Reply With QuoteI blame the speculators.
High Level of Addiction
High Gas Prices? Blame the Tree Huggers!
Back during the Gerald Ford days, our Congress had a great debate about our gasoline problems. The country was in the midst of a gas shortage like we had never seen before. People waited for hours in line for a small amount of gas, and the government had to implement rationing. At the time, the biggest problem was not being able to get a reliable supply of oil from the OPEC nations. Because of 'supply and demand' the price was high, but nothing compared to today's prices. The main problem was supply.
It was suggested at that time, that we may need to build more domestic oil infrastructure. American oil companies had surveyed the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and most notably, the Northern Slope of Alaska. What they discovered was, the US has oil reserves to rival those of the Middle East. Certainly enough to insure our independence of foreign oil for many generations. This seemed to be the logical solution, but Environmentalists stopped it from happening. The election of Jimmy Carter sealed the deal, the Leftist Liberal Tree Huggers had won a major victory!
And Good for us, America! We needed to clean up our act, become more Environmentally conscious, and who needs a bunch of ugly-looking oil rigs all in our Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of California, or even in the isolated remote Moose Country of the Northern Slope? We managed to work out a few deals with a few Arab Sheiks, make a few promises to Kingdoms here and there, pay off the right people in the right places, and we solved our supply problem for the moment. Because of the Tree Huggers, we didn't make the move to build more infrastructure, not even a single new refinery, and through the Reagan/Bush 1 years, we simply found a way to buy our way out of trouble, like always.
During the Clinton years, the issue arose again, in the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, our supply was again running low. We contemplated releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, we contemplated Conservation, we even contemplated rations again... but the Tree Huggers just wouldn't hear of us contemplating the unthinkable. No, we couldn't drill for new oil in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and especially not in the Moose Habitat of Alaska! And no, we couldn't build any nasty and disgusting new refineries either!
So... Here we are, gas is quickly approaching $5 a gallon. Had we invested in new oil infrastructure in 1977, we would be completely independent of any foreign oil today. Perhaps that phrase doesn't sink in... let me explain what it means to be "completely independent of any foreign oil" ...Gas is $0.78 gallon in Saudi Arabia.
Once again, the subject has come up, and once again, the Tree Huggers stand in the way, obstructing any attempts to tap into our own natural resources. In spite of having absolutely no answers for the immediate future, the Tree Huggers cling to 'Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels', as the only acceptable solutions... no more drilling, no more refining.
I am all for Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels, don't get me wrong. I think we need to be the leader in such examples, and I support a strong environmental policy as well. I think we should be vigilant in monitoring oil operations to insure our environment is being protected at all times, and our water and air are safe. However, I also think we should have invested in oil infrastructure a long time ago, and each year we put this off, is one more year we will ultimately be at the mercy of others with regard to our supply of oil. If you want to begin to eliminate US involvement in the Arab region, you must understand it starts with reducing our dependence on the one resource we need and they control at the moment. As long as the US is dependent on Saudi oil, we will have to maintain a presence in the region, both commercially and militarily, to protect the commercial interests. I don't mean to sound facetious, but there really is no other alternative, unless you want to try to live in a society which has shut down due to lack of fuel.
God love 'em, I have many Environmentalist friends, and "Tree Hugger" is just my pet name for them, I really do love them and respect their convictions. But for some reason, they can't see the forest for the trees... pun intended. It's great to think that we are technologically advanced enough to develop a clean alternative to the internal-combustion engine, and I think we will see this happen in the next 20 years or less. However, real societal transition to a "new mode" of transportation, is not going to happen in 20 years, the internal-combustion engine has too much of a head start. It is too ingrained into the fabric of our society to expect it to just be replaced in a few years. Do we need to encourage it? Sure! We should even give tax incentives for it! We should do everything we can as a responsible society, to develop and implement a new alternative. Do we need to Conserve? You bet! The more, the better, in my opinion! But... for our immediate future, we need to drill and refine. Oil, gas, and the internal-combustion engine, are not going away tomorrow, and the longer we put this off, the more we are dependent on others for our supply, and the more we are entangled in the affairs of Arab countries, either through financial "bribes" and "payoffs" or military commitment. Not to mention, higher gas prices daily.
Abreast of the situations
I blame the speculators.
