Diet & Fitness Blog

Comment by  BMX said... - Saturday, May 10, 2008 3:02:00 PM  

I agree with you that after five years.Americans have to choose deferent way for transportation.The rate of Premium gas is rising quickly.So many Americans will look to other transportation.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:22:00 AM  

I understand your point of view but my husband can't ride a bike to work he works 50 mins. away from the house and takes him almost an hour to get to work where his work is he can't ride a bike it wouldn't be safe. So what you do then. And he couldn't take a bus either so were screwed and there's no way I would have him change his job it's to risky.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:12:00 AM  

i think that gas prices are stuipd for going up this high. Almost $4 a gallon, in the summer, where do expect people to go during the summer. I mean i aint going anywhere i will be working but man come on. I think we need to have a gas strike here, Maybe people will get the point to lower there has prices and dont let them get to high. i mean "US" kids need to get places without having to pay a forture in gas.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:24:00 AM  

Well, maybe that's the solution to the oil companies greedy ways. Other businesses aren't going to be happy about losing customers and when other large companies ie: fast food chains and snack food producers, start to lose profits they just might lobby against the oil companies taking advantage of us. Unless they are owned by them too......

Comment by  Karl said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:24:00 AM  

You know , we are still well below world market pricing. We need to look at more reasonable approaches, like car pooling , riding on transit systems, smaller 4 cylinder cars . It would be much more prudent to spend our time on how we pan on feeding our people. Remember as countries like China and India become more Westernized , and they are, they will need to feed their sheer numbers. How should we protect this much more important commodity .

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:30:00 AM  

We Americans have been due for a major adjusment for a long time. This rise in fuel prices will help us to get over the wasteful way in which we live. My only concerns are for truckers and those who can't afford to heat their homes. We'll have to find a way to subsidize them. The rest of us will benefit from learning how to conserve.

Comment by  Karl said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:32:00 AM  

Well , we all have to look at it in a more realistic way. We are still well below world market pricing , and this should help us move towards more responsible approaches to using energy. Just wait until China and India really start using fossil fuels then the battle will really heat up. . It`s time we stopped complaining and started looking for some solutions. We should start paying more attention to our food supply,

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:46:00 AM  

I Just got a bike the other day for those very reasons- I am not paying $4/gallon when I don't have to and it forces me to exercise. I'm close enough to my job that I could easily get a good 30-45 minute ride twice a day out of it. I'm excited to start! Except when it starts snowing again in the winter, I won't be able to then but for now it helps :)

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:54:00 AM  

I know I'm driving as much because I live in a small town where you can walk to bank, post office and store in five minutes. But my husband has a job out of town and must drive and it is killing us. I'm looking for a job but have to work in town and no one is hiring, can't afford to work where I would have to drive. I don't know about eating healhier either. I use to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, pastas and brown rice, but not anymore. They are all to expensive. I find I'm using more white bread, white rice and noodles to make my meals stretch as far as I can. Have two teenage boys at home with hollow legs. So I feel the gas prices have hurt my healthy eating habits. I have always walked because of everything being so close. Some one needs to help us now.

Comment by  Karl said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:54:00 AM  

Well , we all have to look at it in a more realistic way. We are still well below world market pricing , and this should help us move towards more responsible approaches to using energy. Just wait until China and India really start using fossil fuels then the battle will really heat up. . It`s time we stopped complaining and started looking for some solutions. We should start paying more attention to our food supply,

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:14:00 AM  

I know others are struggling and it's not just me. I work 2 jobs and between car payments and credit cards that I can't get the balance down on. I've already been doing nothing and going nowhere unless it is absolutely necessary now. With two jobs I'm unable to ride a bike or car pool with others. I can't remember the last time I actually filled my gas tank completely full. I think the politicians running for office never address the fuel cost issue. Those in office right now should do something about it. Everything is relative. It costs more to transport goods to to the stores. Do they really think they are fooling us by making the packages smaller and charging us more for them? I wish they would do something to actually help the low to middle income people who barely make it day to day. And a stimulus check will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Comment by  marie said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:30:00 AM  

