OT. Gasoline prices

I noticed $2.33 yesterday at the Shell I have been going to. Station is only about a mile from PA where gas is about 40 cents higher so I could probably get it cheaper elsewhere. Gas in neighboring NJ and MD is also higher. Its all in the taxes. I suspect if DE raised theirs to match neighboring states that their income might drop as currently drivers from neighboring states are buying in DE. We also attract them with no sales tax.

At the supermarket they have a half gallon of house brand of milk in a polyethylene bottle for 2.59. They have the same thing on the next shelf in a square paper carton with a plastic screw-on cap for 3.09.

Consistently.

Goodness. The house brand where I shop is $1.99 for a gallon in a polyethylene bottle. I haven't looked at the other stuff.

Cindy Hamilton

$2.39 for E-10 regular at my Shell yesterday. You can usually drive around a little and find it a dime cheaper.

That's the problem here. Lot of roads, less than a million people equals pain at the pump. It's running $2.65 for regular. Of course that would be a bargain in Californica.

Saint Greta approves of paper, scowls at plastic. Liberals are happy to pay extra to make her smile.

The cheap stuff here is $1.99 a half gallon.

The problem is not plastic, it is people. Too many are inconsiderate slobs that let stuff get into the water.

It is just another form of fiber. :-)

The reality is the vast majority of plastic in the ocean comes from the 3d world and they are not changing no matter what we do. The reality is if people just kept the trash picked up it is not a problem. It can happen and you don't need a refundable bottle tax or a ban. Just pick the s*it up when you see it and get your neighbors to follow your example. We live in a very clean community on a very clean river simply because trash doesn't sit around long enough to get to the water. Someone picks it up. If it does get in the water, there are enough boaters who care that it gets picked up too.

This is redneck country. That idea probably won't work in a big blue city any more than it does in Jakarta.

It's not that much less here (Michigan). $2.53 for regular. Of course, just after I gas up my car the price will drop. But does everybody else thank me? Noooo.

Cindy Hamilton

And what method can be used most easily to fix that?

- Turn everyone magically into considerate slobs?

- Replace plastics with more environmentally friendly materials?

Yeah, one that slowly poisons rather than scouring your bowels clean.

The reality is that you can't cite any research that shows your assertion to be anything close to true.

Replace 95% of the people?

If I'm at CostCo I'll fill up there but I usually don't go a few blocks out of the way. A fillup for my car is about 8 gallons and 48 cents isn't a big deal. The other stations I go to are based on convenience and ease of access. 3 cents off 21 cent gas was a big deal when I was a kid; 3 cents of $2.65 gas, not so much.

There have been photos in Asia and the Philippines of rivers covered in plastic waste. Detergent bottles, beverage containers, etc. So, I should not use a plastic straw because of this?

Since that replacement material hasn't been invented yet and the vast majority of the plastic in the ocean comes from the 3d world where they just use what works, I don't see a good solution for the 80% of the world population that doesn't give a s*it about the environment. As for the civilized world, asking people not to throw their trash in the gutter is not unreasonable.