Monday 14 April 2008

Do you remember...

...when petrol was only 11 cents per litre? And diesel was cheaper than petrol? I also remember petrol strikes and petrol rationing. As a kid I thought it was kinda fun - bet my Dad didn't though.

Well here is a totally out-of-character layout about that. The challenge is from White With 1 - use white with Autumn tones and a Joker card.


I used parts of the Open Road Magazine (which you can now get online - I love that!) from NRMA, took a few photos at the South Uralla Petrol Stop, and slapped it all together (don't say anything) for this layout showing that diesel now costs 163 cents per litre. WOW!

I used Making Memories paint for the background and a border idea from Jill and Louise.

Here is a joke that I got from here about petrol price increases. I found it amusing - it goes on a bit. So do petrol price increases!

OPEC INCREASES PRODUCTION - Petrol prices rise. This is based on a fundamental tenet of our market economy. The heightened demand for tankers disproportionately increases transportation charges.

OPEC DECREASES PRODUCTION - Petrol prices rise. Again, economics at work. Undiminished demand for a scarcer product means prices go up.

THE MIDDLE EAST IS TEMPORARILY AT PEACE - Petrol prices rise. Peace has to be illusory, so storage tanks are filled in anticipation of the worst. Heightened demand raises prices.

THE MIDDLE EAST IS AT WAR - Petrol prices rise. Hoarding increases demand, which means prices go up.

CONSUMERS CONSERVE - Petrol prices rise. Reduced consumption means the refineries are operating well below capacity. This means the unit cost is raised - an increase that must be passed along.

CONSUMERS SPLURGE - Petrol prices rise. Oil companies are rendering society a signal service by raising prices in an effort to curb consumption, thereby reducing Western dependence on oil.

CONSUMERS TURN TO SUBSTITUTES - Petrol prices rise. This proven petrol substitute, disturbs the refining process, which means higher costs for all distillates.

THE DOLLAR IS UP - Petrol prices rise. All oil prices are measured in dollars. It doesn't take long for the impact of a stronger dollar to be felt.

THE DOLLAR IS DOWN - Petrol prices rise. Not all contracts sealed on the spot market in Rotterdam are in dollars. Furthermore, it takes a while for wholesale costs to work down to the consumer.

STORAGE TANKS ARE FILLED TO CAPACITY - Petrol prices rise. Large inventories have a depressing effect on profit margins. Oil companies make an enormous contribution by volunteering to store such quantities for potential emergency use. It is only natural that consumers bear some of this cost.

STORAGE TANKS ARE DRY - Petrol prices rise. Huge storage losses were formerly carried as a debit by the oil companies. That is no longer possible.

THE AVERAGE NET PROFIT OF THE OIL COMPANIES ROSE 300 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR - Petrol prices rise. The figures don't tell the whole story. Actually, the market situation was a bit gloomier, with losses here and there that had to be carried by other divisions.

THE AVERAGE NET PROFIT OF OIL COMPANIES IS ON PAR WITH THE PREVIOUS YEAR - Petrol prices rise. In a free-market economy an entrepreneur can survive only if he maintains an appropriate profit margin.

AN OPEC NATION CUTS ALL EXPORTS BECAUSE OF INTERNAL UNREST - Petrol prices rise. There is less oil in the marketplace, which means prices rise.

AN OPEC NATION THAT HAD BEEN OUT OF THE MARKET RESUMES EXPORTS - Petrol prices rise. The companies, contrary to all free-market laws, had absorbed the inflation this caused. That cannot go on forever.

NEW OIL RESERVES ARE DISCOVERED - Petrol prices rise. To insure future oil supplies, enormous investments have to be made. Production costs are soaring.

SOME OIL FIELDS RUN DRY - Petrol prices rise. It is getting ever more expensive to keep up with demand, which keeps increasing even as oil reserves dwindle.

TWO OIL COMPANIES MERGE- Petrol prices rise. The merger is proof that present prices are an insufficient incentive for companies to go their own way and still survive.

TWO OIL COMPANIES DO NOT MERGE - Petrol prices rise. In stopping the merger the Government has prevented certain economies that joint operations would have entailed. The consequences must be borne by the consumer.

It is interesting to do a Google search for Alternative Fuel.

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