i agree that gas prices are to high but think about the desiel prices and heating fuel also. my husband drives a truck and since the fuel has more then doubled he can barely bring home enough to pay the bills. and we burn kerosene for heat that has tripled in price it was costing us $1000 a month just to heat the three main rooms of our house this past winter. as far as food i find myself just buying the most needed thing now like milk and bread no more luxurys like snacks or high end meats. i think bush and the oil companys are working together they just want to be even more richer while the poor and middle class people go bankrupt but i also dont think either one of the new canadents are going to do anything to help us either.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:30:00 AM  

try having 4 kids and living in a rural midwestern area where not only is it too far to bike to work for most, but there is no public transit system either. It took us $72.00 to fill our minivan this past Saturday. Anonymous, I hear you about the white bread and noodles, etc...what used to be cheap food like hot dogs and mac & cheese are getting expensive. I agree that things need to change and not just for the sake of the environment...

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:37:00 AM  

My son drive 100 round trip to work- it cost him $55.00 each time he fills up- I think it stinks--some one is making money and the younger generation dont msake good money to try and get by--

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 12:12:00 PM  

Here is one way we can fight back.
Here is a letter that is going around.......
All these GREAT comments about using bikes are great,but,some of us just can't do it....How about this idea........

Subject: Gas Prices


THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.


This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from . If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.25 a gallon by next summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.85 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.
If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.
How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential,
did you! Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.


So lets get started TODAY and make this work ! !

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 1:20:00 PM  

weights go down because people cant afford the extra luxuries, such as eating LOL..here in sunny CA every job is a commute and i do 42 miles each way. Been with the same company since high school and it keeps merging its office copanies should look at 4 day 10 hour works weeks to save on gas GO GREEN

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 2:34:00 PM  

I AM RETIRED SO TRY NOT TO GO TOO MANY PLACES IN MY CAR, AND WHEN I DO, I TRY TO GET ALL MY SHOPPING, ETC., STOPS DONE IN ONE DAY.....THE THING THAT BOTHERS ME ABOUT GAS PRICES IS: I WANT TO BUY MORE "GREEN" PRODUCTS BUT AM NOT, BECAUSE THEY COST MORE AND I NEED MORE MONEY FOR GAS, SO HAVE TO CUT DOWN ON SHOPPING ITEMS.....ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE PRICE OF GAS, I AM NOT BUYING ANY CLOTHING,ETC., UNLESS I CAN GET THINGS AT THE LOCAL THRIFT SHOP....I USED TO GO TO YARD SALES ON WEEK-END BUT HAVE HAD TO CUT THAT OUT....SURE DOES MAKE LIFE DIFFERENT....I DO WALK ALOT, BUT LIVE TOO FAR FROM TOWN TO WALK.......

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 3:21:00 PM  

If more people would carpool it would cut down and help out where buses aren't available. Employers may have to allow some flex schedules to facilitate this. Work longer hours per day to travel fewer day.

Comment by  norma l olivarez said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:00:00 PM  

well hi there i agree with you all that we have to change some of our ways with this gas prices going way up high i think that this is so bad,we were so use to go to lots of places befor this happen that some of our teenage kids don't understand way we can't go to pick up there friends like we use to go and pick them up and take them to movies,dance,ect'anyway i hope we do some thing about all this gas rising prices i go with the Phillip Hollsworth idea it's sure make sense so let's all of us E-mail our Friends and family so maybe we can have a good turn out and bet this gas rising.thank norma o.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:02:00 PM  

I read the comments with interest. It amazes me how much people really don't know. People in Venezuela pay 17 cents per gallon. In Iran it's about 26 cents. It's not the oil companies stealing from us, it's OPEC and they refuse to increase production. Since the Democrats got into congress they are refusing to allow drilling in places like Anwar and refusing to allow refineries to be built. I thought they were going to "fix" the problems. We can't take mass transit or carpool to work. It isn't available. Work for my husband is an hour and twenty minutes away. We have a home business that is all driving. If we move closer to work we lose the business and can't live, if we go with the business and lose the job, we also lose our house and can't eat. For us it's a lose lose situation. Brazil just found huge pockets of oil off shore, why can't we do that? Because the Democrats are liberal and green, but I have a question for them, what are they going to do when the planet and animals are safe but the people are gone? Why are they doing this at the expense of people trying to survive? I am not saying the Republicans are perfect, but I am sick to death of politicians lying to us.

