Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Week 1 notes, work and editorials

OK, when the oil shock hits my first thought is how much gas do I use getting to work & back? I work out in the country and NOBODY lives close enough to it to walk. A few ride bikes. I have a 30 mile commute both ways, but that works out to 2 gallons of gas a day in my late-90s Mazda 626. At even $5 per gallon that's $10 a day...$50 a week...or $200 a month. 60 miles a day x 5 days a week x 50 weeks in a year (skipping holidays & vacation) amounts to 15,000 miles. My 500 gallons a year is about average, although this doesn't include the other mileage my family & I use the rest of the time.

But getting to work is the most important consideration, at least initially. I have some collegues who work with me and live close by. We decide to carpool again. We did it in the past but I had to drop out because of graduate studies and some family issues. But if we are looking at $5 a gallon gasoline, its worth a little hassle to save that $100 a month. We decide to alternate weeks. I call the first week.

As far as observations of my fellow man...the most comical ones are all the folks who think its the Big Oil companies being greedy. Hey, NOBODY made them buy their SUVs and Big Bad Trucks. Interest in those crazy websites that show the cheapest gas in your area is no doubt getting jacked up. I think people expect gas to be free, and that's why they'll drive to save a penny a gallon (which amounts to 20 cents on a 20 gallon tank, which is gonna cost $100.00 soon!!!)

No comments: