Don't buy gas on September 1, 2005!!!

[shaniqua6392]

I just received the following email regarding a boycott on gas purchases on September 1, 2005 and I just thought I would pass it on and see if any at DU would be interested in spreading the word through their email address books. Thanks for your help.


Subject: NO GAS ON SEPT. 1ST

Subject: GAS

IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANAD
DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF GASOLINE FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES.
AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OF
OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES.
THEREFORE SEPTEMBER 1st HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT UP THEIR
BEHIND" DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THESE TWO NATIONS SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF GASOLINE THAT DAY.
THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT.
WAITING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT
GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES
THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?
REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE GOING UP BUT AT
THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING
COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS PRICES ON
EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING
MATERIALS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO!
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.
SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE SEPTEMBER 1ST A DAY THAT THE
CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

[Joe the Revelator]

1. Seriously?

This email has been going around since before Y2K. Its basically a chain letter, and the primise of the "boycott" would do very very little to offset gas prices.

Now if it was a DRIVING boycott, we might be onto something....

[newportdadde]

2. Boycott the Thurs before Labor Day riiiiggghhhttt....

Might work for a few of us stuck in town that weekend but most of the US will be doing something or going somewhere and many will take off Friday which means a Thursday fillup. That weekend is a huge travel weekend for gas.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Check out Snopes.com on this one.

The same e-mail has gone around before.

"First of all, everyone's "not purchasing a drop of gasoline for one day" will not cause oil companies to "choke on their stockpiles." Oil companies run their inventories on a weekly basis, and since the "gas out" scheme doesn't call on people to buy less gasoline but simply to shift their date of purchase by one day, oil company stockpiles won't be affected at all.

Next, merely shifting the day of purchase will not "hit the entire industry with a net loss of over $4.6 billion." Consumers won't be buying any less gasoline under this "gas out" proposal; they'll simply be purchasing gas a day earlier or a day later than they usually would. The very same amount of gasoline will be sold either way, so the oil companies aren't going to lose any money at all.

By definition, a boycott involves the doing without of something, with the renunciation of the boycotted product held up as tangible proof to those who supply the commodity that consumers are prepared to do without it unless changes are made. What the "gas out" calls for isn't consumers' swearing off using or buying gasoline, even for a short time, but simply shifting their purchases by one day. Because the "gas out" doesn't call on consumers to make a sacrifice by actually giving up something, the threat it poses is a hollow one.

Not buying gas on a designated day may make people feel a bit better about things by providing them a chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices, but the action won't have any real impact on retail prices. An effective protest would involve something like organizing people to forswear the use of their cars on specified days, an act that could effectively demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline prices stay up, American consumers are prepared to move to carpooling and public transportation for the long term. Simply changing the day one buys gas, however, imparts no such threat, because nothing is being done without."

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/nogas.asp

[tx_dem41]

4. Yes...just buy a whole bunch on the 31st or 2nd.

:eyes:

[Rude Horner]

5. This email has been going around for years. (n/t)

[bunkerbuster1]

6. Forwarding messages typed in all-caps is BAAAD, mmkay?

[Drifter]

7. Stop ... its bullshit ...

not buying gas for 1 day will not do anything. Besides, all that does is force people to fill up either the day before or the day after.

Oil companies wouldn't even notice.

The only way you can do anything productive in this area, is to PERMANENTLY reduce your consumption.

Cheers
Drifter

[magnolia]

8. I don't see the point.

Any financial loss they experience will be passed on to us! If you have a car you are at their mercy. Even if we all made a conscious effort to not drive as much, car pool, all that...if they have a loss, they raise the price and we are punished for our effort. (Of course we should still do all these things for the sake of the environment.)

This country has been set up for at least 50 years for gas dependency. If you live in a relatively new house, whether it was build on a big piece of land or in a planned community/subdivision you have to jump in the car every time you want a gallon of milk, go to the doctor, job, etc.

I'm with Gore...we need to wake up! If it takes $5.00 a gallon, then so be it.