Boycott Exxon!! (not)
On May 15, 2007 there was a supposed "boycott" of gasoline. It failed because it was poorly conceived. People bought gas on the 14th or the 16th, but they didn't decrease consumption. Yesterday, I received another such email about gas prices.. this new one was promoting a scheme for a targeted boycott of Exxon and Shell.
Don't be fooled.. Not buying gas from Exxon and Shell won't necessarily create a price war. Yes, it will have much more of an effect than a one-day boycott, but, you need to understand the supply chain better.. Many of the small stations buy their gas from Exxon or Shell. For this to be effective, you'd have to find out who your corner gas station buys from, and in a number of cases, the corner gas station buys from a broker - at whatever the prevailing cheapest rate is, regardless of supplier. Example: QT (QuikTrip) does not own any refineries. They buy from brokers who could be buying from Exxon or Texaco - you don't know.
And.. If everyone for the rest of the year bought only from, say Texaco.. How do you think that Texaco is going to supply the increase in demand? Texaco can't build new refineries overnight.. they will just buy the excess capacity from the Exxon refineries that isn't being used. You haven't changed anything in the equation.
I am NOT (emphasize NOT) any version of a 'greenie', but if you really wanted to 'hurt' the oil companies, you'd find a way to cut your consumption, such as carpooling, etc... My wife and I have had a single shared car for 7 years. Work from home 1 day a week and you cut 20% of your 'business' gasoline usage. And, yes, before you complain.. I know how many jobs don't have that luxury like nurses, firemen and teachers.
For my own comment.. It bothers me every time I see an 18 wheeler anywhere on the interstate. America "gave up" an efficient, reliable delivery system (that of the railroads) in favor of the "instant gratification" of the trucking system. I would hazard a guess that the total of fuel consumed by trucking is five times more than that used by equivalent rail systems and local-only delivery with trucks.
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Quick email tip: never, never,
never send an email to a large group of people on the TO: address line. In doing so, you are exposing their address (and yours) to the SPAMmers. If you want to address a large group, you should always use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) address line.. it prevents the next person from forwarding your email address to someone else and thereby to the spammers.