Gas!

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I think another great idea is to invest in long-term, renewable resources that we can acquire within our own borders. This is a sure way to become energy independent. Solar, geothermal, hydro electric, bio fuels, biomass plants, etc.

It would be great if someone finally found a economically feasible way of extracting hydrogen from sea water using solar power. What would be more beautiful than a system that uses the most abundant element on our planet? Kind of a pipe dream at this point...but so was the idea of the United States in an era of Feudalism. But even against those odds we were able to come up with a solution that changed the world for the better. I think we can do it again!

 

[Orfy]

£10 A Gallon.

 

[springer]

i f the gov would just let them drill for more oil this crisis would be done, then we wouldnt have to worry about foreign oil

Not really because there is no crisis. There is more than enough oil on the market, See any gas stations without gas -any lines? The problem is speculators who add anywhere from 20-30 $ a barrel. All that would happen is the oil drilled for here will be added to the world supply and traded on the OTC and futures markets.

The only way oil will drop in price is when there is competition to it. Right now there is a big push for Bio diesel fuel made with an algae. But what happens when say the algae bio is 3 $ a gallon every one switches to it and the petro diesel drops to under 3... we go right back to where we are today.

And ethonal is a friggin joke. All it does put money in the Corn industry. Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion into ethanol, 131,000 BTUs are needed to make one gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 BTUS. Thus, 70 percent more energy is required to produce ethanol than the energy that actually is in it. Every time you make one gallon of ethanol, there is a net energy loss of 54,000 BTUs

look at the price of anything made from wheat or corn.. it skyrocketing ... Why, because the farmer makes more growing and selling corn than wheat . So wheat production(and Hops) are down . And now there is competition for that corn between food and ethonal

 

[aekdbbop]

I have an uncle (who happens to be a homebrewer also) who works for Exxon-mobile

Just to give you an idea on how much that company is making, they had to double his income last year to get rid of all their profits.. and they still have money coming out the wazoo

 

[tuckferrorists]

I wish my car would run on milk, it's only $2.79 a gallon (at the station where gas is $3.40)

what the hell kind of milk are you buying? it's over 4 dollars here

 

[BigKahuna]

Here in WONDERFUL COLORFUL COLORADO, Out on the open plains where the boys are men and the girls are too, where you are 100 miles from noting and 150 miles from anything, where pickups and cows reign supreme and the cars are useless....
$4.19 per gallon for Diesel. My Pickup gets 16 MPG. I drive 35 miles to work. I need to work from home.

 

[JustDave]

what the hell kind of milk are you buying? it's over 4 dollars here

Yeah, it's close to that in the grocery stores here too ... but gas stations usually have it cheaper for some reason.

 

[mot]

Not really because there is no crisis. There is more than enough oil on the market, See any gas stations without gas -any lines? The problem is speculators who add anywhere from 20-30 $ a barrel. All that would happen is the oil drilled for here will be added to the world supply and traded on the OTC and futures markets.

The only way oil will drop in price is when there is competition to it. Right now there is a big push for Bio diesel fuel made with an algae. But what happens when say the algae bio is 3 $ a gallon every one switches to it and the petro diesel drops to under 3... we go right back to where we are today.

And ethonal is a friggin joke. All it does put money in the Corn industry. Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion into ethanol, 131,000 BTUs are needed to make one gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 BTUS. Thus, 70 percent more energy is required to produce ethanol than the energy that actually is in it. Every time you make one gallon of ethanol, there is a net energy loss of 54,000 BTUs

look at the price of anything made from wheat or corn.. it skyrocketing ... Why, because the farmer makes more growing and selling corn than wheat . So wheat production(and Hops) are down . And now there is competition for that corn between food and ethonal

well i didnt mean crisis like that I know there is plenty of oil but we are importing the majority of it, its simple supply and demand, we have billions and billions of oil in the states we could be drilling for and were not

 

[uglygoat]

i get a car with gas as part of the job. i spent zero on gas. not sure what the wife payed, but she makes enough to cover it.... :cross:

 

[springer]

well i didnt mean crisis like that I know there is plenty of oil but we are importing the majority of it, its simple supply and demand, we have billions and billions of oil in the states we could be drilling for and were not

better to use up their oil and when its gone tap our reserves .. Just my way of thinking.


