The fuel of ideas

 I see the following US call for high oil prices spreading again...

Here's a message I recently received from someone I know who felt the need to include it in their entire email address book:

Gas war-an idea

"This was originally submitted by a retired Coca-Cola executive. It comes from a retired fellow engineer in Halliburton. It's worth your consideration.

"Join the resistance!!! I heard that next summer we'll be close to $5.00 per gallon. Want gas prices down? We need to take some common and wise actions.

"Philip Haoseworth came up with this brilliant idea. This makes more sense than the 'Don't Buy Gas for a Day' campaign that took place last April or May! Oil companies just mocked it because They know that we will not refuse to buy natural gas and then continue to "harm" ourselves, which is more inconvenient for us than it is for them, but the person who came up with this idea came up with a solution. possible, please continue to follow and refer to it. !

"So far, you might think that the price of gasoline around $1.50 is very cheap. Me too! Since the oil companies and OPEC countries have led us to think that the price of a gallon of gasoline is from 1, $50-1.75 and it's cheap, and Gasoline prices are changing day by day, rising so we consumers need to act The only way to see gas prices drop is we hit someone in our wallet without don't buy gas How can we do this without harming ourselves?

"Fighting price wars:

“For the rest of this year, don't buy any gasoline from the two biggest companies (now one) EXXON and MOBIL. If they don't sell natural gas, they tend to lower the price. If they lower their prices, other companies will have to follow suit. To have an impact, we need to reach ExxonMobil and Mobil's millions of natural gas buyers. However, it is very easy to do! Don't hold me back at this point... Keep reading and I'll explain how easy it is to reach hundreds!!

"I want to send this note to 30 people. If each of us sends it to at least ten other people (30 x 10 = 300) and those 300 send it to at least ten people (300 x 10 = 3,000), and so on, when the news reaches the sixth group, we will reach more than three million consumers.

"If those three million people get excited, and each pass this on to ten friends, then thirty million people are contacted! If you go further, you guessed it: 300 million people!!!

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

"How long did this all take? If each of us sent this email to 10 other people within a day of receiving this email, we could reach all 300 million people in the next 8 days. Together we can make a difference.

"If this makes sense to you, please send this message. I suggest we don't buy from EXXON/MOBIL until they drop the price to the $1.30 range and keep the price low. This effective.

"Xxxxx Xxxx, Research Coordinator"

Someone has tried this method before, but never succeeded. The basic reason is that the United States is a country with a very diverse population. Any attempt to get the right number of disciplined people required for such a scheme is impractical.

However, this is not the point I want to make. I think these guys don't grasp the real point:

Why can't the American public accept that the problem is not high oil prices, but their stubbornness toward gasoline?

The obvious answer is that gasoline is the simplest and most established personal transportation aid. Moreover, as long as these truths remain, the American habit will continue to exist.

Looking out into the world, it's not uncommon for a gallon of gasoline to cost $5. What is different is that the rest of the world has accepted the lifestyle adjustment and turned to other issues.

One of the simplest adjustments is to change the location of the workplace. Move it from office to home!

Cyberspace can make decentralization more efficient. Several Fortune 500 companies adopted the concept more than ten years ago. For example, Bank of America allows many of its executives to leverage relationships in the family office. Obviously, not every job allows its employees to work from home, but there are still enough things to do. The impact will be small but significant. For example, even if 20% of vehicles on the way to work were moved off the road, traffic congestion would be reduced. In turn, this will allow the vehicle to travel longer without getting stuck in an idling or stop-and-go sequence. This saves fuel and reduces consumption.

As e-commerce continues to grow towards mainstream adoption, a large number of shopping trips may also be reduced. Network meetings are also veryuth of its citizens abroad for years, which is a great way for its culture and high academic standards to be provided to those who work elsewhere.

So, any attempt to target Exxon — or British Petroleum or Elf or Shell — is Quixotic. Target yourself instead. You'll surely get much better mileage out of your time. You'll also monthly probably notice an improvement in your gasoline budget. In the bigger picture, as well, it’s a simple plan which relies on simple market forces, ie- less demand lowers prices.

Small strategies are what win the wars. In this one, open your battlefront in cyberspace.