The cost of fuel.
We're talking about it tonight. The iPM credit crunch map shows fuel prices as the biggest concern. French fishermen are revolting over fuel prices. There were clashes with riot police in Paris, as a blockade of ports and oil depots that's gone on for more than a week, began to bite. Some French towns are short of fuel. The blockades at Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne forced the closure of the Port of Dover to all ferry traffic.
And if the cost of home heating oil concerns you - try this.
Listen to PM
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~09~RS~)
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How many people, within an area, need to have said that issue affects them for the map to cover it? I'd be interested to see how many people have said Fuel and enabled 3/4 of the country to be covered!
Regards
John
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In my area fuel is the most expensive in the country. The cheapest diesel pumping out at 122 .9 pence per litre.
I am seriously considering running my vehicle on (PPL) pure plant oil - ie: vegetable oil. A five litre bottle at the cash and carry is £2-30 so it would be less than 50 pence per litre. There is now no tax payable providing consumption is less than 250 litres per year. The conversion's ar DIY for some at around 500 pounds - basically consisting of a small tank of diesel to start the vehicle off until running temperature is obtained - and some switchover equipment. However by what I've gleaned it's harmless to the vehicles to add up to 20 per cent vegetable oil to a tank of diesel with no mods.
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I meant 2,500 litres :
http://tinyurl.com/cd7ju
4.2.1 Exempt producers/users
If you have produced or used less than 2,500 litres of:
any biofuel, or
any other fuel substitute or additive
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I've started driving at 5mph under the minimum speed limit where safe to do so, avoiding rapid accelleration and decelleration, where safe to do so. It's not always easy as the amoebas in their disco cars do have a problem with anyone not driving like a loony.
I'm also thinking of buying a flat cap.
{'o'}
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Did I say minimum? Should read "5mph under the maximum speed limit."
{Thinks ...must be the excitment thinking about the Eurovision on saturday}
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Jonnie (2) That's what we have to pay, too.
The trouble is, we're all going along and paying it, in spite of the fuel companies making billions of pounds in profit - and of course the government is enjoying inceased revenue, too.
What on earth can we do to make our displeasure felt, other than the obvious - don't use the car so much, shop locally, and so on. I know that might be a good long-term aim, but it's not going to help in the short term except on an individual basis.
I'd love to be able to suggest some means of protest which would hit the fuel companies hard - but I feel totally powerless :o(
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Ahh so it was you 'mygloriousleader'
I overtook you with Radio 1 blaring out! - the one with exhaust fumes like a fish and chip shop!
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Gillianian - Not only is the governement benefitting from increased revenue - but the haulage contractors are also paying the premium. Therefore spiralling up all the food prices and indeed deliveries in general.
34.25 pence a gallon in 1971 to around 500 pence a gallon in 2008
http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/reports/Petrol_Prices_1896_todate_gallons.pdf
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You certainly have to hand it to the French. Revolting or not, they know how to protest like no other nation in Europe.
But listen carefully, I shall say this only once. The French Scallop Fishermen are teaching the Manxmen how to save diesel. Allors!
Many things we Roast Beefs can learn from the Frogs Legs. C'est bon.
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Maybe I haven't paid enough attention ... but WHY is fuel suddenly in short supply? There have been no announcements from OPEC that the wells all dried up.
Could it be a cartel somewhere, awarding itself a global price-fixing bonus at a time when much of the Western world is struggling economically?
Certainly the oil producer profitss aren't suffering.
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Oooh! That was me!!!!
*faints*
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The high price of motor vehicle fuel (in particular the high tax), is intended to reduce the level of motoring for environmental reasons. The current high price before taxation is a reflection of supply and demand. Consequently it is pointless reducing the tax as soon as it starts to hurt motorists. Motorists have to face the fact that the supply of crude oil is finite and the more you use the higher the price will be. Unfortunately as the economy of the planet largely depend upon oil and the motor vehicle, it is doubtful whether market forces alone will solve this problem in a timely manner. Suggested reading - Limits to Growth The 30-Year Update (ISBN 978-1-84407-144-9)
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Having quickly looked at the credit crunch map of the UK, it seems that London is least affected by the the increase in fuel prices. I guess that this is the result of an integrated and easy to use public transport system!!
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French fishermen are revolting .........now come on, they ain't that bad!
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PM frequently talks about the short-term price of oil, but never about the medium/long term energy crisis that looms. Unlike climate change (which is a probability), it is a certainty that the price of oil will rise significantly in the medium and long term, as the world’s oil reserves are exhausted as demand rises. This is going to have a dramatic effect on all our lives, (much bigger that climate change, I would argue), and yet PM never mentions it in their discussions! The current oil price rises will be nothing compared to what awaits us, maybe within just 10 years or so. This is the elephant in the room. As our national broadcaster, I suggest the BBC should be regularly discussing this topic, informing us about the subject, and asking our politicians about their plans to address this scary challenge to our security and wellbeing. We are sleep-walking into a catastrophe, (the beginning of which is arguably showing itself right now), and yet it is never mentioned on the BBC!!
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I've just read in my evening paper that lorry drivers are staging a protest in London next week - they are calling for the government to repay fuel duty to HGV operators.
Apparently, hundreds of trucks are going to park in central London on Tuesday.
