Canadians Will Have To Use Less Fuel To Create Extra Supply

Well so it begins, Canadians will have to cut back, as was designed, has anyone heard anything even close to this being suggested in the U.S.? Any conservation, or cut backs, or is this the beginning of a very long, cold and expensive Canadian winter?

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

There has to be some way of measuring who is using the most so that the ones that can hardly afford to buy gas and heat for their homes will not be the ones that suffer AGAIN and the rich just go merrily on their way consumming as usual.

Hell, we may all be asking for Chavez to help us through the winter! Paul Martin's too much like Bush neither of them have ever gone without so they're level of understanding and compassion is about as deep as a pointy hill.

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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche

"Well so it begins, Canadians will have to cut back, as was designed, has anyone
heard anything even close to this being suggested in the U.S.? Any conservation,
or cut backs, or is this the beginning of a very long, cold and expensive
Canadian winter?"

Yes actually.
State Governments throughout the Southeast US are taking steps to cut fuel and
are asking their ciizens to do the same. So has the President.
Next question...

The article points to one possible approach :

Ottawa believes Canada will be able to increase the flow of oil and refined products to the United States mainly because higher gasoline prices will encourage less consumption.

Let the US price reach ours and we'll have less to send them.

Another way might be to consider offering them LUMBER duty free.

How about it friends ...

We should do like Hugo Chavez and offer to increase the supply of gasoline, heating fuel, and natural gas to poor people at a discount.

<a href="http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=8637">http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=8637</a><br />
<p>---<br>RickW

I understand that those with big SUVs have to stay in lineups for fuel with even those who can't afford them. I imagine American car manufacturers will be forced to install bigger gas tanks so these gas guzzlers can go further before fillups. American's will not allow the price of fuel override their belief that bigger is better. Canadians will have to insure those values remain with the American.

RPW,

Thanks for that excellent aside. No wonder I like Chavez, his ideas are so close to my own. People power, people making their own decisions. I would also want that in government as well and this is where he and I may differ, I'm not sure being so far removed from the source?



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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche

"Martin acknowledged Canada does not have a large reserve."

...or no emergency reserve, according to NAFTA. This is a clear illustration of the harm caused, not only to us, but to those in crisis by these trade agreements by preventing Canada from acting to its full potential.

What I don't understand is why Martin would even humour this notion of somehow having Canada alleviate a supply shortage when we already export at least half of our production south without ANY readily accessible reserves. Without a doubt, Canada could have a better impact by pledging humanitarian aid only... we have already signed away our resources.

I was semi pro driver, factory team captain in motorsport for many years, so I do have a bit of understanding of fuel consumption.

One of the biggest fuel wasters is high speed. Governments all over Canada have been increasing speed limits to satisfy public demands, thereby increasing fuel consumption. What people don't realize is that by raising the speed limits, fuel consumption also rises in higher percentages than the increase in speed. At lower speeds it doesn't make much difference, but when it comes to high speeds, a 20% increase can mean 50%, or more increase in consumption.

Back, during the gas shortages of the early '70s we used to go down to Portland from Vancouver in my Econoline van to visit my wife's parents. When the US speed limit was cut by 10 mph to save gas, in spite of my competition driving experience, I always stay within speed limits, especially on a freeway in a foreign coutry, my gas consumption dropped by a full tank of that van, about 10 Imperial gallons on a return trip of about 700 m.

The same thing could and should be done now all over, especially in the USA once again. Ed Deak, Big Lake, BC.

