Oil is poised to break the century mark, and SmartMoney has a short article that examines the effects it will have on the average American’s budget. A couple of reasons why we haven’t felt more of these effects so far is that the rising cost has largely been eaten by oil refining companies and their gas stations, and because consumers have actually begun to reduce their gas consumption. However, if the price-per-barrel continues to rise, the U.S. faces a cold winter, and the dollar continues its anemic performance, you can look forward to the following consequences:
- gasoline prices – In a surprise to no one, they’ll go higher.
- home heating costs – If you use heating oil, you could see a steep increase of over 25%. Homes using natural gas may see an increase of about 10%. Propane households will see a 20% increase, while homes that heat with electricity should expect a relatively small 2.7% bump.
- airfare – Airlines will want to raise prices because jet fuel is already an enormous expense for them—but unless the whole industry plays along, it’s a risky thing to do. There’s a good chance international fares will go up while domestic fares remain relatively competitive, especially if the economy remains soft.
- shipping – Ah, the hidden cost of online shopping! You can expect retailers to offer discounts or free shipping during the holiday season, but rates may go up after that passes. Higher transportation costs can also trickle down into things like groceries, so prices may go up there as well.
“What $100 Oil Means for Your Wallet” [SmartMoney]
(Photo: Getty)
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@ironchef: I love how thoughtful big oil companies are! Thank you for protecting the planet! And donating your record setting multi-billion dollar profits back to “global warming” awareness… wait a minute….
@Sudonum: BUAHAHA!
Ironchef’s onto something people have been talking about for a long time, but media chooses to ignore. We are an OIL based economy. And guess what. When the STAPLE of your economy comes from the unstable place in the world, your future is uncertain. This is why there is an alliance of CIA Operatives/Defense workers and environmental movement. If we didn’t need oil, Saudi Arabia and Iraq would be like those poor African republics. Failed states, but nothing America or Developed world would care about.
I say jack up those prices. Let the wasteful (SUV, lazy) owners feel the price in their wallets. Let them pay for the luxury. Let the market take care of it.
Bah to all the electric car hype. We’re a good number of years from electic cars being any sort of viable, and it’s not the car technology that’s the problem.
Anyone ever seen an electric grid get overloaded in the summer? Watch what happens around 4-6 p.m. on really hot summer days. Everyone comes home, cranks up the AC, and kills anything from a block to several square miles. Imagine this with tens of thousands of cars all trying to grab a high amperage current at once. (If I remember my E/M physics correctly, charging batteries as fast as people want means lots of energy fast which means high currents.) If I’m remembering stuff right, this blows the grid in short order.
The US electic grid cannot handle millions of cars all plugging in at the same time. Upgrading that infrastructure takes a lot of money and time. This doesn’t even address the issue of actually generating the electricity in the first place.
Screw the caribou!
Drill ANWR!
(Yes, there really is a T-shirt! Go here [members.premiereinteractive.com])
@target_veteran: That was my whole point of building the infrastructure now.
@jeffjohnvol:
Yes, but no one can quite agree on exactly what infrastructure to build. You have proponents of centralized power rowing with people who want each home to generate via solar. You have electic car people clashing against fuel cells, hydrogen, biofuels (read: corn lobby), and the wacky but much more efficient personal rapid transit systems. No one wants to spend money beefing up the electric grid for a car concept that may become obsolete.
“Hi, Segway dealer?”
@humphrmi: Well there are two issues. In a global, and even national, economy the money does not always come back to you.
In your little example the price of gas going up breaks the equation. Someone is going to have to pay more money or people will have to live close enough to walk to work, take the bus , or be cold.
@dwayne_dibbly:
Actually I assume people as a whole haven’t considered mass transit when purchasing places to live.
Gas getting expensive and thus auto travel getting more expensive isn’t exactly a surprise. The country went through a mini gas crisis in the 70′s-80′s. We have had a warning and roughly 3 decades to plan cities and public places in such a way that we could reduce the national energy foot print.
When the economy is growing for everyone this isn’t a serious issue people just pay more. The economy isn’t doing great now and many people will have to choose between getting to work, heating their homes and buying food.
For the people stuck in that situation it will be very hard to get out.
I came from the northeast also. I remember one of my last winters there my roommate and I kept the apartment at around 50 degrees. It was only that warm to keep the pipes from freezing. We still had trouble with the heating bill due to thin insulation.
People will have to move and be more energy efficient. As the crunch grows places like where I lived will have to be torn down or rebuilt better.
I work at home. My partner works at home. We don’t own a car. We wear sweaters indoors in the winter to keep heating costs down. We use public transportation and car sharing programs.
I’m all for raising gas prices & gas taxes for automobile fuel in metropolitan areas where people have a choice of using public transport.
Will the price of bicycle tires go up?
@floydianslip6: Thats what I thought when he/she made the comment, but I thought he/she knew of some new Tesla Truck or something.
