I’ve heard the same story a few times during the last couple years - “Hey, if everyone doesn’t buy gasoline on such and such date, then the oil companies will lose billions of dollars and they’ll have to slash prices dramatically! Yeah, power to the people!” or some similar nonsense which always makes me question why I’m even talking to the person in the first place.

Ignoring the obvious impracticality of organizing a nationwide boycott, the only thing this would accomplish would be to delay fuel purchases for a day or so, but it wouldn’t actually affect the supply, and thus the price, of gasoline. The only people who would be affected by such a boycott would be gas station owners, and while some of them might be not be great guys, it would be pretty harsh to take their livelihood away from them for a day.

I’m sure most Binary Dollar readers were smart enough to know all of this in the first place, but if this is news to you, please don’t feel discouraged and powerless. I mean, you still have the power to prevent forest fires. That’s something, right?

Related Article from CNN Money

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Al Gore says that our planet is heating up, and I guess a lot of people agree with him. I’ve yet to be convinced of this “global warming” theory, but then again, I’ve only recently started subscribing to the whole “world is round” theory (lucky guess, Columbus). Anyway, regardless of where you stand on the issue, you have to acknowledge that there’s going to be a lot of money spent by companies trying to increase energy efficiency, and a lot of money made by companies who provide cleaner energy sources.

Alternative energy providers will obviously be some of the biggest benefactors of the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but here are some other industries that stand to make some money as well (from Kiplinger):

• Suppliers to alternative energy providers. (Example: Zoltek, which makes composite materials used in turbine blades.)
• Companies that make products that improve energy efficiency. (Examples: lster Electricity, Itron, Sensirion, eMeter and SmartSynch. They sell meters that track real-time fluctuations in power prices, allowing manufacturers and others to better monitor the cost of their energy use.)
• Companies that help make fossil fuels cleaner. (Examples: Foster-Miller and NeuCo, which make systems that remove airborne pollutants from coal plant emissions.)
• Automotive suppliers who increase fuel-efficiency (Example: Magna International, who is developing ultralight, yet sturdy, steels for auto bodies, as well as steel-aluminum and plastic composites for mechanical systems, all designed to cut vehicular weight.)

Hmm, might be time to research some stocks…and by “research some stocks” I mean “put all of these company names in a hat and pick one to buy shares of.”

Article [via Kiplinger]

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Indian Car Company Tata Motors is currently working on building a car that will retail for a mere $2,500. Designs for the car haven’t yet been finalized, but it’s current plans feature 4 doors, 4 seats, and a whopping 33 hp engine. (For comparison, the original design for the Volkswagen Beetle featured a 25 hp engine.) As expected, the car will be lacking some features that most of us take for granted:

“The cheapest versions won’t have air-conditioning or power steering, but Tata hopes its cute looks will make up for missing creature comforts.”

He’s probably right, “cute looks” win me over every time. Like the time I met this good-looking girl in a Mexican bar. She didn’t really speak English, drank like an alcoholic, and smoked like a chimney, but she sure looked pretty. The next day when I woke up in a bathtub full of ice without one of my kidneys, I didn’t even get mad. Still waiting for her to return my phone calls though…

Article [via Yahoo! Finance]

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Crap, I forgot to file my tax return!

Uh-oh, despite all I’ve read and heard on the internet, television, and the radio about filing taxes for the past week or so, I’ve forgotten! No time for a post, I’ve got a tax return to file, and only a few hours to file it. Hmm, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to spend the last 4 hours editing “The Scream” in MS Paint. Oh well, taxes be damned, that’s a great-looking picture edit.

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In case you didn’t hear the news, Warren Buffett recently upped his stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe to 11% and now has $3.4 billion dollars invested in the railroad company. Buffett is placing a lot of confidence in the shipping ability of the railroad system, and based on his $46 billion net worth, that gives me confidence in the railroad industry as well. That’s why today I’ve decided to make a $200 railroad investment of my own. If all goes according to plan, I’ll see you on the Forbes Richest Man list next year, Warren.

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It also appears that pigeons are taking over the world.

Happy April Fools Day everyone.

[Photo Credit]

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