Poll: Americans changing driving habits as gas prices soar

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=345075e9e40fd030&cat=c08dd24cec417021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are driving less, trimming vacations and cutting back on heating and air conditioning, according to an AP-Ipsos poll taken as gasoline prices in many areas have topped $3 a gallon.
Seven in 10 say gas prices are causing a financial pinch. And that pressure is being felt increasingly by middle-income and higher-income families.

"Now, I'm just going to work and coming home — not doing anything else," said Kathleen Roberts, who makes a daily, 100-mile round trip from York, Pa., to her teaching job in Baltimore.

Like many Americans, Roberts is trying to adjust to gas prices that have risen steadily over the last five months. The price of a gallon of regular-grade gas is now almost what it was soon after Hurricane Katrina battered domestic refineries along the Gulf Coast last August.

more...

Yes Americans are hurting!!!

a hundred mile commute! for a teaching job! holy crap.

once people give up the exburbs -- watch what happens to the housing market. it's all connected.

NM, found it.

The real estate market is about go CRASH in a way that might make 1929 - no, I wasn't alive then, you brat - look positively glamorous.

And it's going to happen in a minute.

Watch.

will be very quick, and there will be a whole bunch of "Wha happen'd" FReepers.

There are people who are using cash advances from their credit cards to make their mortgage payments. They're not covered by the new laws, thanks mostly to my very own Democratic Congressman, Jim Moran, who is owned by MBNA.

It's going to be devastating. I take no pride in (I think) calling this one.

zoo on Saturday's was pleasant to shop in at noon today. I think folks are rethinking their lives...now that it's public knowledge our pockets are being picked.

I avoid BJ's on weekends because it's always so jammed.

Interesting.

Pulling belts tighter.

OFF.

there's no apostrophe in the plural of BJ.

Why, someone with real wit might well say "You blew it, sarcasmo."

heh heh heh

Me.

It wasn't anything feminist - and, by the way, I'm an old-time feminist.

It was that you fucked it up and tried to make a joke about blowjobs without having the proper foundation.

It was dumb.

And feminism is anything but dumb.

So, don't make it worse by trying to put it onto "feminists," which has now made your original sin even worse.

You blew it.

You blew it.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA!

This is a teacher. Not some wealthy yuppie.

Have you noticed what's been happening to rents in the city lately?

There are 1032 homes for sale in Baltimore for 100,000 dollars or less. There are other choices.

I don't know why she lives in so far from where she works, but whatever the reason, she's not a good example to use for the article.

I suspect someplace she literally can't live. I have a friend who lives in Baltimore.. she's a school librarian. Not exactly a high paying job. She and her husband paid well over 100k for a small house in an okay part of the city.

I am from that area... one of the main reasons we moved to Iowa. Houses may be cheap but your crime is so very high who would live there?? Many people live in York county and commute to Baltimore , its been that way since 1978 when houses that were better for your family were being built in southern york county. you should not condemn this woman...unless you live in that area. My parents commuted most of my childhood back and forth to baltimore..why should she give up her job or her home security because the oil companies are raping us at the pumps.. something should be done about that..

My house payment is far, far cheaper than the rent on a one-bedroom apartment in town.. ONE bedroom for two people in their 40's and cats. Even figuring in diesel costs for a 50-mile RTP commute, it's still far, far cheaper. People won't give them up because they can't... they have to live someplace. So... we car pool and run errands in town after work, and pretty much stay at home on weekends, or maybe drive five miles to a running trail. That's it.

What will happen to the housing market? It'll go even higher in town -- supply and demand.

All my errands are combined, so I do them all in one circle. It works very well.

In fact, I have more time now than I did before because I wasted a lot of time driving around. No more! Those days are gone.

Also, my cute little Ford Escort only sips about $15.00 per week in gas so it was not a big deal.

But it IS a big deal. If everyone did this, we'd have fewer problems. Also, I've noticed an awful lot of people out in traffic riding bikes. They need to be careful:smoke:

... i live about 2 miles from my work. not much expense there, even at $5.00 a gallon.

My transportation cost is $52 a month for my Metro bus pass.

Working in L.A

With my minimal fuel use, it's still cheaper to drive, by far. I DO buy a few tokens now and then, so I can ride the bus to work in the AM and walk home in the PM. Or I ride my bike - that is customarily pretty dangerous on weekdays, but traffic is getting lighter so I may try it again. I can bike to the office on Sat and Sun (those kitties need care 7 days a week).

I took the new Orange Line to Warner Center for lunch yesterday, and then took it down to N Hollywood/Redline Subway just to learn the route and see what they are doing in NH these days with the redevelopment. I am very happy to see all those nice apartments going up at the subway stops. Hope the same thing happens along the Orange Line eventually.

