Blah, Blah
Last week I commented on a favorite blog (My Float). She had talked about letting her mother drive her tot around, and asked what our take was on it. Of course, being the queen of short attention spans, I totally changed the subject, and asked her what the gas price was per gallon in Australia. Stupid question really because it would be very difficult to give me the answer to that since they don’t pump gallons and they don’t use dollars. Anyhow, one person replied that Americans gripe about the price of gas but we pay less than other countries for gas. Very true, and Americans are kind of whiney.
But tonight I watched the Colbert Report and he talked about how other countries give less profit to oil companies and more of the price per litre or gallon go towards goverment taxes which fund research on alternative fuel sources and more plentiful public transportation. So we do have a reason to whine, but not for the reasons we thought. Yes, the price per gallon is rediculous, but wouldn’t you cope with it if you knew that the end result was going to be an alternative to oil for our children’s futures & our environment? Americans think they are leaders, but we aren’t. Other countries are led by those less corrupt. Or is that possible? Using the words leader and uncorrupt in the same sentence.
It’s a shame that we all know what is wrong & we know some of the solutions, but we are so preoccupied with the day to day life that we are unwilling to demand that our government represent us instead of selling us out to the oil companies. Why is that? Even though we refuse to act as a whole to make things better, we will ultimately pay as a whole for our inaction.
I know, I know. The “oil talk” is old news. And political talk is a big no-no on a blog, isn’t it? It’s the quickest way to lose any readers who aren’t comfortable with politics, or by those bored by politics. Sorry readers. I guess I needed to air my frustrations. I filled my tank for $75 today. I earned the right to a whine today. Tomorrow I’ll go back to being a good little American who knows my place and pays my taxes and drives my gas guzzling SUV.
Posted by: stepherz | 05-22-2006 | 08:05 PM
Posted in: General
uuuugh - I’ve been thinking of shopping for a new (larger) vehicle - but gas bills like that are exactly what scares me away!
you know, my take on another reason why we don’t do that alternative fuel research is that Americans may never be willing to give up the power and pick-up that is commonly lost in vehicles that use those other sources of fuel…
Hi Steph. I sat down and tried to work out the difference between Aussie prices and US prices, and then left a comment on my post saying that the prices were fairly similar. But then, someone smarter than me left a comment saying that she’d heard on the radio that Americans are actually paying a little less than some other countries, as you say. I don’t know America very well (does visiting LA, Hawaii and watching stacks of American movies count?!) but perhaps you use more petrol because the cars aren’t as fuel efficient? Or maybe you have to drive further?
I have a Japanese sedan (Toyota) that is fuel efficient and does what it needs to do. I go through a tank of fuel every 10 days or so, and I drive probably 150 kms a week? Just guessing here…my strength lies in English, not maths, but that’s a reasonable guess.
Here in Australia, much of the petrol price consists of tax - but I’m not sure that it necessarily contributes to research etc. I think it just goes into a tax pool which is then handed out according to the government’s priority of the day. (Which, at the moment, isn’t child care or education!)
Sorry, now I’m rambling!