No Gas on May 15th…
There’s another one of those pointless yet hysterical emails going around with completely ludicrous claims:
In April 1997, there was a “gas out” conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight.
On May 15th 2007, all internet users are to not go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.
There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the internet network, and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up.
If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that’s almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companys pockets for just one day, so please do not go to the gas station on May 15th and lets try to put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at least one day.
If you agree (which I cant see why you wouldnt) resend this to all your contact list. With it saying, “Don’t pump gas on May 15th.”
Whoever makes up these emails clearly isn’t thinking, isn’t getting their facts straight (according to the CIA’s relatively old 2005 figures, there are more than 205 million Internet users in America), and isn’t even using a spell checker. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy getting them; I can take a break in the day for a good laugh!
Prices did not drop 30 cents per gallon as claimed during the last “gas out”. In fact, it didn’t cause them to drop at all.
The problem, of course, is that even if every driver in the United States actually did stay away from the pumps on May 15, all they would do is give the station owners a free vacation day. Drivers will still drive their normal miles that day. The people who would have bought gas on May 15 will instead buy gas on the 14th or 16th.
No gas saved. No money saved. No money taken from the oil companies’ pockets. No dent in the Middle East oil industry.
How about a No-Drive Day on May 15. Now, that makes cents.
Plus, not all of the 205 million Internet users would get gas on any particular day. Assuming everyone fills up only once a week (and ignoring that more folks probably tend to fill up on weekends while May 15 is a Monday this year) that makes only 29 million people who would have filled up that particular day.
Even if you assume folks fill their tanks twice a week, it would still be less than 59 million people.
And, since when was almost an incorrectly calculated $2.3 billion considered almost $3 billion? Given that logic, I should just go home now — it’s almost noon, which equally means that it’s almost 6:00pm. On the other hand, I might as well just stay here — it’s almost Monday (May 14th).