...but get by easily on one tank A MONTH! Boy these people that have to drive so far to work are really going to feel the pinch. :-(

I used to pay $110 for an LADOT commuter bus pass (commuted from North Hills to work in El Segundo - Yikes!)
Ended up moving to Mar Vista before I left town altogether.

own a SUV and a pick-up. So love us and hate us both.

nobody will hold them against you. You are doing your part with the bike.

We don't go many places on weekends. I have 3 years of payments on the SUV and can't take a loss or get a loan on a different car.

The relief settles in on my homefront, as my only debt is limited to my low-fixed-rate mortgage (the one thing I can thank GWB for, and it sure wasn't worth the cost), and my commute limited to a flight of stairs as I telecommute to my job six states away. Thank <insert deity here> we got out of our debt hell when we had the chance. I fear that it is too late for people now.

From here on out, you role will be to serve as a good role model on how to escape the traps that they have laid out for us. It's just like the Minotaur and the labyrinths.....very few people get out.

But the ones that escape, should tell others how to find freedom.

Congratulations! We're on our way, too.

Welcome to the DU, by the way.

2 years ago. I have retired 3 creditors so far. I will be working extra in the summer and will pay off more. We are moving so close to our jobs that we will walk or bike in, weather permitting (less than 2 mi for me, 3 mi for Hubby). We rent but the cost is well under a mortgage note and it gives us portablity that may be needed. We live well under our means so we are OK for now.

I have noticed...more people walking, waiting at the bus stop, and fewer at malls and diners. Drive by an apartment complex and you will see most parking spaces are filled by 7pm.

"Energy analysts blame the higher prices on a tight supply internationally, unstable politics in oil-producing countries and fast-growing economies in places like China and India."

What a bunch of crap!

The real reason is that the world is pissed off at the U.S. We invaded and destroyed production capabilities in one oil producing nation, alienated the entire Middle East and even South America. The world wants us to suffer. If they can sell to anyone else they will.

Now add the greed of Bush's oil industry buddies and you have it.

China and India's demand didn't grow that much in a couple of years.

Also check out UK prices for petrol, its a lot higher. The US has amongst the cheapest in the developed world.

...any less real? IMHO, it doesn't matter what anyone is paying in any other country. What matters is the difference between the perceived cost of living of Americans prior to December 2000, and the perceived cost of living of Americans today. What the English, or the French, or the Dutch, or the Germans pay for gas has absolutely no bearing on what's happening in America today. That information is being run in the U. S. media as a diversionary tactic, IMHO.

The REAL problem is that the cost of EVERYTHING in the U. S. has gone up by about 40% since December 2000, while salaries/hourly wages have gone down by about the same percentage. That doesn't leave much wiggle room for unexpected expenses in case of an emergency.

Over consumption is not sustainable for our planet. I think comparisons with other countries is relevant here. Much of the world has to walk for water in the morning. The developed world needs to remember that when complaining about not being able to afford luxuries

Whats your point? I'm not trying to be a jerk, but in other country's they have a pretty good mas-transit system, The U.S. doesn't. Most U.S. city don't even care to cover most parts and in some parts they stop running the buses after like 10 p.m. So at $3 and above it is going to hurt a lot of working people.

but it can be pretty expensive, £40 for 70-mile round trip to London, £1.50 for a 2 mile trip into town. It is not highly reliable and is many places is infrequent. It can be extremely unpleasant depending on who gets on the train with you. You may not get a seat during trush hour. You cannot get from a semi-rural area to a town easily - I was looking at buying a house in a village outside my town and there was ONE bus that ran one day a week. I think the point is that americans have had it cheap for far too long, and this is the reason that the use of gasoline has skyrocketed in the last 10-15 years, to the detriment of the planet. Americans have been paying a fraction of what other people have been paying for years, and now taht they are having to pay a larger fraction, they are screaming. It's hard to have a lot of sympathy.

Americans are used to living one way and then just when you think you are making enough the people are getting hit up side the head with this. Look the U.S. is the third largest maker of gas and the price for it is way to high. The government has not gone out of it way to promote high gas mileage for cars. Also when you can fit England into the size of Texas, New Mexico that is not a very big country. And just one more little bet of info. I'm a mass-transit driver and I believe we are not doing enough for the working class. Here in Portland OR. we charge from $4 for a day pass to $1.65 for just a few hours. One thing I have noticed is that we have had a increase of ridership. So it is starting to make people think about how they are going to get to work.

WE really should add in the cost of our Department of WAR to the cost of our relatively cheap oil to see what we're really paying....

