Can we REALLY get the gas companies to lower prices?

Yesterday I got two identical mass e-mails from people who don't usually send them. One of them being my mother! So I gave them a bit more than the cursory look before deleting. The e-mail said that we can really work together and get gas prices down to $2.00 a gallon and it promised that this plan wasn't a bullshit idea like last year's that circulated on the internet that asked us all to pick a day of the week not to buy gas.

So I wanted to share it with HuffPo readers to see what you think. Could this really work?

Here's the e-mail:

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 pocket book 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 weall 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 beinclined to reduce their prices.
If they reduce their prices, the othercompanies 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 (300x10= 3,000)... and so on, by thetime the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached overTHREE 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 300million 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 onthis one.

How long would all that take? If each of ussends 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 LOWERTHEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Comments

[DavidCoombs]

Coming from England we are currently paying approx 1.16 pounds per litre for Unleaded, 1.32 pounds per litre for Diesel, which if my math(s) is correct equates to approx $10.60 a gallon and $12.12 per gallon respectively. Granted we don't have as many long journeys to make but still quit your gibba jabba ; )

[bgregs]

And in addition to the lack of long journeys, you also have a FABULOUS public transit system, compared to the US.....

[DavidCoombs]

Sorry my figures were calculated using Imperial gallons not US gallons (god i'm so English!) my revised figures are:

US$8.66 per USgallon (unleaded)
US$9.86 per USgallon (diesal)

Public transport is relatively good in some cities but non existant to those living out of town. I once waited for a bus at our local stop for an hour and a half, to compound my anger then two turned up at once.

[Pquilson]

So, just don't buy from Exxon-Mobil, huh? Now, how much gasoline do you suppose they sell to brands other than Exxon, an Mobil? How do you find out whom we are not supposed to buy gasoline from?

[Wilburrr]

Supply and demand. As more developing countries, mainly India and China, use more petroleum products the demand increases and supplies dwindle. Prices will not fall until demand is reduced or supply is increased.

Increasing supply, despite right wing promises of ANWAR drilling, are not going to have significant impact.

Reducing demand is an easier nut to crack. Take public transportation to work 1 day a week, or carpool, or bike, or walk, or work from home. Working from home one day a week would cut commuting fuel demand by 20%. Remember that it was the tire, car, and oil companies that pressured cities to rip up their light rail systems that existed in all cities prior to 1940.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

Silliest thing I ever heard. If you stop buying from the big 2 and buy form the smaler companies then why should they reduce their prices? What to stop them from raising theirs?

Look, bottom line the only real way beyond this is conservation. And by far the best conservation will be creating a society where you don't need a car.

[bgregs]

First, this idea won't work, because gasoline is a fungible product, which means that if we were to all stop buying gas from ExxonMobil they would simply sell the gasoline that they aren't selling to US to some other gas station, and THEY would sell it to us, with a profit added for both of them, which will give us HIGHER gas prices.

Second, how about we go and do the hard stuff, like investing in REAL alternative energy, and driving less, and using technology like Hybrids which use less gas for the same distance......

[bowseat93]

"Can we REALLY get the gas companies to lower prices?"

No: http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

[seawolf77]

I see it all the time, people are in absolute complete denial. Why? Because they told us they had 40 years of the stuff. At least. We are in between anger and denial, with bargainig just around the corner. They told us. They told us. They told us. Well...maybe they lied.

[ColoradoJake]

I received a similar mass e-mail from my mother last week as well and she doesn't usually send them either. Freaky, so I had to reply.

The variation I read also goes on about Middle Eastern importation:

"These companies import Middle Eastern oil: (a.k.a. the reason for permanent military bases in Iraq…)

(In # of barrels:)
Shell.....­..........­..........­.. 205,742,000
Chevron/Te­xaco......­... 144,332,000
Exxon /Mobil....­..........­. 130,082,000
Marathon/S­peedway... 117,740,000
Amoco.....­..........­..........­...62,231,­000

Large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil: Sunoco, Conoco, Sinclair, B P/Phillips, Hess, ARCO

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing."

I did not verify this information with the Department of Energy.

CJ

[Pquilson]

Are the numbers you refer to on an annual, weekly, monthly basis?
The numbers add up to 660,127,000 barrels. If the figures are on an annual basis, that works out to 1,808,567 barrels per day.
What, do you suppose is the daily, or annual production of crude in this country? I do not know, so I am asking. What I am wondering about is what percentage of the oil we use in this country are imported, from the Middle East, from Canada, from Venezuela, from Mexico, or from anywhere else. Can we produce that amount in this country if we drill the oil shale in the Dakota area, ANWR, and offshore?
Or do we really want to "punish" "big oil" and keep them from persuing other discoveries.

[LexLuthier]

This is the best idea I've heard since the gas tax holiday...

Oil is a finite, dwindling commodity and face it: it's never going to be cheap again. I say its much better to accept that truth and to start thinking of ways to reduce your consumption. I've known for years that these days were coming, but only in the past year, as gas has topped $4/gal, have I really begun to change my driving habits.

[mrbadmood]

Phew! For a moment there, I thought you were going to suggest something hard, like invest in alternative fuel sources or some such slop.

Our oil addiction is just that, an addiction, and there's no point in playing peek-a-boo with the pushers if the pushers still have all the cards at the end of the day. Our fuel consumption problems won't be solved with a band aid. It's going to hurt us all a lot before it gets better.