Could you 'live' on 21 gallons per month?

[hyunelan2]

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The Iranian government's last-minute decision to ration monthly fuel allotments, as well as increase the price of gas, triggered protests and riots -- a rarity in the Islamic republic, according to Iranian media reports.

The oil ministry issued a statement late Tuesday to announce the restrictions which went into effect on Wednesday.

Under the order, most Iranians will be limited to 21 gallons (100 liters) per month. The ministry also announced the price would be raised by more than 20 percent to $.11 per liter ($.44 a gallon).

That prompted hundreds of thousands of car owners to line up for miles at gas stations late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Others took to the street in protest, burning gas stations and looting other businesses, according to Fars News Agency.

The riots took place across Iran's major cities, including the holy city of Mashhad and Arak, where Iran's heavy water plant is located, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

The riots were so intense that fire engines could not reach the burning gas stations, Fars reported, adding that the security forces and the Basij militia were trying to get the situation under control until 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Video showed streets jammed with cars waiting for gas. Some drivers returned to their cars with plastic cans, even a ceramic pitcher, filled with gasoline.

Iranian lawmakers plan to introduce an urgent measure in parliament, which is scheduled to take its summer recess after Wednesday's session, Fars reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/27/iran.fuel/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

21 Gallons per month. I don't think most americans could survive on 21 gallons per week. It would be interesting to see them try though.

also, wow. $0.44 per gallon. Those 21 gallons will cost less than $10. $10 a month on gas sounds awesome.

[Munky]

also, wow. $0.44 per gallon. Those 21 gallons will cost less than $10. $10 a month on gas sounds awesome.

No kidding. I only wish it was $.44 here.

Is that in American Dollars, or Iranian Rials? Because it would be even cheaper that way.

0.44 IRR = 0.0000474445 USD

And on the other hand...I could see why they might get angry for it going up to $.44 american, look at this exchange:

0.44 USD = 4,080.56 IRR

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Could I live? Of course. What kind of idiotic question is that? I'm not gonna die because I don't have gasoline. Could I still have my job, house and food? No. But like always we would find a way around it.

Personally I can't stand the whole defeatist attitude that we as americans are too stupid to be able to adapt.

[bdiggy]

Time to use the car strictly for work commute and bike everywhere else. I could deff. swing it though.

[babot]

I use about 15 gallon a month usually. So I can definitely survive and will sell the surplus if that happens in US :D

(I'm traveling in Korea right now. It's about 1500~1600Won/liter, which is over 5 (sometimes 6) USD/gallon. Gas price here is killing me... especially with EF(mom's) or NF(dad's) which eats more gas than XD. )

[cobase]

Yup. Driving is a vice and convenience for me really. I don't even need a car to get to work. Might have to break out the bike for groceries though.

[evan938]

live? sure. i have a ~7 mile way to work (each way), 14 miles x 24 work days a month is 336 miles. say i get 30mpg, that 630 miles/month. grocery store is on my way home from work, so i can knock that out in the same trip

now, doing other things like, going out to dinner, going to the gym, etc etc...that would probably not happen.

and ****. id be happy if gas was 2.44/gallon.

awaiting response from fordfasterr saying how we should be able to live on 21 gallons a year...

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Close, it'll be how we should never EVER have a need for an automobile ever again.

[hyunelan2]

Could I live? Of course. What kind of idiotic question is that? I'm not gonna die because I don't have gasoline. Could I still have my job, house and food? No. But like always we would find a way around it.

Personally I can't stand the whole defeatist attitude that we as americans are too stupid to be able to adapt.

"live" as the common vernacular use of the word, meaning 'get by' not literally "would you keel over, stop breathing and die." Don't be dumb.

[rckozma]

I use about 21 gallons a day, so like Bob said, I could live, but probably not have a job.

[hyunelan2]

As for me and 21gallons, I suppose that under such rules I would get 21g and my wife would get 21g, so each car could be filled once + about another 1/2 tank each. If I drove to work and back, I could stop at the store on the way and still do everything like that without a problem. I would have to stop going home for lunch, and it might get a little tight by the end, but I think just cutting out the trips to visit friends, go out to dinner, go downtown, etc would reduce consumption a lot. Jetskiing would just about definately be out. Each one of my skis has a 10g tank, that lasts about a day of playing.

Of course, I could ride my bike to work and sell 10 of my 21g to my gas-guzzling neighbors who fill up every 2 days at a 200% profit. (literally, I have 3 neighbors that drive: a Yukon, a Pathfinder, an Escape that fill up every other day).

[kylemorg]

I would be fine. Like Evan, I live close to work (~2.2 miles according to Google maps). I averaged 25 gallons of gas per month over the last two months. I see places where I could easily eliminate trips and save 3 gallons a month, so I'd be fine with just a slight adjustment to my lifestyle.