Also in relation to the profits that Exxon/Mobil are making. Since its based in dollars wouldnt that mean they make less even though the #'s are higher. The dollar since 2001 has taken at least a 30% against the Euro. The AUS dollar since 2001 has risen about 40 cents to be almost on par with the US dollar .Thats about right isnt it Peteoz77?..

 

[PeteOz77]

Here in WONDERFUL COLORFUL COLORADO, Out on the open plains where the boys are men and the girls are too, where you are 100 miles from noting and 150 miles from anything, where pickups and cows reign supreme and the cars are useless....
$4.19 per gallon for Diesel. My Pickup gets 16 MPG. I drive 35 miles to work. I need to work from home.

Dude.... That's $18 per DAY in fuel, or $91 per week, or $4550 per year... after taxes You need to park the truck and buy a little 4 cylinder that gets 50mpg. Doing so would be the equivelant of a $5,000 pay increase..... IF gas prices don't go up.

 

[janzik]

A-holes, you jinxed me. It was $3.07 in central Jersey yesterday, this morning it was between $3.13 and $3.19. WTF!?

A month later and it's now $3.75 here...

Jim Cramer says $5 for the summer and it wont be until it hits $6-$7 before the monkeys (us) start throwing poo (cutting our gas consumption).

 

[PeteOz77]

I just love how the media sets us up for the kill, so we just sit back like sheep and watch the price rise.

I left home yesterday and didn't fill up cause I was running a bit late. Price on the pumps was $1.48 per litre ($5.83 US Dollar for US Gallon).

I get to work and read the ninemsn headlines... "Oil hits $134 US per barrel, prices expected to rise to $1.60/litre.

Sho Nuf, I drive home and the pumps are $1.60 litre ($6.32 USD /US Gallon)

So Gasoline went up 50 CENTS A GALLON while I was at work because the price of oil went up overnight..... Somehow I find it hard to believe that the tanks at the station have this new high priced oil already refined and delivered and coming out of the pumps....

They could at least pretend to ease us into the new higher prices, and justify the price raise a week or two later by saying that NOW we are using the oil that costs us $134 per barrel.

 

[FSR402]

Gas her just hit $4.20/gal. I paid $3.89 yesterday. I hate them...

 

[Donasay]

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

You have to love how NJ, the one state where it is required by state law that somebody actually work at the service station and pump your gas for you. It is illegal to get out of your car at a gas station NJ. Has lower gas prices than the rest of the country and most of the Midwest where gas comes from.

 

[PeteOz77]

Again... I find it hard to believe they got the NEW EXPENSIVE $134/Barrel oil refined and into the underground tanks so quickly! Not to mention that not every drop of gasoline sold in USA or AUS is foreign oil, but the price rise on the stuff we buy lets the domestic suppliers make a KILLING on the stuff they are pumping out of the ground. Greedy Bastards

 

[Yuri_Rage]

it's simple supply and demand

It's not really that simple. Supply clearly exceeds demand, since nearly every pump is always open at every gas station, and almost every gas station is open 24/7. Also, oil companies are recording record profits during a time when the rest of the (US) economy is on its way to the crapper. Indeed, it's a simple economics problem, but it's not a supply/demand example. It's more of a monopolistic model. When there are relatively few suppliers of an extremely high demand product, those suppliers can, in essence, charge whatever they damn well please. Those in demand of the product wind up getting screwed, so long as they find it necessary to buy. Since most of us aren't in a position to significantly cut our gas consumption, we're stuck. The sensationalism of oil issues by the media only serves to rationalize the oil companies' price increases.

 

[menschmaschine]

Again... I find it hard to believe they got the NEW EXPENSIVE $134/Barrel oil refined and into the underground tanks so quickly! Not to mention that not every drop of gasoline sold in USA or AUS is foreign oil, but the price rise on the stuff we buy lets the domestic suppliers make a KILLING on the stuff they are pumping out of the ground. Greedy Bastards

I've heard an explanation for this but since I'm not an economist, I don't know all the details... I believe it has to do with the fact that crude oil AND gasoline are traded commodities. So, their price fluctuates simultaneously, but I'm sure there's more to it.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Who here would really prefer rationing over higher prices? Besides, if you're so convinced the oil companies are gouging us, why aren't you people buying their freakin stock? These are publicly traded companies we're talking about here..

