I just read a related article in Artvoice, a Buffalo weekly newspaper. The link is as follows:
http://artvoice.com/issues/v5n20/why_we_wont_invade_iran
If you were part of the gas girlcott, I send out my thanks, but it is not over yet.
Continue doing what you have been doing about boycotting the big three companies.
Also, if you haven't written people in Congress, do so today. If you need help, email me at
robesw@yahoo.com.
Also, keep up the efforts at conservation, car pooling and more walking. It's healthy.
Spread the word. If you don't believe one person can make a difference,
you haven't heard of Paul Rusesabagina, Rosa Parks or Rudy Acuna.
Of course, results are more easily obtained if everybody works together.
If this is your first time here, read on.
What won't work is apathy, laziness, pessimism and excuses.
What is required is communication, energy, determination, and ideas.
Instead of wasting time on why it won't work, dedicate to making it work!
Here's what we have been doing. Keep at it. Refuse to buy gas from these
companies, in the order given. Here are some numbers on their profits:
ExxonMobil - up 125%
Chevron-Texaco - up 294%
Conoco-Phillips - up 44%
If you have a Delta Sonic or Hess in your area, buy gas from them. They do not get gas from the above
three. This means you may have to do some homework, because the place where you buy gas might get
it from these companies. If you are not sure, at least avoid Exxon-Mobil. You may have heard about the
Exxon Valdez. That wasn't their only environmental disaster. On January 1, 1990, a pipeline between
New Jersey and Staten Island broke, leaking over 500,000 gallons of heating fuel into surrounding
wetlands. There was an early alarm of the rupture, but it was ignored and the flow was not cut off for
six hours. The pipeline belonged to Exxon. That corporation was also responsible for the multi-billion
gallon spill in Newtown Creek, just east of Manhattan Island that has slowly been leaking for years
Write Congress, now - WWW.CONGRESS.ORG, demanding legislation for better fuel efficiency.
A boost of one mile per gallon results in a savings of half a million barrels of oil a day. Mention
the need for more investment in alternative energy possibilities, including the Apollo Project, a
proposal for investing $300 billion over 10 years to create new energy based on efficiency and
innovation, involving energy saving buildings and appliances, environmentally friendly factories,
hybrid vehicles and mass transit. The program would create 3,000,000 manufacturing jobs -
the cost would be only a fraction of what the country spends each year on imported oil.
Email me at robesw@yahoo.com if you need help composing your letter. This effort on
your part is a great start. Please spread the word and tell them about this web site. If you
want to be part of team just a bit more, contact me. Don't worry, I really believe in working
smart instead of working hard. You can read about that in my book,
Tick Tock, Don't Stop: A Manual for Workaholics. Go back a page.
All ideas are welcome. Working together we will succeed.
We shall do another week of boycotts as in June sometime soon.
For an entire week the thrust will be to boycott all gas stations. That's Monday through Friday. This means you will have to do some thinking, conserving and walking. You can take a day off or go to work, even if you're out of gas, using mass transit or pooling - not bad ideas. If you cut your grass during the week, make sure you have enough gas ahead of time. |
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| If you think you can't afford to be away
from work for a week - you don't need to.
Go back and read the plan above. If you are still not convinced, consider this. In 1998, I was working on a Y2K project at Monroe County in Rochester when I was diagnosed with colon cancer. At the time, I didn't think I could be away for a week but I wound up recovering for over four months. I survived - thanks to the grace of God and a fine surgeon, Dr. Naim Dawli - and when I returned, my desk was still there. When the year 1999 ended, there were no Y2K problems at the county. |
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| Here's some feedback. |
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I agree completely, in addition we need a windfall profits tax (with the revenues financing investments in sustainable energy) and mandatory increases in fuel economy standards, as we articulate here http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/20/gas_price_gambit.php http://www.citizen.org/documents/senatetestimony06.pdf Public Citizen's Energy Program 215 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Washington, DC 20003 |
xxxx | As an avid bike rider, and a believer in
smart mass transit, I am 100% in. I will
pass the information along. KB - San Francisco |
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| I'll follow the boycott recommendations.
I really think what we need is to do is conserve.
I was in California recently. They offer
incentives to car pool. They are an intelligent
votership with traffic and smog concerns,
but we could do some of the same things here. RR - Buffalo |
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| Hi. I was researching Gas Boycotts on the
web and came across your site. I would like to be involved. We really need to do something about the gas prices and the control that Big Oil has over America. I believe a well organized gas boycott with a size comparable to the recent Day Without Immigrants may do the trick. John C. - Albany, NY |
Mark Twain's opinion on the price of gas http://www.marktwainlive.com/editorial.html |
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| The Natural Resources Defense Council has
a few campaigns regarding energy policy that are making great headway. We find that it is essential to provide energy solutions that would be able to be put in place in the near future. Visit the following links: Re-Energize America http://www.nrdc.org/reenergize/ Move America Beyond Oil http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/beyondoil/action.asp?step=2&item=53292 Break the Chain http://www.nrdc.org/breakthechain/ |
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| A sustained cut-back in usage, such as better
planned errand-runs and car-pooling, can cut back usage by 10%, which will be amazingly significant. It will cause all the gas commodities futures speculators to dump their holdings, stop New York State from receiving it's windfall tax receipts from the pumps, and stab fear deep into the hearts of OPEC members who have become dependent on sustained revenues from us. There is less need for business air travel if we make use of products such as MS Net Meeting, which provides low cost visual contact real-time meetings worldwide. Bill J. - Buffalo |
The Nation Magazine featured a great article about energy policy. The link follows: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060529/editors2 |
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| Count me in! I was at a gas station on my
way to work one day this week and could not stop thinking about the record profits for oil companies and the incredibly high price of gas. I have to start taking the bus more often. I'll be on the bus all that week of June 5th. Rick R. - Houston |
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Thanks!
In the words of the The Carpenters,
We've Only Just Begun
We miss you, Karen!