[ba_feitl]

I only drive ~150 miles per week for everything so even with my new to me Forester milage of 22 around town I use 6.7 gallons per week. My wife drives about the same but the Entourage drinks gas when all you do is idle around town so she would use 10.9 gallons per week.

Looks like its bike time again ...

Brad

[OPZ]

5 miles to my one job, and about 6 miles to the other.

I also, even with trips to pittsburgh, fill up about once a week, but thats with a LOT of extra driving.

I could easily swing the 21g a month.

[robs02elantra]

yes, I could

[PSUsouthpaw]

Not a chance for me. I live about 13 miles from work/school, so drive about 26 miles per day at the least.

Gas is $.44 over there...nice. Funny how it costs us about 7 times that.

[Munky]

No way I could. I drive 35 miles one way to work.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Don't be dumb.

And don't be mean. You also know what I meant. So we're square.

[hyunelan2]

Not a chance for me. I live about 13 miles from work/school, so drive about 26 miles per day at the least.

Gas is $.44 over there...nice. Funny how it costs us about 7 times that.

I think you'd be ok. 26 miles per day x 5 days a week x 4 weeks in a month = 520miles. 520/21g = 24.76mpg required to make it. Even with a heavy foot the elantra should get you 24.76mpg.






And don't be mean. You also know what I meant. So we're square.

You were mean first:
What kind of idiotic question is that?
:tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

[Doohickie]

I just love irony.

http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF0403/Donovan/Donovan02s.jpg

I could live on less.

Time to use the car strictly for work commute and bike everywhere else. I could deff. swing it though.

I'd be in the opposite situation- bicycling to work and driving other places. Two benefits would be that my warranty would stretch out, and I'd lose a bunch of weight.

[xxxmonoxidechil]

i fill up the probe once a week with 9 gallons. and i dont do anything other then drive it to work. any other time i drive, i use the mazda. so id need 36 gallons a month alone just to get to work and back....

[hyunelan2]

Let's increase the complexity of this a little bit. Let's suppose the U.S. (&/or Canada) is suffering shortages and is going to impose a similar fuel rationing.

Due to our society's reliance on the automobile (i.e. Public Transportation and/or bicycling doesn't work for everyone), what would you say is an acceptable amount for each person to have per month, in a time of crisis/shortage?

[BobMs_wht2k2]

In a free, democratic society I don't see anyway that could possibly be enforced. I think we'd have to be under martial law and under nighttime lockdown to even come close to a rationing such as that.

Add in the fact that different areas have different inherent problems to deal with such as heating of their homes, spread out cities and suburbs. . . there is no ONE solution.

Being the American society that we are in a time of need, our levels of ingenuity are always amazing. We find ways to perservere when no one else can. That's what makes us what we are.

So if gas was rationed, we'd use liquor. My car will run on Jim beam. Not well. But it would do what we needed to do. My wife and I would be forced into 16hour days because of needing to share the one vehicle.

Then there's the whole freedom to travel that's being infringed upon. By not allowing us fuel, we cannot go anywhere of distance. What about family emergencies? Death? Illness requiring transfer to a specialist hospital?

Our gov't can't figure out the income tax system and how to properly run that. There's no way in hell that they could figure out a rationing system.


Edit: In my heightened state of utter exhaustion, I have no idea if any of what I just typed (or am typing now) makes any sense what so ever. If my coherence is questionable, I do apologize. What I was trying to say was: It ain't gonna happen.

[hyunelan2]

They rationed gas less than 30 years ago, when they had the odd-plate even-plate purchasing days. (if your license plate ended in an odd number, you bought gas only on odd-days, etc.), that was in the days before gas cards, etc.

Although there would be flukes in places, and it wouldn't happen over night, I'm sure they could find a way to scan your driver's license (IL has barcodes, dunno about the rest of you) to figure out how much you purchased in a month.

Instead of dodging the question, pick a number. How many gallons could each American/Canadian be restricted to and still be able to get by with minimum sacrifice?

[BobMs_wht2k2]

"Minimum sacrifice"? That's a joke right? Any limitation is a sacrifice in and of itself. Hell, I'll fire up a still and make my own shine to run 'em on. Screw that.

[hyunelan2]

Pick a number of gallons, "for the rest of us" then.

[robs02elantra]

with sacrifice being the key term there, I would say 30. People are saying that they need 35-45 gallons a month minimum if they want to keep going. If that's the case, and you cut out all of the driving that you do that is recreational and just go to work, I think that most people could live on 30gallons. I could live on 21 if I had to though. I'm filling up twice a month and doing a lot of extra driving, so if I cut back I should be able to squeak in on the 21 mark.

[ricerrx7]

I'm not gonna die because I don't have gasoline. Could I still have my job, house and food? No.

No food, no life...:tongue:

[punkrocker3_00]

In a free, democratic society I don't see anyway that could possibly be enforced. I think we'd have to be under martial law and under nighttime lockdown to even come close to a rationing such as that.

