Pump all the damn gas you want on May 15

Ok, lets break down this stupid Dont Pump Gas email

Be sure to get your gas before the 15th. Don't put it off, we want this boycott to work for the 15th. There are 73,000,000! + Americ an members currently on the internet network, and
the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up.

If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00
(that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companies' pockets for just one day...

Uh... Are you kidding?

First of all, do you think with the amount of stupid media this is getting that the oil companies don't know that this is planned? And might see a dip on whatever day of the week May 15th is, but have the same freakin profit totals at the end of the week are just fine?

The concept of one day boycotts are to show the strength of the consumer base. Buying more efficient cars or motorcycles, bicycling to work, walking to work, telecommuting when possible... all blows to the oil industry.

Not filling up your tank for one day? Not so much. Granted, it has been over 4 years since I owned a car that I drove regularly, but last I checked I wasn't filling it up daily, and I don't think I would have had to plan very much to not fill up on one given day.


I'm sorry, this whole silly notion really really bothers me.

People don't fill up their huge SUV that they use to drive half a mile down the street instead of walking and 90% of the time are the only occupant, and don't maintain their car and tires for efficiency are going to pat themselves on the back for being participants in democracy, while making no effort, or even appearing to make an effort to wean themselves off the teat of the oil companies.

Not to mention, I don't really care if oil prices go up. Let's look... gas prices went down, SUV's became popular, gas prices went up. Coincidence? If a higher gas tax had been levied earlier, then there wouldn't be so many gas guzzlers on the road. We can't get the adorable, small, efficient cars that they have everywhere else in the world because we don't have a strong enough consumer base.

Sure, I don't like the fact that oil execs profit off of all of this ridiculous, or that we're polluting the air, but dropping oil prices at the pump won't do much to solve either of those problems. The notion of putting a cap on CEOs salary with regard to how much their lowest paid employees would be a step in the right direction, but that's for another day. (For example, if lowest paid employees make x CEOs can only make 10x).

So, no. Pump as much damn gas as you want, unless you're instead going to take a day to start changing your habits.

Ride to Work Day - check out the fact sheet. As a much better improvement over cars, but not as far as moving to bicycles, if you have to go far, motorcycles tear up the road less, take up less parking spaces, keep a higher average speed and less time stopped, so that less braking and stopping time at 0 mpg while still burning oil.

C.I.C.L.E advice - cycling, its easier and more feasible than you think