monthly nationwide driving boycott!!--be a part!--starts sat., june 16, 2007!

I truly do understand, trust me! I've retired, and my "income" has dropped significantly...thus, we're on a much tighter (I like to call it "discretionary") budget. So, we're perhaps a bit more "able" to stay at home more and drive less. And that's ok...if we can do that as "our little part", and others who might have similar freedom to do something similar, and another, and another....I know everyone can't participate equally. But I think everyone actually DOES participate, unless they're wealthy enough that gas prices don't really affect them all that much. THEY will always have their supply; it's those of us who are a bit more 'financially challenged' who will be squeezed out more and more as prices continue to rise. I'm with you on the hybrids, too; I do think they're a good alternative, as they're very economical (45+ mpg?) and so far, reports are not bad from owners, either. Anyway...I don't mean to 'babble on'... Thanks for the post, and good luck in managing your gas 'funding' needs. Keep the chin up, too!

I certainly "commend" you, CatNPK! I see your City/State in profile; you must live in the city proper, where you can get to most of your "commitments", "schedules", etc. with either your feet, your bike, or local mass-transit systems? In that, you are probably very fortunate, as relates to being a 'slave to the oil companies'. You can snub your nose all the way to the bank at them! Bravo and congratulations! Thanks for the post.

Thanks for the post. I know how hard it can be for families these days. I'm retired, so am on a 'fixed income', and driving around for the sake of driving around is no longer an option for us. But, we're ok with that now. At $3.00 per gallon, in a vehicle that gets 20 mpg, it amounts to throwing 15 cents out the window every mile....just for gas! That might not sound like a lot, but let's face it...that's just the cost for MY driving. Then, I'm also paying for the increased cost of shipping goods; food, etc., etc. Petroleum (oil) is one product which sits near the very base of so many other products and services; so when prices change at the "base", the ripple effect is huge! I still say we must stop driving as much. I believe many people are already driving less than they might have even 6 months ago; but certainly less than a year or two ago, I'd guess. I know we have curbed ours quite a lot over the last few years...partly because I've retired and we need to use a little 'discretion' regarding our 'budget'...and partly because we really just don't want to give any more of our money to Big Oil than we really have to! We're still working on it, though...we can still trim down the driving; just have to learn to stay home more.

I'm sad to say I agree with you about not getting much support on this. And...the oil companies know this too. Which is why they continue to freely increase prices. I fully understand that people have "commitments" and "schedules" and "requirements" and "desires" and so on. And, maybe some of those things are actually part of the whole problem; i.e., we've become so dependent on "being mobile" that we've over-committed, over-scheduled and over-stressed ourselves to where we're running all the time! Maybe it's these "overages" we need to revisit. Perhaps we can't keep taking Susy to piano lessons for a while. Or, maybe Jimmy can't play after school soccer this season. Or, perhaps we'll have to decline when friends in another state invite us to a barbecue. No, these things are not "easy", but I believe they might just be necessary, in the long run. Time will tell. Thanks again for the post.