Comment by  Nik said... - Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:18:00 PM  

The idea from anonymous about boycotting Mobil and Exxon is one of the best ideas that have come up in a long time. I have talked about this idea for a long time, but I never thought any one would go along with it. You can bet I'll be sending copies of that letter to everyone I know. Gas used to be a lot cheaper (and held the price) because of "gas wars", but when Opec started it's policies for higher prices, the first things the major oil companies went after was the independant gas station owner, who were keeping thier prices down through competition. When gas became hard to get, the oil companies did thier best to make sure that the independant dealers were left out by refusing to supply gas to anyone but the corporate gas stations. This boycott is a very good idea and people who don't want to be involved in it, deserve the prices they are paying, so don't keep whining if you are buying from Mobil and/or Exxon. Another good one to boycott would be B.P. (british petroleum), but they are going to be a little harder, because they have bought so many other companies without changing the companies names so you wouldn't know who you are really buying from.
Another good idea would be to boycott Safeway and Albertsons, till they quit raising prices every week, especially prices on products that they are in direct competition with, such as bread,some canned goods, crackers, etc.Their products are usually inferior and they know it because they make them as cheap as possible, so they raise the prices of the tried and true products to the point that a lot of us have to buy their product. I really believe that anyone who has control over the distribution of basic life supporting goods shouldn't be able to compete price wise with same products and if our government were really doing it's job, they would do something about it. If they weren't trying to rip off the public for more funds at least as hard as any big business. Remember the only real reason for "Big Government is to control Big Business". Business has proven over and over that they won't control their greed unless forced to! Use the boycot, it's our only weapon under this government!

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:56:00 PM  

I agree with all of you however i do have to ask if there is no supply then how can the oil companies profits be so huge usually supply gives profit no supply gives losses. go figure our government is getting the profit in there private family sector at the expense of every basic working american....

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:29:00 PM  

In response to the Republican blogger who mentioned Brazil. Brazil is energy independent for 10 years not because of oil but because of ethanol from sugar cane. Exxon has made more money per year than any other corporation in human history! Wake up & get a clue. If they emptied Anwar it wouldn't be enough oil for even a year.

Comment by  Maril said... - Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:52:00 AM  

I agree that rising gas prices will prompt transportation changes in those able to realistically make them. However, there are other sides to this issue as well. My husband and I are Canadians who have incorporated biking into our lives as an "equal" choice over the past 25 years, despite having 2vehicles at our disposal. I use my bike for work (25 mile round-trip for one job), for shopping and running errands, and recreational rides on rural country roads with my husband. He also bikes daily to the gym for exercise and a sauna (even in the winter!!) Our motivation for doing this has not been financial (although the cost-savings are an automatic and welcome bonus). Instead, we value the health benefits and feelings of well-being, minimizing our impact on the environment, and slowing the pace of our lives enough to stop often and smell the proverbial roses. One recent morning while biking to work, I stopped as a deer leisurely crossed my path and gazed, unthreatened, only yards away. Minutes later, I continued on to my management job, more than ready for the pressures of that day. So, enough said - bottom line is this perspective has certainly worked well in our lives.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:20:00 AM  

I am a manufactures representative [independent] who works on commission. My gasoline bill alone has doubled in the past year [roughly $800. to $1,000. a month] not to mention the cost of lodging and meals. It's not as bad as the truckers plight but it's getting there.The cost of everything is going up and people are buying less, thus I am selling less and spending more, Commissions have not gone up in 30 years ,if anything they have declined.
Bush, Cheney and their band of thieves are strangling the working people of this country. OPEC and the oil companies have formed a monopoly [thought they were illegal] and we just sit around and take it. I am all for a boycote. How do I get a copy of the letter??

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Friday, May 16, 2008 12:40:00 AM  

regular gas in canada is over $4.50 per gallon, diesel is even higher. last time i filled up my truck it took $150.00, it will take me about 800km on one fillup.

Comment by  hybrid girl said... - Friday, May 16, 2008 6:29:00 AM  

I finally had it paying $70 a week for gas. I was driving a Land Rover LR3. I don't even do that much driving. So, what was a single mother of two to do? She bought a Toyota Prius. Not only will I own my car after 3 yrs but I will have a hybrid that will continue to save me gas and help save my environment. I now pay $34 a week and love the feeling of not being a victim!

