Every squeeze squeezes your wallet

I started to think to myself if there will ever be something in my life that I would be strong enough to stand up for something that I believe in.  Immediately, I think yes – boycott the gasoline pump.

There was a time in my freshman year at American River College that I had to work to drive to work and pay to drive to school.  Working to pay for the gasoline to drive me to work was a dead end, and my grades showed for the time absent from studies. For every squeeze on the pump handle, I can feel a squeeze on my wallet.

Why shouldn’t I feel that my free time is taken away due to the punch-clock that pays for petro?  After all, gas prices rose in the fear brought on by the 9/11 attacks. Gas prices rose while you were watching the infamous debates.  And after Manhattan is all washed up from the floods of Hurricane Sandy, gas prices lower out of sympathy.  Who is in charge of that?  Not me.

“Every time gas goes up by a penny, oil companies usually pocket another $200 million in profits,” said President Barack Obama on the campaign trail back in March.

According to Popular Mechanics, Charles Nelson Pogue invented a vaporizing motor that produces 200 miles per gallon in the late 50s.  Soon after, his invention was laid to rest and the combustible engine superseded its way to only 18-to-23 miles per gallon for consumers instead.  Where did the vaporizer go? Gone the way of the dinosaur, thanks to the car companies and the folks at big oil.

Perhaps the same folks at General Motors, who sued the state of California in 2003 for establishing a zero emissions law and crushing all electric vehicles such as the EV1, only to mass-produce the loveable Hummer that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likes so much.

I’m not suggesting traveling back in time to Bedrock to move our cars with our feet. I’m suggesting that we boycott gas pumps all together for two weeks to reveal by a show of hands that we refuse to squeeze the pump.  What would gasoline speculation look like if there were no consumption for two weeks?  Wouldn’t that mean a price cut for surplus afterwards? Would it help spur the federal government to invest in alternative fuels? It might. Put down the car keys, strap on your kneepads and join me. Let’s see if we can’t make a difference.