@homerjay:
Wasteful is the single occupant vehicle. 90% of all commuters sit idly in traffic ALONE. Higher gas prices will make people carpool for god sakes.
Giant vehicles will now pay dearly for their excesses (especially idiots who drive oversized SUVs as commuting vehicle.).
@vastrightwing: you sound like Bush.
@ironchef:
The highest recorded temperature in the past 100 years was in the 1940s. The global temperature has fallen since 1998.
Back before their fall, Enron bought up failing and non-profitable energy companies, which included wind, ethanol, natural gas, and other alternative fuels. In the late 90′s, Enron officials had a meeting in the Oval Office with Clinton and Gore, pushing the global warming and alternative fuel agenda. They stood to turn these dog companies into cash cows by governmental requirements of alternative fuel purchasing. Their accounting practices caught up with them before they could see their plan come to its fruition.
When they collapsed, other companies bought up their holdings piecemeal. BP, Warren Buffet, GE, etc now own these alternative companies.
This week, NBC is having Green Week, to promote alternative fuels and global warming awareness. You do know that NBC is owned by GE, do you not?
The motivating factor for the major players involved is profit. Just like marketers sell soap, Lysol, and countless other products with fear, GE is selling you on alternative fuels by fanning the fires of fear about global warming.
@floydianslip6:
@Sudonum: Don’t listen to anyone with ‘inNYC’ in their nick talk about any technical aspect of vehicles.
I agree with the sentiment of not driving gas hogs (I have a truck, which I need for my house renovations, but I have a car that is my daily driver). I wish I lived in a city that had a proper public transport system.
And I’ve got no sympathy for the people that I work with who fled the city for the suburbs, complain about their hour commute and the price of gas, and the fact that crime is now showing up in their suburbs and their schools are failing.
@Techguy1138: Well, sadly, people have short memories, and by the time the 80′s and 90′s rolled around, everyone had apparently forgotten about the oil crisis of 1973. You’re right..there will be a lot of people choosing between driving to work, keeping warm, and eating. I live in rural New England, and fortunately, live in a small and well insulated house..along with a good supply of firewood…but I know a lot of people who burn 200 gallons of oil a month because they’re living in 200 year old houses with no insulation. That’s going to hurt a lot of people. For the average family living in an old house and maybe driving an old clunker of a car….it’s not going to be a very good winter at all.
Since then, the cars have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger…and so the cycle of wastefullness and conservation comes full circle again…will the lessons learned stick this time? Who knows?
@Murph1908:
So what. Highest 20 temperatures ever was occurred in the last 15 years. The arctic circle now has an open sea passage way for the first time in 40,000 with 20% less ice than 2 years ago.
I’m not impressed with your GE conspiracy theory bub. The world’s climatologists have spoken and the consensus is real.
@ironchef: Who cares? I’m glad the arctic circle has an open sea passageway. It needed one. Talk to me in 30 years, when I’m sitting on the Outer banks of NC where it was supposed to be submerged. (Man, I hope the internet is still archived then, because I would LOVE to read this comment, and then laugh and laugh at you).
@ironchef: First it was the ozone, then the rainforests, now man made global warming disaster. Get over it, its a myth.
Check this graphic out: [www.longrangeweather.com]
@mthrndr:
too bad you pro-pollution Ludites are too preoccupied paying the Arabs $95 per barrel of oil.
Enjoy funding Al Queda at the expense of your excess?
@ironchef: dude, I believe you meant luddite, and if by luddite you are referring to the 19th century group who DESTROYED industrial equipment, then it may be a more apropos term to describe your backward thinking. There are plenty of reasons to reduce our dependence on arab oil, and plenty of ways to do it, but fear of global warming is one of the very least compelling.
@mthrndr: Dude, you crack me up. You nailed it perfectly.
@mthrndr:
Yeah, Luddite. I’m glad you had to google that to know what you were talking about. The ones that couldn’t change with the times.
The science is clear. It’s up to you get out of denial.
@ironchef: That’s not really what luddite means.
The point isn’t that we should pollute more, or whatever. Taking care of the planet is important because it’s fostering self-sustaining practices. NOT because of some trendy flash in the pan fear mongering politicians say we should.
@floydianslip6: Exactly. Efficient use of resources while protecting the environment is key, not reactionary measures based on public perception of a perceived crisis.
@ironchef: *snort* carpooling. The solution to everything.
Sure, I would carpool, but my office hours don’t seem to match anybody else’s. I don’t know when I will or will not be in the office so I couldn’t plan ahead.
Maybe at a bank, or a factory worker with set hours, carpooling would work. But many office workers simply can’t plan around the people they share their cars with.
Remember that the next time you see one person in the car idling on the freeway.
@ad8bc:
Then try public transportation. Be resourceful. If it was $10 a gallon for gas, I’d imagine you’d figure a way.