Comment by  mary said... - Monday, May 19, 2008 7:43:00 AM  

guess what? there's always re-organization of debt. before things get too out of control think about it. united, frontier, and countless other huge companies can stop drop and roll financially, so can you. get your money healthy and all these changes won't be so overwhelming.

Comment by  Janet said... - Monday, May 19, 2008 4:01:00 PM  

Not only are "gas" prices ridiculous, but it's not even gas. Every one has gone to ethanol, which is made of corn. A whole lot of other things are also made of corn, so all those prices have also gone up. I only buy my gas at BP because, so far, it contains no ethanol. I don't necessarily like BP but, Ethanol eats up aluminum. My car is all aluminim and plastic.
We need to go back to real gas, yes, we are going to have to do some more drilling, so the tree huggers need to back off.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Monday, June 02, 2008 10:29:00 AM  

Amanda in South Carolina:

I have made a vow to drive only 50 miles per hour on the highway going to work every day and IF I run the air conditioner, I will drive 45 miles an hour. It has REALLY helped me to save gas in my wonderful suburban so I only have to put in 40 to 50 dollars of gas a week; I'm also carrying some of my four children around with me and I show them how we save gas in the car. My 17 year old daughter has figured out not to waste gas in her car because gas is so expensive and my 15 year old son will figure it out soon when he has to put gas in MY car to drive it in November...

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, June 03, 2008 8:11:00 AM  

An anonymous Dimmocrat said, "In response to the Republican blogger who mentioned Brazil. Brazil is energy independent for 10 years not because of oil but because of ethanol from sugar cane..."

Brazil isn't energy independent because of sugar cane, they sell oil to subsidize their ethanol based economy [and they slash cut the rainforest for sugarcane production... very "green"]

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Tuesday, June 03, 2008 1:55:00 PM  

The big oil companies, with help from OPEC and certain members of the American Government are well on their way to bankrupting the United States. High gas prices are affecting the costs of other goods and services (e.g. food). Prices are also putting pressure on many small business owners. Many independent truckers are already being forced out of business by high diesel costs! As for transportation, the modern American infrastructure was formed with the automobile in mind. There are places in this country (i.e. Texas, California, rural areas of the Midwest, etc.) where convenient mobility is linked to having a vehicle. Public transit nor bicycles don't cut everywhere for everyone (senior citizens or the disabled). Let's hope the next administration makes this problem first priority.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Wednesday, June 04, 2008 11:16:00 AM  

I don't know what you people have to bitch about. The people in Illinois have always paid more for gas. We've been over $4 per gallon for months now. Most of The rest of you will never catch up. And to the person who filled up his tank on $50 bucks. Be grateful. I put $40 in mine and it didn't even bring it to 3/4 full.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Thursday, June 12, 2008 12:28:00 AM  

With gas going up to $4.19 a gallon I decided to bike to work. I live 3.5 miles and it takes me 20 minutes to ride the route. I get a kick out of riding past the gas station people help me be encouraged to keep it up with words of encouragement! My goal is to bike to work as much as possible during the summer and fall months.

Comment by  Anonymous said... - Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:28:00 AM  

May be this will encourage public transportation and pooling which can reduce polution and traffic conjestion. Good comes out of every thing. We look for alternative sources of energy .

Comment by  wiseowl said... - Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:38:00 AM  

May be good things will come out this. There will be more dependence on public tranportation and car pooling which will reduce polution and traffic jam. This will encourage search for alternate sources of energy like solar electric and wind.

Comment by  By Dawns Early Light said... - Thursday, August 14, 2008 1:20:00 PM  

Yes,we are in trying times, however, we still have much to be thankful for in this country. We as individuals have to find ways to help our country survive this. Complaining won't help, but doing something about it will. Remain patriotic and remember what the first Americans were all about, remember their ideals and all the sacrifices that have been made to make this country what it is (it's still the greatest country in the world). Remember the Civil War, World War I and II, the great depression. If we made it through those things we can do this too. Fly the flag, ride a bike, take public transportation, recycle or whatever you choose. But don't let "them" defeat you. Be an American first and act accordingly and there's nothing they can do to take us down!