[Todays Survival Show]

What's the real cost of energy? One of my forum members recently recorded a podcast that really made me think. I've posted it on my blog. Yes, we all wish the price of gas for example was cheaper and there certainly are things our government could do to make it cheaper (drill perhaps?)

But have you ever considered what the gas actually does for you? Have you ever considered how much work that gas does for you each time you run it in your car? Have you ever considered how much it would cost you to move your car down the road in a different manner than using gas? Even if you have a hybrid, your car can't run on electricity alone and even that has a cost. How much would it cost you to get to your destination without the use of gas? Even public transportation has a cost and it's limited in it's use most of the time. Say you have to move? What would it cost you to hire others to move you vs. renting that large truck and putting diesel in it?

Again, even though it's expensive and taxed way too much, gas and energy does work for us and it's tough to live without it. We preparedness minded people learn ways to use less of it, but would you really want to be without it?

 

[Jason]

That's a good point. In the old days, we weren't as "global" as we are now, and your post brings up one reason why. We can commute now for miles and miles to get to work, much further than we could walk or ride a bike (thus using no purchased energy, unless you count your food, and how far do we really want to take this?) I live on a farm-we burn diesel all day long in the summer. We have to work full time off the farm too and there would not be time to plow with horses, as my grandfather did until 1943.

I use a chainsaw and a 35 ton splitter with a big Briggs and Stratton 2 cylinder engine to provide wood to heat my house and I DO NOT want to have to split that much wood by hand.

Like you said, I wish it was cheaper, and I sure as hell hope it doesn't get a whole lot more expensive, but it'd be hard for me to wean myself from the tap and continue to live the way I do now. Could I adapt and survive without it? Yes, but it'd be tough.

 

[Todays Survival Show]

It can be somewhat quantified like this: What if you had to hire a team of college students to move your car 50 miles? Say you paid them $15/hour each (assuming they would even do it) and it took a team of 8 students. How long would it take? Maybe...10 hours or so? So it would cost roughly $1200 ($120/hour for 10 hours). Get the point? So the 2 gallons of gas you use that cost about $7.00 (U.S.) is a bargain compared to what you would have to pay 8 people to move your car just 50 miles.

 

[pdx210]

Yes petroleum does much for us not just as fuel but detergents, chemicals, plastics, ect....


But careful, this type of talk it generally conditions people that they should pay more for the value and NOT related to the cost of the product this manifest itself in taxes paid to run government dysfunction

 

[Todays Survival Show]

True, so let me state for the record, I am not encouraging anyone to look past the insane amount of taxes we pay on a gallon of gas! Good point.

 

[*Andi]

Good points ... can't wait to see where this goes ...