Their taxes pay for their social network (NHS, etc.), and there's an excellent public transportation systems in most cities and towns. Along with a decent coach and train system. Apples and oranges. I'd pay $7 a gallon, too, if I got free health car and could take a train to work.

effects of $4 a gallon gas might be. Looks like we are beginning to see some of the effects already.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8804.htm

$4 a gallon

BY MICHAEL VENTURA

09/10/05 "Austin Chronicle" - - America is over. America is like Wile E. Coyote after he's run out a few paces past the edge of the cliff – he'll take a few more steps in midair before he looks down. Then, when he sees that there's nothing under him, he'll fall. Many Americans suspect that they're running on thin air, but they haven't looked down yet. When they do ...

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker, a pillar of the Establishment with access to economic information beyond our reach, wrote recently: "Circumstances seem to me as dangerous and intractable as any I can remember. ... What really concerns me is that there seems to be so little willingness or capacity to do anything about it" (quoted in The Economist, April 16, p.12). Volcker chooses words carefully: "dangerous and intractable," "willingness or capacity." He's saying: The situation is probably beyond our powers to remedy.

Gas prices can only go up. Oil production is at or near peak capacity. The U.S. must compete for oil with China, the fastest-growing colossus in history. But the U.S. also must borrow $2 billion a day to remain solvent, nearly half of that from China and her neighbors, while they supply most of our manufacturing ("Benson's Economic and Market Trends," quoted in Asia Times Online) – so we have no cards to play with China, even militarily. (You can't war with the bankers who finance your army and the factories that supply your stores.) China now determines oil demand, and the U.S. has no long-term way to influence prices. That means $4 a gallon by next spring, and rising – $5, then $6, probably $10 by 2010 or thereabouts. Their economy can afford it; ours can't. We may hobble along with more or less the same way of life for the next dollar or so of hikes, but at around $4 America changes. Drastically.

The "exburbs" and the rural poor will feel it first and hardest. Exburbians moved to the farthest reaches of suburbia for cheap real estate, willing to drive at least an hour each way to work. Many live marginally now. What happens when their commute becomes prohibitively expensive, just as interest rates and inflation rise, while their property values plummet? Urban real estate will go up, so they won't be able to live near their jobs – and there's nowhere else to go. In addition, thanks to Congress' recent shameless activity, bankruptcy is no longer an option for many. What happens to these people? Exburb refugees. A modern Dust Bowl.

<snip>
___________________________________

Much more. He offers some suggestions about how to deal with the coming upheavals but in my opinion it is unlikely that there will be the political leadership (regardless of who is in power) to take the steps needed to mitigate the disastrous effects of high fuel prices. Get ready for a very bumpy ride.

Peace,

freefall

for a great article. He certainly sums it up, doesn't he?

I have no further comments.

Media-lies-Daily says the article is certainly sobering. So are the attitudes, reactions and behavior of many millions of our fellow citizens who still don't get it.

Peace,

freefall

to community. A hundred mile commute is obsene, while the rest of the world is suffering from global warming, rains failing, glaciers flooding valleys in the Hymalayas etc etc.

Communities need to be more self sufficient with jobs, amenities and produce being localised and interconnected with other communities. Its like America is turning into a confused diaspora. I know its rare but 100 mile commute!!! she has none of my sympathy spewing out her pollution pointlessly

She'd be in REALLY good shape too.

Isn't that a helpful suggestion?

:evilgrin:

On a personal level she could move closer to her job, or find a job on the same continenet as herself. We must take responsibility for our actions. Indulgences like this when people around the world have to walk for water are, as i said, obscene. The planets sustainability is OUR responsibility.

or the working class, or the lower middle class.

Just over six in 10 of those who make between $50,000 and $75,000 a year now say gas prices are a hardship — up from four in 10 a year ago. And more people say they will reduce driving, travel and utility use.

If people making THAT kind of money are hurting, imagine what the rest of us are feeling! Crappy reporting, imho.

They were visible for about 15 minutes after the Katrina disaster & that's it.

Chevron Memo Raises Suspicion

snip
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Chevron memo is raising suspicion that oil executives intentionally reduced refining capacity in an effort to boost profits. The 1995 memo, obtained by Consumers Union, reads:

"If the U.S. petroleum industry doesn't reduce it's refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refinery profits."

In the last 20 years, 18 of California's 32 refineries have shut down. The industry is now seeing record prices and profits at the pump.

a freaking window and turn on a fan.

Most debt accrued.
Highest energy costs.


Buehler!?

appear to be super expensive and CA will have more stations w/Ethanol within the next 5 years.

it's insensitive to say the least.

And, of course, we're suffering.

But wait until milk costs $15/gallon. Them diesel trucks can't exactly change their commutes. :(

For the record, my Kawasaki's been getting 78-82 mpg this week. :evilgrin:

...of transportating goods across the country. There's no doubt.

Tear 'em up!

Tearing up asphalt is a lot of work, and the soil underneath is yeccchh!!

besides, it's good for dancing on and riding bikes on.

Might put planters in some of the extra lanes, especially on the overhead freeways
(which are generally made of cement).