h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Noticed a recent thread re: green taxes and gas prices.

Every time I start to get pissed off about natural gas prices (the cost of heating my home has quadrupled over the last 2-3 years, and that can throw one's budget out of whack for a bit), I check the "how much do you pay for petrol" thread and realize that UK and European residents still pay twice as much. So unless your incomes are substantially higher with the cost of living roughly the same...

You'll hear a bit less bitching from me. Though it still smarts.

I like discussing these things with UKnian and European friends but won't do in threads with people I dislike... so I might as well ask in advance if you mind if I might periodically swing by with a one off comment or question re: politics of some sort? My only other outlet here is Edward.

Of course, feel free! I find it hard talk politics on those threads. Many of the participants are far-more politically astute than I, though there are a few bizarre opinions flying around.

The price of heating fuel hits me too, but I'll cope. We could wear thicker clothes, heat only certain rooms etc. My long term plan is put a wood-burner in the living room. The amount of waste from the garden alone should keep it going.

Yes, I guess fuel costs are relatively high here, and I suppose that a few people are suffering as a result, but I don't see much evidence of it. People are still buying brand new SUVs, eating fresh meat from New Zealand, flying half-way around the world for a beach holiday etc. When the truckers protested about fuel prices recently, they protested by *driving* down the motorway. OK, so fuel is obviously not *that* expensive . Unless I see people actually changing their behaviour instead of just whining, I can't really acknowledge the problem.

To answer your question, I expect fuel represents a higher proportion of our income in the EU, but it's still a fairly small proportion. I'll bet most people spend more on holidays. Those at the bottom of the scale who will really notice the price rises are often protected by grants and suchlike in the UK. No-one is going to starve.

Petrol is about £1.15 per litre here - still cheaper than beer or bottled water. I'm of the opinion that fuel has been artificially cheap for far too long, probably even more so in the US, and now we're just seeing reality catch up. It's time we learned to be more frugal, is all. Sorry I can't be of more help

If I'm calculating right, gas (petrol) is £0.56 per liter, but since I had to convert gallons to litres *and* dollars to pounds, I might be off. But I figure I'm close enough- and we are at about half of what you're paying.

I don't drive, and while my better half drives to work, it's not more than a few miles from home, so we're not in such bad shape. We've got a little six-cylinder four-door Ford Escort and I try to make him keep it in good repair so it'll run efficiently.

Heating my home isn't unbearable. We've got a five room apartment with forced air heat and central air, but it isn't much space, maybe between 1000 and 1500 square feet. We don't turn the t-stat any higher than 17° or 18° C during winter. But we like being on the cool side anyway. What you'll hear me moaning about is how warm and muggy it is today (30°C ish).

Thanks for filling me in on the situation over there. Hearing from someone who's going through it makes it easier to work my mind around than random news reports.

>> We've got a little six-cylinder four-door Ford Escort <<

That's quite telling. You'd never hear the phrases "six cylinder" and "little" in the same breath over here!

I think perhaps what US drivers save at the pump they make up for with bigger or less efficient engines and higher mileages. Interestingly, petrol has gone up another 5p since my first reply

People over here seem partial to big trucks and "hot rods" or souped-up engines. I'm all about economy- it's just something to get us where we need to be.

We (meaning me and my better half) don't put on a lot of miles (other than occasional 60 miles drive to the in-laws' place in the 'burbs), since he mostly uses the car to get to and from work, or for errands hard to manage by bus/train. I prefer public transportation in general.

But I have a friend who will drive in circles for an hour in order to wait for a parking space to open up "close enough"; she won't walk more than a few feet. We've parked far enough from the front of our home to warrant a cab ride.

My car is a rather unusual five-cylinder (2.3l), and that's considered quite near the sporty end of the range. And, I have to admit, not especially economical, though I don't use mine much either. You only find six cylinder engines in sporty or big luxury cars or SUVs over here. What sort of mileage d'you get?

I think in the neighborhood of 30-34 miles per gallon, city drving. No idea about highway though. There's usually a difference because the highway speed limit is 65mph and in the city it's 25-30mph, plus all that idling at traffic lights.

I could do all the miles/gallons/kilometers/liters conversion for you, but I'm too lazy at the moment. Sorry.

Sporty or luxury vehicles here usually have at least a "small" v8. My ex had a 426cc, which is a huge v8 and got about 11 or 12 miles to a gallon. A six-cylinder here is pretty much "mid-sized".

I haven't owned a car in about 15 years, but when I did I had a 4-cylinder diesel Volvo. That car was sweet. I could drive for a month without filling up.