I wish I could join them ;o)
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With all the fuel price rises and more to come, the government could help those who use their own cars on business if they increased the allowable mileage rate from 40p per mile for the first 10,000 miles. It's been that level for years and doesn't reflect the current cost of fuel.
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Northernbeancounter (17)
I cannot second you more highly.
I'm in the same bind, even after a VAT inspection where the biggest matter was how much VAT I was claiming back out of that £0.40/mile.
I'm sure it's a government ploy to ensure all transport claims go via the easily taxable company car, rather than private car used for company business. It even used to be £0.44/mile (but for 4000miles), and, from memory and late at night, I think it's been at this same level since 1999.
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Jonnie (2);
Diesel at 122.9 p/litre?
Luxury. Seen yesterday afternoon in Stockport at 127.9 p/litre. And the refinery is just down the road at Stanlow.
WR.
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having only learnt to drive last summer i have never experienced prices less that £1 a litre, so am not best placed to comment on the continued rises.
but what i will say is that due to the fact i am a new driver, i am used to putting £20 in the tank and getting x miles.
i am the oil companies/governments dream driver because i can only go by what i know, and all i know £20 takes me x miles.
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I suspect that if it were not for the advent of the diesel car, the price of diesel would today be lower than that of petrol. The improved economy of diesel results in fewer gallons bought, so to avoid revenue loss HMG has had to keep duty high on diesel. Company car fuel is taxed on the basis of CO2 emissions, but because Diesel has very low CO2 emissions - guess what? there's a surcharge on diesel cars.
Mind you, I'd much rather have high fuel costs than road pricing. (http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/vylehernia/VHWebsite1.htm)
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"Unlike climate change (which is a probability)". Is that a real fact Realneed? I don't think so. Irt's just another way for the three mainstream political parties to bash the poor taxpayer still further. If people really want to get rid of these professional politicians and inject some altruism into our political class then stop voting Lib,Lab,Con! Vote for (what the BBC laughingly calls 'Others', thereby reducing the political base to three, and thereby denying fair democracy) any other party but the three mainstream ones. Believe me our fortunes would change once we get rid of the Fabians, who along with the Bilderbergers, are destroying this once-great nation. They're certainly nullifying everything our forefathers died for!
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"Unlike climate change (which is a probability)". Is that a real fact Realneed? I don't think so. Irt's just another way for the three mainstream political parties to bash the poor taxpayer still further. If people really want to get rid of these professional politicians and inject some altruism into our political class then stop voting Lib,Lab,Con! Vote for (what the BBC laughingly calls 'Others', thereby reducing the political base to three, and thereby denying fair democracy) any other party but the three mainstream ones. Believe me our fortunes would change once we get rid of the Fabians, who along with the Bilderbergers, are destroying this once-great nation. They're certainly nullifying everything our forefathers died for!
Nick C,
worcester, ENGLAND
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At the present time in Miami Florida, petrol has arrived at the $4.25 mark. Roberto
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There are two really unquestionable facts going together to make it insane to keep pumping more and more oil. One: Its bound to run out, and if production continues to accelerate the gravy train will hit the buffers with a huge bang, and turmoil in the world economy, wars etc will result. Two: The world is continuing to heat up and people (possibly millions) will die, in the next half century from this effect too. We have to get to grips with this. The Prime Minister and others seem incapable of rational comprehension of these two facts, according to everything I heard today.
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In northern New York, the cost of a gallon is up to 3.99 (as of
Wednesday, 21 May 2008!
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I heard an "oil expert" (didn't catch the name/position) on the radio recently state that oil isn't going to run out. Unless he knows of an infinite supply somewhere, he presumably means that demand will reduce (one way or another) before the supply runs out, which is probably true but as we are already in "overshoot" on oil this will either mean a catastrophic reduction or a planned reduction. The only method we have of controlling oil consumption at the moment is the price mechanism. This is complicated by the futures market which is speculative and prices may go up or down irrespective of the current supply. On the other hand, I am not entirely convinced by the "global warming" caused by CO2 argument. The climate is changing naturally and there may be no causal relationship between C02 emissions and temperature rise. It may be that temperature rise is causing increased levels of C02. In the UK, average temperatures in the early 1700's were almost as high as today and they fell back. Clearly that was nothing to do with C02 emissions. It seems unlikely that left to the politicians, this situation will be resolved in an orderly manner.
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fR24,
Maybe they should sell gas in Florida instead. It's cheaper than petrol.
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David_McNickle (28)
I thought that petrol was "Gas" in the U.S. or is that what you meant?
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I’m impressed. Very impressed! I complain (comment 15) that the BBC never raises the issue of oil running out, and low and behold that’s exactly what happened on Thursday’s PM programme. Even the phrase Peak Oil was voiced – for the first time ever on BBC radio, as far as I am aware. Progress indeed! However, it was such a brief mention as to hardly be noticeable. Come on PM, let’s see if we can now hear some in-depth articles and discussions reflecting the enormity of the catastrophe that awaits us (the average price of oil increasing relentlessly from now on), almost certainly within a generation. PM has an important role to play in starting the debate. When your head’s in the sand and your back’s against the wall, it’s difficult to put your head above the parapet!
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