The preview shows the date as Wednesday , Dec 31 , 1969 . Now where did this come from??????????<br />
<br />
<br />
PS to my previous : I forgot to mention that Isaac Newton figured out this law over 300 years ago , but economists and politicians have been ignoring it since. I've also used it in my Efficiency Principle. Ed Deak. <br />
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Now, here's an interesting news item. Europe has emergency gas stocks, the USA and Canada have none, because it could be against the principles of so called "free markets" <br />
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<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/energy_katrina_europe_wrap_dc">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/energy_katrina_europe_wrap_dc</a><br />
<br />
Europe to send emergency oil to U.S.<br />
By Caroline Jacobs<br />
<br />
PARIS (Reuters) - Europe will dip into its emergency stocks of gasoline to<br />
help the United States through an energy crisis triggered by Hurricane<br />
Katrina smashing into Gulf Coast refiners, EU governments said on Friday.<br />
<br />
<br />
France, Germany, Spain and Italy declared they were ready to send fuel<br />
across the Atlantic in an operation coordinated by the West's energy<br />
watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA).<br />
<br />
<br />
The Paris-based IEA announced its members would release two million barrels<br />
per day (bpd) of oil over an initial period of 30 days.<br />
<br />
<br />
About half that will be gasoline from European refiners that will roughly<br />
match output lost from the Gulf Coast's battered refineries. The remainder<br />
will be crude from U.S. reserves.<br />
<br />
<br />
EU nations have watched in horror as the world's richest country struggles<br />
with the aftermath of Katrina. Thousands are feared dead and troops in the<br />
flooded city of New Orleans have been told to shoot-to-kill to crack down<br />
on looting.<br />
<br />
<br />
Gasoline prices have soared by nearly a fifth over the past week and<br />
President George W. Bush has urged Americans to go easy on fuel. Unlike the<br />
IEA, the United States has only emergency reserves of crude and a small<br />
stockpile of heating oil.<br />
<br />
<br />
"It's self-evident that we support the American bid," German Chancellor<br />
Gerhard Schroeder told a news conference in Berlin.<br />
<br />
<br />
France echoed Schroeder's remarks: "This request is consistent with efforts<br />
for solidarity with the American people," the Industry Ministry said in a<br />
statement.<br />
<br />
<br />
But Europe's pledge of gasoline may carry a political price for Washington.<br />
Differences over trade and foreign policy have strained relations between<br />
the United States and some EU member states including Germany and France.<br />
<br />
<br />
Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Wales, EU foreign policy<br />
chief Javier Solana said: "Whatever the United States asks for they will be<br />
given."<br />
<br />
<br />
IEA TO MAKE FORMAL REQUEST FOR OIL<br />
<br />
<br />
A Spanish official told Reuters the IEA had contacted Madrid on Thursday<br />
and indicated there would be a formal request for oil on Friday. Spain<br />
wanted a "balanced proposal" involving all IEA members - 26 industrialized<br />
nations including Japan.<br />
<br />
<br />
"We are waiting (for the IEA request) and I think we will tell them 'yes',"<br />
a spokesman at Spain's Industry Ministry said.<br />
<br />
<br />
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told a news conference it was up to<br />
each country to respond to the best of its ability. But he did not say<br />
whether Britain would release any oil.<br />
<br />
<br />
Crude oil prices have hit levels unseen in real terms since 1980 - the year<br />
of the<br />
Iran-<br />
Iraq war and a year after the Iranian revolution that choked off supply lines.<br />
<br />
<br />
Prices fell sharply on Friday on news that Europe was riding to the aid of<br />
the United States. Gasoline also eased.<br />
<br />
<br />
But European oil will take at least 10 days to reach U.S. shores and tanker<br />
space is in short supply with many commercial ships already under charter<br />
and crossing the Atlantic.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Paris-based IEA declined to confirm it would release oil to the United<br />
States. "We're still consulting with all our members and the damage<br />
assessment is still going on," an IEA spokeswoman said on Friday.<br />
<br />
<br />
EU members Germany, France, Spain and Italy have substantial emergency<br />
reserves. France expected to provide about 92,000 barrels per day and Spain<br />
said it would release 70,000 bpd.<br />
<br />
<br />
The IEA last dipped into its emergency reserves in 1991 when a U.S.-led<br />
coalition ejected Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The agency, created after the<br />
1973-74 oil crisis to protect consumers, must hold stocks of 90 days of net<br />
imports.<br />
<br />
<br />
(Additional reporting by Juan Navarro and Emma Ross-Thomas in Madrid, Dave<br />
Graham in Berlin, Rachel Sanderson in Rome, Emmanuel Jarry and Swaha<br />
Pattanaik in Paris, Chris Baltimore in Washington and Pieter Nielsen in<br />
Brussels)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
~~~~~~

...not only use less fuel...but due to continental & world
demand....we're paying bloody high prices for our gas
at the fuel pumps. Very strange quasi-country this
Canada, every OPEC member which has large
quantities of oil, all have cut-rate prices for gas at the
pumps for their citizens, --like 11/25cents per
litre...while selling to non-citizens for world prices....but
not dear Canada......why the Canadian public takes this
is beyond me....abundance of energy is our
'comparative advantage'...which first, should be used to
benefit Canada and our residents at lower prices than
that pushed up by US/continental demand--but NAFTA
doesn't allow that does it? ...so we
eliminate our comparative advantage, "use less" ..and
keeping "pay more" --what is the point of having a
'comparative advantage' if we bargin it away with some
stupid treaty like NAFTA/FTA. I wonder what kind of
legal precedent Canada is making by 'using less' and
exporting more to USA during this hour of need, is
there a slippery slope here that could apply to fresh
water too, and natural gas, ...of course, not softwood
lumber, or beef though!

Canadians will use less fuel, it's happening already. A $1.35/litre. Simple economics.

Alberta claims to not have provincal tax's at the pumps. Here in BC we have provincal tax's added for every time there is a need for extra $$. So why is it Albertans pay as much at the pumps as we do on Vancouver Island? We are being nailed by our government. Who's getting the differance from the pumps in Alberta?