Meh... what do I care? I paid $10.14 to fill up my tank last night... it'll last me about a week and a half, maybe two...

 

[Jonnio]

It's not really that simple. Supply clearly exceeds demand, since nearly every pump is always open at every gas station, and almost every gas station is open 24/7. Also, oil companies are recording record profits during a time when the rest of the (US) economy is on its way to the crapper. Indeed, it's a simple economics problem, but it's not a supply/demand example. It's more of a monopolistic model. When there are relatively few suppliers of an extremely high demand product, those suppliers can, in essence, charge whatever they damn well please. Those in demand of the product wind up getting screwed, so long as they find it necessary to buy. Since most of us aren't in a position to significantly cut our gas consumption, we're stuck. The sensationalism of oil issues by the media only serves to rationalize the oil companies' price increases.

Yuri, the problem with your statement is that your leaving out the futures trading. That drives the prices just as much as consumption...not to mention just because we in the US have fuel available doesn't mean that China, India, etc.. do as well.

 

[PeteOz77]

It's not really that simple. Supply clearly exceeds demand, since nearly every pump is always open at every gas station, and almost every gas station is open 24/7. Also, oil companies are recording record profits during a time when the rest of the (US) economy is on its way to the crapper. Indeed, it's a simple economics problem, but it's not a supply/demand example. It's more of a monopolistic model. When there are relatively few suppliers of an extremely high demand product, those suppliers can, in essence, charge whatever they damn well please. Those in demand of the product wind up getting screwed, so long as they find it necessary to buy. Since most of us aren't in a position to significantly cut our gas consumption, we're stuck. The sensationalism of oil issues by the media only serves to rationalize the oil companies' price increases.

+1

The media is "Fueling" the problem

 

[NitrouStang96]

. . . figured it's better to laugh about it than to cry . . .












*sniff* I'm surely going to be paying $5/gal for premium this summer.

 

[Desert_Sky]

this is one of the main reasons i ride a motorcycle.

60mpg baby

 

[RichBrewer]

I'll be digging my bicycle out this weekend!

 

[EvilTOJ]

Don't worry, gas prices will start dropping after the weekend. It happens every year. Gas prices spike up to Memorial Day weekend, then "mysteriously" start falling until halfway between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

What a scam.

 

[capcrnch]

We have a gas station across the street from my shop where we fill up all the time..
They gave us a warning yesterday (as we paid 4.01) that we should fill up all our tanks now, because this weekend they'll be over 4.35

 

[JustDave]

Remember when gas was over $2 and these things came out?

$2.33 would be great right now.

 

[Evan!]

Don't worry, gas prices will start dropping after the weekend. It happens every year. Gas prices spike up to Memorial Day weekend, then "mysteriously" start falling until halfway between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

What a scam.

A "scam" involves fraudulent actions in order to trick someone.

Raising prices in times of higher demand, on the other hand, is called "economics". There's a difference between supply-demand and a "scam". There's nothing "mysterious" about it, and there's nothing dishonest about it. If you owned a goddamned ice cream shop at the beach, it would only make sense to charge more for your product during the summer months.

What I'm really sick of in this country these days is this persistent whining about gas prices breaking $4/gal. It's been like that in most of the world for years. Oh, but we're special! It's a scarce commodity, that is limited...and the fact that we're still driving around in big 10mpg cars is testament to a sad reality: as much as we whine about it, we're not really willing to do anything about it except whine. No, instead, we expect the oil companies to just give their product away for less than people are willing to pay for it. Well, let me ask you this: if you were selling beer, and you charged $10 per six pack, and people were buying it hand over fist at that price, would you just suddenly drop your price to $8 per sixer because some people whined about it?

