUV, let
them pay for that luxury.

 

[SocSecTrainWreck]

You're probably gonna see some DEEP discounts on the whale-size SUVs
(though they'll probably make it up by increasing the price of the
econoboxes).

Hopefully this "crisis" will last long enough to make a real
difference in people's attitude about what constitutes "reasonable
transportation". Maybe some of 'em will actually figure out that
bikes are a good option?

What are you, some kinda communist?