[AKFossil]

Found a interesting article dated in 2005 that I found interesting.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050411/news_mz1e11simpso.html

 

[JJSEBASTIAN]

Interesting... I don't know how much of that I believe though... Seems a little one sided and no statistics or figures to back it up...

 

[Scott in Houston]

100% dead on. There is only one group of people (well 2) to blame:

Congress & the enviro wackos behind them.

 

[AKFossil]

I am willing to bet if we researched his claims there are some truth to it. I know for a fact here in Alaska we are forced to use blended fuels for the good of the enviroment which so far hasn't done squat.

 

[Scott in Houston]

Democrats reject plan that could provide at least 76 Billion barrels of domestic oil.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365627,00.html


This is just unbelievable to me. They are more afraid of special interests (enviro-hippies) than they are of the voters!

The OCS is estimated by the gov't to have 76 Billion barrels of oil that can be taken by today's technology.
What does that mean?

That's enough oil to replace every single barrel of oil that we import from EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA for the next 34 years at our current pace.

And that's just the OCS. That's just one place that we were told we can't drill on Wednesday.

 

[AKFossil]

You know whats funny about this all is in the early 90s (pre willie) we were told why? It will take 10 years to bring the oil to market. Now look where we are... why it will take 10 years to bring oil to market... They lack hind sight as bad as foresight.

 

[Scott in Houston]

Yep... that 10 years argument is such BS. The same people who make that argument blame speculators for the price of oil...

What do they think speculation will do when we announce we can start trying to reach 74 billion barrels of oil on the home front!?

 

[JJSEBASTIAN]

Do you think that they want fuel prices high so that it further pressures the alternative fuel research, etc? Just popped into my head.... and I don't know who 'they' is...

 

[AKFossil]

I won’t deny we that we need to research and produce a reasonable alternative fuel. I am totally against any fuel that causes food sources to be reduced in favor of an alternative fuel. Not to mention it costs approx. $200k to retro fit a gas station to pump ethanol. And the slight issue of getting ethanol to the areas that doesn’t have the facilities to produce it.

But what people forget tax credits for alternative energy sources are only good if you can afford to acquire the means. Solar power, hybrid cars, etc are not exactly affordable items for most people. Also what is the life cycle of the hybrid car? Last I read it was around 107,000 miles approx. So after they are done for we now have an over abundance of old batteries and are they 100% recyclable?

But until then we need to focus on drilling in our backyard while helping the people get by until we can create a affordable source of alternative energy.

 

[AKFossil]

and I don't know who 'they' is...

"they" are the people who are against development for whatever reason.

 

[dh63269]

Alternative Fuel... this is the the biggest joke ever. There will never be an alternative fuel... and I repeat... EVER!!!

You make your water, electric, bubble gum, whatever engine you can think of...

The the oil king's come to you and say...

"Do you want a billion dollars for that invention?"
"No, I'd rather help humanity, and make my money that way."

They reply with a simple, "Ok, thanks for your time." and a smile.

You then disappear.

This all equals Never, ever, ever, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER ANY alternative fuel source... unless you build it in your basement, and don't tell anyone about it.

Good luck.

 

[LBCBJ]

What a BS thread. Gas prices are sky high because the American people are being screwed over by a handful of speculators.

 

[ntrepid43]

Drill here,Drill now,Pay less.-43

 

[Scott in Houston]

What a BS thread. Gas prices are sky high because the American people are being screwed over by a handful of speculators.

Speculation is likely 20% of the current costs... this is widely accepted knowledge. Now, let's say you're right, and speculation is more than that.

F'in Drill ANWR and the OCS, and what do you think it does to speculation?
Open up Shale for oil NOW, and what do you think it does to speculation?

Regardless of whether it's supply/demand or speculation, removing gov't barriers to drilling is the answer.

 

[YB Normyl]

What a BS thread. Gas prices are sky high because the American people are being screwed over by a handful of speculators.

I have to agree, although I would call them manipulators not speculators. I think it started with oil company greed and OPEC forcing others to reduce output but quickly changed to an organized outright manipulation. There should be a complete investigation into who has been buying oil futures and what links there are to each other. All the big players should be named so we can boycott their companies. I wouldn't be surprised if some media giant has a hand in it.

 

[JJSEBASTIAN]

You hit it on the head with speculation!
An increase in tension in various worldly places.
Reduction in refinery capacity.
Poor weather here or there.
Grrr. I wish I could charge more $ per hour based on speculation that.... Hmmmm I wanna go on vacation next week thus there is the possibility that there will be a shortage of my time next week... so I can raise my prices this week to make up for it!

They never have an actual reason it is always this or that could happen!

 

[a49erFan]

There will always be people who want to make money of others, it is the capitalist state we live in, and some people will pay you not to advance your idea at the cost of theirs, but that too is capitalism at it's best.

 

[AKFossil]

What a BS thread. Gas prices are sky high because the American people are being screwed over by a handful of speculators.

First of all this thread isnt BS. I merely stated that I found the article interesting and thought it was worthy of sharing.

Second please don't tell me you truly believe it’s the speculators only.

Yes the speculators are adversely affecting the price of oil by playing with pieces of paper that says they own X amount of oil and yes they are buying on credit which really boggles the mind because the average American can’t buy oil futures on credit. A senator recently proposed that the law should be changed to read that if you buy oil futures you must take possession of the oil until you are ready to sell. That would be something to watch as the futures are dumped back onto the market.

BUT there is a huge mix of people to blame. The majority of the blame falls on our politicians for failing not just look at today but tomorrow too. And stand up to the environmentalists when they just get outright silly. A recent example is the Polar Bear being placed on the endangered species act. Just short of putting large chunks of Styrofoam in the Arctic Ocean what are we to do? But back on to the subject. We haven't built a new refinery since 1976. And the last time I checked the population of the US has been on the rise which also affects the gas prices.

Until we can become less dependent on foreign oil the speculators will create a artificial inflation due to the fact the US is not the number 1 buyer in the world and world events will put in question our continuous supply of oil from foreign nations.

 

[PolarBZ]

Man-made global warming is crap. Global warming is a reality and its a cycle that the Earth goes through every so often. Global warming will actually result in global cooling and possible another ice age. So, find your block heaters and get ready!

 

[NMRealtor]

Its always fun to find someone to "blame". But like it or not $4 a gallon of gas is here to stay. The real question is will $4/ga be the "good old days" in a few years? What will determine whether we are paying $4-$6/ga in 10 years or $8-$10/ga in 2018 is what America does during that time.

If we go nuclear (as most of France & other countries safely do) for our power grid, if we tap the oil reserves that this country has & if we utilize conservation through hybrid tech etc then in 2018 gas could still be $4/ga (todays dollars) or perhaps less.

Since the industrial revolution began some 150 years ago or so, the price of energy has over time decreased. What is standing in the way of this now are absurd policies that artifically keep the price high (blame whomever). Most americans would be surprised to find that in the rocky mountain region alone has known oil/oil shale reserves that are 3 times that of the known oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Just from what is known to exist in the us right now would keep the US energy independent for decades.

What is clear is that $4/ga seems to be the breaking point at which many Americans are demanding the reversal of the policies that keep these energy sources off limits & the building of refineries to increase supply.

This will be resolved in the political arena. Find out where your candidate is on this. If they use talking points like "we can't drill our way out of this" or "more oil exploration will not affect the price at the pump" or "Americans need to learn to conserve" then you will know that the policy that they advocate will result in more expensive energy & you can decide for yourself if you want to support that or not.