December
15, 2006
To Ease
the Pain at the Petrol Pump
Granted that it is hard to accept
stoically the gradual climb up of gas prices since
the mid-term elections; granted also that buying
gas now has become once again a grudge purchase;
yet, there appears to be no sense in fuming and
fretting about a situation that you are totally
incapable of rectifying .
Easiest thing to do is to attribute it all to the
government’s machination to satisfy the greed
of its key players and big energy businesses.. You
may point out that the latest Energy Bill focuses
on promoting alternative sources of energy rather
than introducing any measure to reduce the current
price hike. But then President Bush has himself
admitted that he has no magic wand to wave and bring
the price down.
He is unwilling though to touch the enormous Strategic
Oil Reserve, as any release from it would not only
reduce the market price, but also the profits being
reaped now by big oil companies and speculators.
His henchmen attribute the price hike to the spurt
in demand from China and India owing to their burgeoning
economies and an expanding middle class with a newly
discovered taste for motorcars.
China with a population of 1.25 billion, 4.5 times
that of the U.S., has less than one-tenth of the
number of vehicles in the U.S. and India has far
less. The current world consumption of oil is 79
million barrels a day. U.S. consumption is 9.5 million
barrels a day, equivalent to the total production
of Saudi Arabia –the biggest producer- or
12 % of world consumption.
The Energy Bill passed last yeat by the U.S. Congress
places no cap on the profligate consumption of oil
in the country. That would have rubbed against the
grain of big oil companies –a measure Bush
Administration meticulously avoids. He must be credited
for being true to the salt of the major contributors
to his election kitty. The average Joe was, however,
not swayed this time by the Republican propaganda.
It is relevant to wonder whether the common man
who lives from pay check to pay check be able to
maintain his cavalier consumption of gas as he did
a couple of years back when he could buy it at half
the current price? The inevitable ripple effect
on the prices other consumable items, groceries
for instance, are ripping an extra 30 % from his
pockets.
There is an inverse correlation between his anxiety
level and the level of the petrol in the tank. Less
petrol for the same amount means more anxiety, if
not anguish.
He cannot expect a reprieve or respite from any
segment of the oil industry. Of each dollar spent
at the pump, 55 cents go for crude oil, 18 cents
for refining, 19 cents for taxes and the remainder
on marketing. Since the Sales Tax constitutes a
percentage of the sale price, the higher the price,
the more the tax, a welcome development for the
state coffer, and no state has charitably cut down
its intake.
The average individual has to make life style changes
necessary to reduce his overall expenses to make
room for higher payments for gas. He will have to
re-evaluate priorities and amend his errant ways
–a blessing in disguise. When medical charges
and insurance premiums increased sharply, a vast
majority of the people gave up unhealthy habits
and foods, took up exercise programs.
The pain at the pump has triggered consumer creativity.
Swiftest solution had to come from consumers themselves.
For commuters, a daily round trip on bus is looking
much better than driving and hunting for a parking
place. Car-pooling has also started to look attractive
and time saving considering the absence of traffic
jam in carpool lanes.
Here are some more tips to minimize your pain at
the pump.
Fill up your tank early in the morning when it is
cold in the underground tank. Later in the day it
warms up and expands giving you less BTU per gallon.
A full tank reduces evaporation. Fill it up when
it is half empty.
Keep your tires fully inflated; that reduces drag.
Overcoming aerodynamic drag is crucial to improving
fuel consumption. According to the Department of
Energy, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel
economy by as much as 5 %. An extra 100 pounds in
the trunk will cut your car’s fuel efficiency
by about 2%. If you are obese, go immediately on
a starvation diet. Life might become insipid but
you sure will save on gas. If you do succeed in
shedding the fat, the price hike at the pump will
pale into total insignificance.
Don’t even think of shifting the baggage on
the roof rack to the back seat and the kids from
there to the roof rack. You may get even arrested,
without achieving any reduction in the drag.
Better leave the heavy golf bag in the garage instead
of carry it all the time in your trunk in the remote
possibility of your stealing time from work to hit
the greens with your buddies. That has not happened
and is unlikely to happen. Likewise you may remove
the ski rack on the roof and the bicycle rack in
the front or back of the car.
Turning off the air-conditioner and opening the
windows will increase wind resistance and eat up
the savings. Enjoy your AC.
Avoid filling up at the stations near the freeways.
They charge more, it is true. But there is no truth
that prices are raised on weekends. They change
all the time. Greed is subject to no timetable.
Avoid “jackrabbit” starts by bolting
for the open road the moment the light turns green.
Hard acceleration causes your engine to lock into
a less efficient “fuel enrichment” mode.
If you press the accelerator to the floor, chances
are that you will soon be standing on the brakes
on the next red light.
In city driving, almost half the energy needed to
power your car goes to acceleration. Your fuel economy
will improve by five to ten percent, according to
the Department of Energy, if you avoid unnecessary
braking and acceleration.
The hybrid car is generally accepted as good for
your wallet and the environment. Indeed, hybrids
like Toyota Prius or Honda Insight are fuel-efficient
and give 40 to 50 miles per gallon. And undoubtedly,
they reduce smog-forming pollutants and carbon dioxide
emissions. But, consumers are concerned more with
their own financial health than with the environment.
The hybrid is not exactly a panacea for the price
hike.
If you want to shift to a hybrid to save on gas,
you might consider recalculating the cost/benefit
ratio. The car will cost some $5,000 more and the
insurance premium will be much higher too. An industry
expert has estimated that gas has to sell at $5.60
a gallon for the hybrid drivers to break even if
they drove 15,000 miles a year for over five years!
A Chinese proverb says: “When rape is inevitable,
relax and enjoy it”. Why then fume and fret
about the oil industry? There is nothing you can
do to counter the machinations of its greedy potentates,
scions of king Midas. So, relax, stay home and cancel
all your vacations. - arifhussaini@hotmail.com
