Gas Prices - give me a break!

[Robin Blankenship]

David,
I think they are trying to do just that. Interesting possibilities ahead of
us this century. Most of them conclude with the end of the United States.
Oh, well......  At least I love Chinese food, if not their pianos.

Robin


----- Original Message -----
From: David Ilvedson, RPT <ilvey@jps.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 9:08 PM
Subject: Re: Gas Prices - give me a break!


> I feel guilty that we, USA, use a large percentage of the world's
resources.
> What if the rest of the world consumed like we did?
>
> David I.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Goodale <rrg@nevada.edu>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 4:54 PM
> Subject: Gas Prices - give me a break!
>
>
> >So are we supposed to feel guilty because because of prosperity?  Will
> paying
> >high gas prices somehow make us feel better about ourselves?  Should we
go
> back
> >to the stone age?  Will becoming a third world country somehow make the
> planet
> >a better place to live?  I'll take cheep gas in exchange for prosperity,
> thank
> >you.
> >
> >___________________________________________________________
> >Sorry, I couldn't help it.  I have a low tolerance for junk science.
> >___________________________________________________________
> >
> >Rob Goodale, RPT
> >Las Vegas, NV
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Delwin D Fandrich wrote:
> >
> >> You are right, $1.49 per gallon of gasoline is cheap.  So is $1.58 per
> >> gallon.
> >>
> >> The US pumps approximately 22% of the worldwide carbon dioxide
> ('greenhouse
> >> gases') emissions into the atmosphere, in large part because of the
> >> extremely low energy prices that we pay.  (At least in terms of the
> direct
> >> purchase price.  There is a much higher price down the road, but since
it
> is
> >> not paid at the pump it tends to be overlooked.)
> >>
> >> There is no longer any serious debate as to whether or not these
> emissions
> >> are damaging the planet.  The debate is now simply one of determining
how
> >> extensive the damage will be and whether or not humanity can survive
the
> >> damage.
> >>
> >> The world of the near future will be quite different from the one we
live
> in
> >> today.  It will be much warmer -- eleven of the hottest years in
recorded
> >> history have occurred since 1983.  The five hottest consecutive years
in
> >> history were 1991 to 1995.  1998 was the hottest year ever.  The planet
> is
> >> heating up at faster rate than any time in its history.
> >>
> >> If you don't think this is a serious problem, check with the insurance
> >> industry.  During the 1980's insurance losses due to weather-related
> >> damage -- droughts, floods, storm surges, sea level rise, etc. --
> averaged
> >> about $2 billion a year.  In 1998 alone the tab was $89 billion.  And
> it's
> >> going to get much worse.  Remember last year's record-setting drought
in
> the
> >> mid-Atlantic states (six states were declared disaster areas).  The
> heatwave
> >> through the Midwest and northeastern U.S. cost 271 lives.  Hurricane
> Floyd
> >> alone resulted in over $1 billion worth of damage in North Carolina
> alone.
> >> And we got off easy.  A cyclone in India killed over 10,000 people.
The
> >> mud-slides in Venezuela killed 15,000 people.  In December of last year
> wind
> >> storms through northern Europe resulted in over $4 billion of damage.
> >>
> >> And the list goes on.
> >>
> >> No, we don't pay nearly enough for the energy we use so wastefully.
Not
> by
> >> half.  But we're going to.
> >>
> >> Del
> >
> >
>