Opinion: Gas at $2 a litre this summer? Calgary, it's time to break the car habit Oil prices are hovering near $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed and under blockade. The tankers, which were already at sea, bought the world a few weeks of respite, but that grace period has ended. Gas in Calgary could easily hit $2 a litre or more by July. And it is not just gas prices that are rising. Prices of groceries, anything made with plastic or shipped by truck, will follow. And don’t get me started on the rising cost of travel, either by car or airplane. This isn’t theory; we are seeing this reality showing up at the pump and in our wallets. A visit to the website GasBuddy.com provides a tough visual reminder of the sickening roller-coaster ride gas prices have been on. We love our cars in Calgary. But right now, that love affair is expensive. A typical commute, which once might have cost $50 a week in gas, may soon cost $80 or more. Over a year, that is real money out of your family’s pocket. Spring is perfect timing. The river pathways are clear, the CTrain is running, it’s bright and sunny out, and winter weather and excuses are gone. One person switching their daily drive to transit or bike could save hundreds of dollars this summer alone. Try it for a month, and you may find yourself wondering why you ever sat in rush-hour traffic. Sure, you may not be able to travel as fast as in a car, but if you are lucky enough to be able to ride to work on a pathway, with few or no lights or stops, I suspect you may find your commute by bike is as fast or faster. That was my experience many years ago when I first started commuting downtown from Killarney/Glengarry. Calgary Transit monthly passes are still far cheaper than filling your gas tank twice a week. The C-Train gets you downtown fast without the stress. For shorter trips, our pathway system is world-class — safe, scenic and often easily accessible, as they are close to many neighbourhoods. This isn’t about fighting climate change, improving your health or reducing pollution. It’s about keeping money in your wallet while prices climb. The people who adapt quickest will feel the pinch least. Grab a bike, try one transit commute a week and plan your trips. Small moves now will help keep your budget steady when the next price spike hits. And while you’re creating new habits, let your city councillor and MLA know you want these transportation options to be truly convenient, safe and comfortable. Real alternatives to the car don’t just happen — we have to ask for them and let our leaders know we want and need to be able to choose how we get around Calgary. Calgarians are practical, common-sense folks. When something gets too expensive, we change and adapt. That moment is here, and there are resources to assist, from Calgary Transit and the Calgary Transit App to local organizations such as Bike Calgary, whose website has great cycling resources and community tips. I look forward to sharing the pathways and transit with you this summer. It’s time to break our expensive car habit. Karen Almadi is a volunteer with Bike Calgary and a longtime daily cycle commuter. Local News News - Advertisement 1Story continues below News Energy - Columnists Varcoe: 'Canada is not a lost cause' — Former Alberta finance ministers say don't hold separation referendum
Opinion: Gas at $2 a litre this summer? Calgary, it's time to break the car habit Oil prices are hovering near $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed and under blockade. The tankers, which were already at sea, bought the world a few weeks of respite, but…
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The Houthis in Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through Red Sea ports, including at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The group, described as Iran-backed, stated the measure would target the top oil exporter following recent exchanges of fire.
Reports indicate this could add to existing maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to US-Iran confrontations.
A Reuters poll of economists conducted July 7-16 shows that most Gulf Cooperation Council economies are now projected to contract more sharply in the current year than estimated three months earlier, with median forecasts indicating declines of 8.1% for Kuwait and Qatar, 5.
1% for Bahrain, and 0.5% for the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Oman remain the only GCC economies expected to expand. The poll links the revisions to reduced export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, higher freight costs, and weaker investor sentiment, even as oil prices have risen.
Initial reports indicate that a limited number of vessels transited the waterway during the first full day after the United States implemented a naval blockade of Iran. These observations have not been independently verified.
The head of the UN’s nuclear agency yesterday signaled that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the US and Iran to reach an end to their war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi was the firmest yet from the agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran last year, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Photo: AP Iran has said that its program is peaceful, although it would be the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity without a weapons program. The US and Iran offered contradictory remarks on Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected.
“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord “explicitly states that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards of the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” he said. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” Grossi added.
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air force’s acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday.
The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next ‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firms’ China investments have dwindled to less than 1 percent of their total foreign investments, putting China-based investments on track for a record low this year, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Taiwan’s investments abroad in the first five months of this year reached US$35.92 billion, Department of Investment Review data showed. Investments outside China totaled US$35.61 billion, up 133.94 percent year-on-year, while investments in China totaled US$310.
3 million, down 32.3 percent and about 0.86 percent of the total, data showed. Major overseas projects included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) US$30 billion capital injection into an overseas subsidiary, VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwan’s security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.