Happened during WWII. We didn't have to under matial law and everything that could have been used for the war was rationed.

As for how much we could do, it really depends on the area you live in. I know my wife and I use about 50 per month between the 2 cars. We live in town and our jobs are no more than 10 miles away from our home. If we cut out our extra driving I would say we could do 35-40 gallons with out some major cutting.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Nope. I think alot of "rural" (read: hilljacks) would run up their old stills again. Hell, they were making "ethanol" long before E85 was ever released and running it in there 'shine runners. They used no oil or gas to make it. But yet E85 is such a "bad" idea. :rolleyes:

Considering that 185 days a year my wife drives 60 miles a day and I drive 255 days a year at 50 miles a day, even at 30mpg average I would need 425 gallons of gas to just drive back and forth to work and the wife would need 370. Almost 800 gallons of gas a year. So by that calculation we'd need 66 gallons a month on average. That's not going ANYWHERE but back and forth to work.

Happened during WWII. We didn't have to under matial law and everything that could have been used for the war was rationed.

The country was facing the fact that if they did not stop Japan and Germany then we would not be america. Kinda gives them a little more motivation. Plus we had several million people in the service NOT AT HOME then as well.

Plus, this just points out my comments about the US Ingenuity factor. Aluminum and metal were rationed, so Howard Hughes built the largest flying boat ever out of wood.

[punkrocker3_00]

The country was facing the fact that if they did not stop Japan and Germany then we would not be america. Kinda gives them a little more motivation. Plus we had several million people in the service NOT AT HOME then as well.

Hey, just stating the fact that we don't need to be under martial law for them to do something like that. The way we are running now, they could say we could be taken over by terriorist and make fuel rations.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

But the country isn't dumb enough to fall for that ol trick again.

[hyunelan2]

Let's try to stay on the topic of consumption, if possible.

[SuperGLS]

If I get this full time job at the library I could make it on 21 gallons every 2 months. That's because it's a 10 minute walk, according to Google Maps it's 0.8 miles away. That is my dream set up, we'll see.

What number should anyone be able to get? That's a hard question to answer, but maybe 100 gallons, that doesn't sound unreasonable, then you can save gallons you don't use like cell phone rollover minutes, haha.

Let's try to stay on the topic of consumption, if possible.

Yes, PLEASE.

[rckozma]

FYI, 3 years ago when we had the huricanes down here, many gas stations were only allowed to give 10 gallons of gas at a time and the lines were down the street (if the gas station even had gas). Plus, in Orlando, the gas stations had to employ police officers because of the fighting that would eventually break out.

[ba_feitl]

I say car sharing, or biking to work and only necessary trips for food or medicine each person should be able to make do on 40 gallons a month or ~10 gallons per week.

Then the US private industry can finally push the alternative energy agenda with some vigor and the gov't would have to back it since no fuel sales = no revenue for the gov't. Little trinket of knowledge, the gov't makes more money in taxes on a gallon of gas than big oil does in profit margin.

Brad

[BobMs_wht2k2]

10 gallons a week? Yeah. . .maybe if you live in the inner city.

[ricerrx7]

10 gallons per week, averaging 30mpg would get you 300 miles down the road. I work 17 miles from home, and work 6 days per week. That's 204 miles per week. Sounds feasible to me.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

But you're not married. You don't have 2 people trying to get to work. And you're not driving 60miles a day.

[ricerrx7]

ba_feitl said each person gets 10 gallons Bob, so married or not wouldn't really make a difference. And maybe that would be motivation to get a job closer to home and a more fuel efficient vehicle. Granted, I would hate to have the kind of restriction due to how much I like to go on road trips...

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Closer to work= triple the property taxes or an apartment. So either way I'm throwing more money away. On top of that we lose the quiet and the open space we have now.

So once again, lets hold down those trying to get ahead in life and have something to retire with. Yep. . . so much for a democracy. Socialism, here we come.

[Ugzz]

my commute to work is 12 miles each day (round trip).. there is no grocery store within walking distance, its about 5 miles away.. so with easily parishable stuff well say thats 2 trips a month.

260 miles a month..

HOWEVER.. the bus does run through my area AND go through to my work..
id just have a lifestyle change to adjust to.. that bus route has stops like every block because its through some very heavy buisiness areas and it twists and turns and is by no means direct.. i would estimate an hour to and hour and a half each way.. whereas now i can get to work and back 10-15 min each way. but id live :P

[J-Shazzle]

I fill my tank once every two weeks. So yes I would definately be able to do 21 gal. a month. Now everyone else I know doesn't own a sweet gas saving Elantra, so they would be screwed.

[elantra_mann84]

yea i could do it. seems easy i fill mine up sometimes only half way up once every 2 weeks. but then again some people are just lazy and cannot walk or ride their bike 2 blocks. they would rather have an suv.

[saturn]

I drive way too often. but I could ride my bike everywhere.