 

[EvilTOJ]

Evan!, I'm not whining about gas prices, I'm talking about how it's funny(in a conspiracy theory sorta way) that every year gas prices skyrocket until Memorial Day then the next week they start to drop. I noticed it about 5 years ago and it's happened every year. Sounds like deliberate plotting of The Man to me. OK fine, it's a conspiracy, not a scam. Happy now?

Of course now that I've run off at the mouth about it it won't happen at all this year!

 

[keiths]

Evan!, I'm not whining about gas prices, I'm talking about how it's funny(in a conspiracy theory sorta way) that every year gas prices skyrocket until Memorial Day then the next week they start to drop. I noticed it about 5 years ago and it's happened every year. Sounds like deliberate plotting of The Man to me. OK fine, it's a conspiracy, not a scam. Happy now?

!

+1.................................

 

[MrFebtober]

Very well put, Evan!, except that for the first time I think people are starting to adapt (though still whining about it). Take my stick-in-the-mud father-in-law: he's always been proud of his stable of full size trucks. When I first met him, he and his wife shared a 4x4 Sierra, a Tahoe, and a Suburban (he has a picture of the three of them on the wall). Well, last month he bought a Corolla! Even his wife says he looks silly getting in and out of "that tiny car," but I find it commendable he did a sensible thing. He lives on a small farm out in the country, so he'll always have a working truck (and thats great; that's what trucks are for) but now he's planning on selling the 'burban and tahoe because he's finally realized how absurd they are for their current situation (empty nested, living 20 miles from _everything_).

Now, i realize this is anecdotal but my FIL is actually a pretty decent barometer as far as stubborn 'mericans go. He's like Fox News incarnate.

 

[Evan!]

Evan!, I'm not whining about gas prices, I'm talking about how it's funny(in a conspiracy theory sorta way) that every year gas prices skyrocket until Memorial Day then the next week they start to drop. I noticed it about 5 years ago and it's happened every year. Sounds like deliberate plotting of The Man to me. OK fine, it's a conspiracy, not a scam. Happy now?

Of course now that I've run off at the mouth about it it won't happen at all this year!

I'm not directly addressing you. It's more of a general rant at all the bitching and moaning that I see at every turn.

It's got nothing to do with "the man", though. It's "the market", and yes, it's deliberate---because oil companies are, get this, in it to make a profit. Increased demand? Increased price. Simple market economics. Charging $7 for a bud light at a baseball game is a deliberate attempt to cash in on the increased demand and limited supply. But nobody claims that's a conspiracy by "the man".

 

[EdWort]

Don't forget to add that the price we pay is because we elect people to office who think they know better and that we should not be drilling for our own oil because it will hurt a salamander or a couple oil rigs on the desolate barren tundra the size of South Carolina, or off the coast of Florida (while China is drilling off the coast of Cuba).

Yes, we have only ourselves to blame for high gas prices because we allow the politicians and the lobbyists that line their pockets to prevent us from using our own resources. The end result is this.

Next month, I'm predicting I'll hit the $100 figure at the pump and this is just for regular 87 Octane in Austin.

 

[RichBrewer]

Well, I tell you what, they are reducing the demand for gasoline in my life! I already own a Corolla which gets 33MPG in the city and I will start riding my bike to work.
To look at things on the bright side, maybe the price increase will reduce the United States dependency on foreign oil. Not only that, maybe it will help clean up the air!

 

[Evan!]

Don't forget to add that the price we pay is because we elect people to office who think they know better and that we should not be drilling for our own oil because it will hurt a salamander or a couple oil rigs on the desolate barren tundra the size of South Carolina, or off the coast of Florida (while China is drilling off the coast of Cuba).

Yes, we have only ourselves to blame for high gas prices because we allow the politicians and the lobbyists that line their pockets to prevent us from using our own resources. The end result is this.

Next month, I'm predicting I'll hit the $100 figure at the pump and this is just for regular 87 Octane in Austin.

While I agree with your general sentiment, all the info I've seen shows the ANWR reserves being a pittance----certainly not enough to affect our price at the pump in any meaningful way.

Hey, Ed, what are you driving? A bus?

 

[EdWort]

I have a Chevy Tahoe Z71 used for pulling a horse trailer and Boy Scout Trailer and a Saturn SW2 (which gets almost 40 MPG on the hiway).