Q: Senator Obama, would you take the same pledge? No tax increases on people under $250,000?
OBAMA: I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes.
Villified User
Speculators, the war, Oil co mergers, and the govt slacking off many years ago on energy efficiency regulations and incentives.
Ype the tree huggers a bit, but they have turned out to be the best friend of the oil cos. They can always blame everything on the tree huggers. But it was the republicans that stopped offshore drilling in FL.
Thrillhouse
Damn that Jimmy Carter and his 16 year reign as President and damn that other dimwit Clinton and his sixteen year term as President.
Abreast of the situations
check this out. give u an idea of how we are in a speculators spike
Q: Senator Obama, would you take the same pledge? No tax increases on people under $250,000?
OBAMA: I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes.
High Level of Addiction
Speculators? You mean the people who buy and sell stocks on oil, trying to make a buck? How do they have anything to do with our supply of oil, ability to refine it, or the subsequent price of gas at the pump? Oil companies merging? How does that effect the cost of gas at the pump? Please explain where you are getting these ideas from, because they have no basis in reality or logic, as far as I can tell. Slacking off on energy efficiency years ago? How the hell does that effect the price we are paying for a barrel of Arabian oil? What you are giving me is a list of 'Emotive Reactions', which is what I expect from a Liberal, but try reading the thread and letting it soak in a while. Then try coming back and telling me how I am wrong in anything I have said, or where I have indicated anything about the Republican political party to prompt your emotional remarks.Originally Posted by uscitizen
High Level of Addiction
Chapdog, you are looking at the cost of a barrel of oil on the world market. It is unrelated to the prospect of oil independence, as this would eliminate our need to buy oil on the world market. I am offering a solution to the problem, and you are arguing over who caused the problem.
Dixie, a speculator is someone who bets on the future prices of a commodity. If I bet that oil would be at $130 a barrel, and bought that, then the price was $120, I would have made $10 for every future barrel I had sold. Most speculators sell future contracts for commodities. As the number of speculators increased the predictability of prices has been lowered. They have caused part of the spike in the price of oil. Deny it if you want, but it is a documented fact.
Oil companies merging? You honestly don't see how cutting the competition from a dozen companies to just 5 major oil companies, has effected prices???
If one company controls the entire process, from drilling, transporting, processing, delivery and owns the stores that sell it, they have almost complete control over the prices. The fact that only 5 companies provide half of the domestic product means there is FAR less competition. Of course the oil mergers has an effect on prices.
Also, our not drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is NOT due to treehuggers. Its due to the big money backing the tourism industry in the gulf region. Republicans shot down drilling in the Gulf, especially along the coast of Florida.
Now, the treehuggers are largely responsible for locking us out of the ANWR oil field. But that is about their only serious contribution.
The lack of new oil refineries is mainly due to increased government regulations and the fact that no one wanted one built in their backyard. The treehuggers had only a minimal impact on that scenario.
So look around and try to understand that blaming a single entity is about as accurate as the liberals blaming it all on Bush. Both may make someone feel better, but neither is accurate worth a damn.
Insane Level of Addiction
1
Verified User
Chap overlay your chart with Indian/Chineese autosales.
Interesting idea.
Banned
Oh please don't. That would be just too much excitement.
Banned
Anybody read George Wills column from yesterday? Spot on.
The Gas Prices We Deserve
http://tinyurl.com/5d6nto
One million barrels is what might today be flowing from ANWR if in 1995 President Bill Clinton had not vetoed legislation to permit drilling there. One million barrels produce 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. Seventy-two of today's senators -- including Schumer, of course, and 38 other Democrats, including Barack Obama, and 33 Republicans, including John McCain -- have voted to keep ANWR's estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market.
Also disqualified from complaining are all voters who sent to Washington senators and representatives who have voted to keep ANWR's oil in the ground and who voted to put 85 percent of America's offshore territory off-limits to drilling. The U.S. Minerals Management Service says that restricted area contains perhaps 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- 10 times as much oil and 20 times as much natural gas as Americans use in a year.
Drilling is underway 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are.
America says to foreign producers: We prefer not to pump our oil, so please pump more of yours, thereby lowering its value, for our benefit. Let it not be said that America has no energy policy.
Verified User
same amount of quality input as usual Darla.
Thrillhouse
You're fucking retarded.
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