Homework blog.
Okay, so I know I only use this for reviews... but my hw was to write a blog and post it... SO seeing as this is my blog, here it is.
About 5 months ago, yet another "internet phenomenon" occurred(making it about the 10 millionth to date), and the plan to "boycot the gas companies on May 15th" spread like wildfire. Everyone was encouraged to take their stand against high gas prices by uniting together and agreeing to not fill up their cars on the same day, May 15th. This concept was mainly spread through forums, as well as community sites such as Myspace and Facebook.
In these posted messages/bulletins, a lot of numbers were thrown around, most of which were actually false:
-Some posts mentioned that there were about 73 million internet users in America, the number is actually closer to 250 million.
-They roughly estimated a $2.5 billion profit-loss for May 15th if this plan took off. However, gas companies daily sales average out to about $1 billion, so a $2.5 billion profit loss is impossible.
-A lot of messages made reference to the "gas out" of 1999, claiming that it caused prices to drop 20 to 30 cents overnight. In actuality, this event had very little participation, and had no impact on gas prices at all.
There were many different messages, each throwing different facts and statistics around, those were just some popular ones I had personally seen.
Now, to state the obvious flaw that even people who participated quickly spotted, what about the rest of the week? After all these people didn't buy gas on May 15th, their tanks were still going to be empty by the end of the week. So everyone just ended up giving gas companies their money on a later date, causing their weekly profits to remain the same. However, there's a much more practical way to take a stab at gas companies... USE LESS GAS!
Easier said than done, right? I disagree. Asking every internet user to not buy gas on a given date is significantly more far-fetched than my proposal. I'm not expecting everyone (or anyone) to stop buying gas completely, I'm expecting them to realise the amount they spend on gas in a month is double what it used to be, and want to at least cut a chunk out of that bill.
The process is simple, save your gas receipts for a month. At the end of the month, add up your totals. The following month, resolve not to spend more than a certain amount. Perhaps take 10% off of your total and not let yourself spend more than that. The specific number isn't important, as long as it's less than what you spent the previous month, of course.
Acting it out would be the hard part, of course. Most people have some areas where they could easilly cut down on gas usage. Just keep the little things in mind...
-It's silly to drive somewhere that is less than 10 blocks away. Just leave yourself some time and take a walk!
-Don't go all the way to the mall because you want a new stereo, go to the nearest local electronics store!
-And, the world can't stress this enough... CARPOOL! CARPOOL!! CARPOOL!!!!!!
If your first month of cutting prices works out well, then you make the choice of whether or not you can reduce your bill further the next month. Either way, you've already done your simple part. Reduced your personal gas bill, shown a level of commitment to giving gas companies less money(rather than just giving it to them 3 days later), and as an added bonus, you even pitched in a bit toward protecting the environment!
However, I realise this is America... Where we're all looking for a new way to lose weight by eating whatever we want and not exercising. So it's only natural that a get-broke-quick screen like the 2007 "boycot" to take off. But the fact remains that this plan didn't accomplish anything. It's time to try something new!
About 5 months ago, yet another "internet phenomenon" occurred(making it about the 10 millionth to date), and the plan to "boycot the gas companies on May 15th" spread like wildfire. Everyone was encouraged to take their stand against high gas prices by uniting together and agreeing to not fill up their cars on the same day, May 15th. This concept was mainly spread through forums, as well as community sites such as Myspace and Facebook.
In these posted messages/bulletins, a lot of numbers were thrown around, most of which were actually false:
-Some posts mentioned that there were about 73 million internet users in America, the number is actually closer to 250 million.
-They roughly estimated a $2.5 billion profit-loss for May 15th if this plan took off. However, gas companies daily sales average out to about $1 billion, so a $2.5 billion profit loss is impossible.
-A lot of messages made reference to the "gas out" of 1999, claiming that it caused prices to drop 20 to 30 cents overnight. In actuality, this event had very little participation, and had no impact on gas prices at all.
There were many different messages, each throwing different facts and statistics around, those were just some popular ones I had personally seen.
Now, to state the obvious flaw that even people who participated quickly spotted, what about the rest of the week? After all these people didn't buy gas on May 15th, their tanks were still going to be empty by the end of the week. So everyone just ended up giving gas companies their money on a later date, causing their weekly profits to remain the same. However, there's a much more practical way to take a stab at gas companies... USE LESS GAS!
Easier said than done, right? I disagree. Asking every internet user to not buy gas on a given date is significantly more far-fetched than my proposal. I'm not expecting everyone (or anyone) to stop buying gas completely, I'm expecting them to realise the amount they spend on gas in a month is double what it used to be, and want to at least cut a chunk out of that bill.
The process is simple, save your gas receipts for a month. At the end of the month, add up your totals. The following month, resolve not to spend more than a certain amount. Perhaps take 10% off of your total and not let yourself spend more than that. The specific number isn't important, as long as it's less than what you spent the previous month, of course.
Acting it out would be the hard part, of course. Most people have some areas where they could easilly cut down on gas usage. Just keep the little things in mind...
-It's silly to drive somewhere that is less than 10 blocks away. Just leave yourself some time and take a walk!
-Don't go all the way to the mall because you want a new stereo, go to the nearest local electronics store!
-And, the world can't stress this enough... CARPOOL! CARPOOL!! CARPOOL!!!!!!
If your first month of cutting prices works out well, then you make the choice of whether or not you can reduce your bill further the next month. Either way, you've already done your simple part. Reduced your personal gas bill, shown a level of commitment to giving gas companies less money(rather than just giving it to them 3 days later), and as an added bonus, you even pitched in a bit toward protecting the environment!
However, I realise this is America... Where we're all looking for a new way to lose weight by eating whatever we want and not exercising. So it's only natural that a get-broke-quick screen like the 2007 "boycot" to take off. But the fact remains that this plan didn't accomplish anything. It's time to try something new!