Petrol Email going around

jmc-007 · 07-09-2005, 12:10 PM

Hey guys,

Got this email at work

: i will post it below basicly a dont buy petrol day.

IT HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE IN AUSTRALIA
DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF PETROL FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT
THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR
STOCKPILES.

AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET
LOSS OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE
OIL COMPANIES.

THEREFORE THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK

IT UP THEIR BEHIND " DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT
BUY A SINGLE DROP OF PETROL THAT DAY.

THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL
TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD

OUT.

WAITING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES
IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL
IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?

REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF PETROL GOING
UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES,
TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH EFFECTS
PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING,
BUILDING SUPPLIES MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE
DO!

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE
AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO
EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE SEPTEMBER 22nd A DAY

THAT THE CITIZENS OF AUSTRALIA "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

TheSneakiness · 07-09-2005, 12:11 PM

*Waits on Casper padlock*

jmc-007 · 07-09-2005, 12:12 PM

I thought it was funny ehheeh

:

paulvdb · 07-09-2005, 12:13 PM

Regular email spam.

b2tf · 07-09-2005, 12:24 PM

:

brenx · 07-09-2005, 12:27 PM

Whats funny is in my area all the ones that went $1.38 are now back to $1.24. Must have had a very quiet night ;) All the independant servo's didn't raise their prices.

Laminge · 07-09-2005, 12:32 PM

i need a minge padlock!

SE Ute · 07-09-2005, 12:40 PM

Snopes did an article about it, i'll post the link, am i allowed to do that on this forum?? Admin can delete if it's against rules.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/nogas.asp

Basically it says it'll have no effect on the oil companies. Think it's time to look into buying that scooter.

From snopes.com

First of all, everyone's "not purchasing a drop of gasoline for one day" will not cause oil companies to "choke on their stockpiles." Oil companies run their inventories on a weekly basis, and since the "gas out" scheme doesn't call on people to buy less gasoline but simply to shift their date of purchase by one day, oil company stockpiles won't be affected at all.

Next, merely shifting the day(s) of purchase will not "hit the entire industry with a net loss of over $4.6 billion." Consumers won't be buying any less gasoline under this "gas out" proposal; they'll simply be purchasing gas a few days earlier or later than they usually would. The very same amount of gasoline will be sold either way, so the oil companies aren't going to lose any money at all.

By definition, a boycott involves the doing without of something, with the renunciation of the boycotted product held up as tangible proof to those who supply the commodity that consumers are prepared to do without it unless changes are made. What the "gas out" calls for isn't consumers' swearing off using or buying gasoline, even for a short time, but simply shifting their purchases by a couple of days at most. Because the "gas out" doesn't call on consumers to make a sacrifice by actually giving up something, the threat it poses is a hollow one.

Not buying gas on a designated day may make people feel a bit better about things by providing them a chance to vent their anger at higher gasoline prices, but the action won't have any real impact on retail prices. An effective protest would involve something like organizing people to forswear the use of their cars on specified days, an act that could effectively demonstrate the reality of the threat that if gasoline prices stay up, American consumers are prepared to move to carpooling and public transportation for the long term. Simply changing the day one buys gas, however, imparts no such threat, because nothing is being done without.

Moreover, the primary potential effect of the type of boycott proposed in the "gas out" messages is to hurt those at the very end of the oil-to-gasoline chain, service station operators — the people who have the least say in setting gasoline prices. As such, the "gas out" is a punch on the nose delivered to the wrong person.