There has been a mix of reactions to True North No Gas Fridays.
“Don’t buy gas on Friday? What good will that do? People will just buy the same gas on Thursday or Saturday. So what’s the point? Why not organize a boycott of a specific company?”
Yeah sure. At this point a True North boycott of a gas company would be like the proverbial flea attacking an elephant. I can just imagine two or three of our subscribers on a picket line wondering, what the hell are we doing here?
The concept of True North No Gas Fridays grew out of the anger and frustration of motorists as the price per litre grew to record highs against a background of reports that oil companies are making record profits. Anger yes. But also a sense of frustration because automobile owners feel helpless to do anything about it.
There’s plenty to be angry about. Two years ago, the 61% increase in oil prices made investors gains of 140%, 81.25%, 25% and 429.3% — within a year.
Let's try adding up everything for once, leaving nothing out, with no "externalities."
Neal Dikeman, partner at energy investment banking firm Jane Capital, adds up the production cost of oil this way:
Finding cost: $7.5/bbl (JS Herold 3 year avg costs for global integrated oil companies).
Lifting, production, and transportation cost: $6.5/bbl (JS Herold 3 year avg costs for global integrated oil companies).
Refining cost: $5/bbl (10Ks from US independent refiners 2004-2005; the majors are lower).
So for a typical major oil company like Exxon, with its vertically integrated business from the wellhead all the way to the consumer, the average actual production cost is $14 to $19/bbl, depending on a lot of variables.
But don’t be confounded by a torrent of variables. Throughout the storm of figures, reasons, and excuses, that justify gas-pump and heating oil prices, hold fast to the fact that — despite their rationalizations — the oil companies are making record profits. All we want, as consumers who are financing these record profits by paying at the gas pumps (not to mention our heating bills), is a share of the profits by a reasonable reduction in pump price.
An entirely reasonable proposition, considering the fact that as the primary investors we should get a little something back for our money.
True North No Gas Fridays is simply a start to mobilize consumers in their own defense, The intellectually challenged paranoids at the CSIS can go back to sleep. This is not, repeat not, a cover for a terrorist organization. We are not even starting a new political party. This simply is an attempt to empower people in self defense against Big Oil and against governments large and small who deliberately or inadvertently collude with these who practice in the spirit of the Robber Barons of the late 19 th century.
True North No Gas Fridays is in the best traditions of Gandhi, the classic passive resister of the 20 th century.
Most of us have little or no practice at standing up for ourselves in public. While we may not be willing to admit it, the idea of public demonstration of our opinions makes us feel uneasy — both fearful and embarrassed, just like those who walk a union or peace picket line for the first time. (But it’s a first time for everyone.)
True North No Gas Fridays give you a chance to act without “making a public spectacle” of yourself. All you have to do is not buy gas on Fridays. At first this act of passive resistance will have not a whit of an impact. At first no one except the resister will know that something is happening. But keep in mind Big Oil’s record profits, at your expense. And that a journey of a thousand kilometres begins with a single step.
As the numbers of participants grow from a handful to hundreds then on to thousands, we can begin to talk of ways that we can make our passive resistance to the gas gougers a little more active — all within the bounds of a civil society.
As time goes by I’ll explain why True North No Gas Fridays will be a vital part of the Green movement to keep our planet healthy, wealthy, and wise.
See you Friday, but not at the gas pumps.
Looking forward
Carl Dow
Editor and Publisher
True North Perspective