 

[FlyGuy]

What I'm really sick of in this country these days is this persistent whining about gas prices breaking $4/gal. It's been like that in most of the world for years. Oh, but we're special! It's a scarce commodity, that is limited...and the fact that we're still driving around in big 10mpg cars is testament to a sad reality: as much as we whine about it, we're not really willing to do anything about it except whine. No, instead, we expect the oil companies to just give their product away for less than people are willing to pay for it. Well, let me ask you this: if you were selling beer, and you charged $10 per six pack, and people were buying it hand over fist at that price, would you just suddenly drop your price to $8 per sixer because some people whined about it?

We are really feeling it up here now, too. By Canadian standards, the price of gas is cheap here in Calgary at $1.25/L ($4.75/gal). I also see Rogue and Flying Dog six-packs at the liquor store for $20.50. (Canadian dollar and US dollar are within one cent of each other right now, for reference.)

I can buy into the reduced consumption idea for saving on fuel. But it is the reduced consumption of beer that I am having trouble with!

 

[Evan!]

We are really feeling it up here now, too. By Canadian standards, the price of gas is cheap here in Calgary at $1.25/L ($4.75/gal). I also see Rogue and Flying Dog six-packs at the liquor store for $20.50. (Canadian dollar and US dollar are within one cent of each other right now, for reference.)

I can buy into the reduced consumption idea for saving on fuel. But it is the reduced consumption of beer that I am having trouble with!

whoah, let's be clear here: nobody is suggesting reducing your beer consumption.

 

[EdWort]

While I agree with your general sentiment, all the info I've seen shows the ANWR reserves being a pittance----certainly not enough to affect our price at the pump in any meaningful way.

Perhaps, but we still have huge reserves off the coast and even in North Dakota.

America is sitting on top of a super massive 200 billion barrel Oil Field that could potentially make America Energy Independent and until now has largely gone unnoticed. Thanks to new technology the Bakken Formation in North Dakota could boost America’s Oil reserves by an incredible 10 times, giving western economies the trump card against OPEC’s short squeeze on oil supply and making Iranian and Venezuelan threats of disrupted supply irrelevant.

The price will come down soon as it is now so high that other countries are looking at alternatives that have all of a sudden become affordable compared to $130/barrel crude from OPEC.

 

[EdWort]

Not to worry though, our esteemed politicians are going to take those evil profits away from the evil oil companies.

Congressman Proposes that Government Establish a "Reasonable Profits Board"

by Gerald Prante
The current high price of gas has led to a lot of crazy proposals from gas tax holidays to creating a tax deduction based upon energy consumption. But Rep. Paul Kanjorski's (D-PA) may top them all in terms of its stupidity. From the Times Leader, Kanjorski's plan would do the following:

• H.R. 5800 would tax industries’ windfall profits.
• The bill would set up a Reasonable Profits Board to determine when these companies’ profits are in excess, and then tax them on those windfall profits.
• As oil and gas companies’ windfall profits increase, so would the tax rate for those companies.
• Kanjorski said his legislation will encourage oil companies to lower prices to prevent them from receiving higher tax rates.
​

While Hillary Clinton may have failed ECON 101 along with John McCain, it appears as if Kanjorski may been enrolled in Marxism 450 at the time. In all honesty, nationalization of the oil industry (i.e. Venezuela) may be better than Kanjorski's ridiculous proposal.
One can make a case for taxing that portion of the return to capital that comes from economic rents, but Kanjorski has probably never even heard the term. An economist who backed such a tax would understand that such a tax is not going to lead to lower prices at the pump, just as economists are setting the record straight on the current gas tax holiday gimmick. Furthermore, the justification for taxing economic rents would apply to all sectors, not just petroleum.
Members of Congress and the American public need to understand that no tax cut or tax hike in the short-term is going to lower the prices at the pump. And any tax hike is going to raise prices in the long-term. Raising taxes on energy is not all bad, however. While any tax hike has its costs, raising taxes on gasoline does lead to less pollution (indirectly whereas a carbon tax is more direct) and greater funds for transportation (assuming they are spent in the right way which is unfortunately not always a safe assumption).