GAS PRICES

[crazybabyborg]

I suppose we can write about what we seem to be able to do nothing about, so I thought I'd start this thread! 

I recently saw George Will on the news speaking about the current gas situation, and he had some very thoughtful comments. Among them were:

1. The United States has, within its own domain, larger capcity natural sources for oil than all the oil producing Middle Eastern Countries combined.

2. Had we begun tapping those sources when the ban for drilling began, we could be free from dependence on Foreign oil today. It's time we got started.

3. If the decision were made today to develop our sources of oil, it would have a major impact on the futures market and the artificially high prices would be impacted now.

4. A decision for a policy that utilizes our own oil sources as well as meaningful incentives to development and manufacturing alternative energies (nuclear, solar, wind, etc) would further dampen the speculative market and lower gas prices.

It makes sense to me! I would like to see Iraq help us with our current situation as well. I heard Condi Rice speak to that this morning on Fox, and it seems like a good idea to me.

There is just no segment of our economy that doesn't suffer from the current situation, and I wish the Presidential Candidates would make a clear case as to exactly what their vision is to alleviate it.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I would like to see all vehicles (cars, trucks, SUVs, RVs, etc.) get a minimum of 50/mpg by the end of the year.

Smaller fuel efficient ones, should be getting like 200/mpg.

I saw some wild mpg while watching one of the many Batman movies, and thought WOW 

How soon can we get to like 300/mpg?

I will say the following - had we started doing some serious mileage improvements since the 1970's, who knows...

Had we started doing some serious searching for alternative ways to fuel vehicles, produce energy, heat our homes...

maybe we wouldn't need oil at all...or coal...

(old article)

The Year in Ideas; Hybrid That Gets 239 M.P.G.,

Published: December 15, 2002

The You have to hand it to those hyperefficient Germans. While American auto manufacturers keep wailing about how devastating it would be if the government raised fuel-economy standards by one mile per gallon, the clever engineers at Volkswagen went ahead and unveiled a car this year that gets 239 m.p.g.
(snip)
Several elements contribute to the car's performance. An ultraefficient diesel engine captures and stores energy when the driver hits the brakes, converting it to electricity that is then used to help propel the vehicle. The aerodynamic exterior cuts drag: wheels are sheathed in carbon fiber, and the car's designers dispensed with exterior mirrors, replacing them with tiny video cameras that display images on liquid-crystal screens on the dashboard.

It also helps that the car is extraordinarily light. The engine weighs a mere 57 pounds, and a host of magnesium, titanium and aluminum components help keep the total mass down. But don't worry about safety. With its carbon-fiber composite exterior, crash tubes and air bags, the car has a safety rating equivalent to a racecar's. Though it may not go as fast as a Ferrari -- it cruises at 75 miles per hour -- it's fast enough for most drivers. Volkswagen doesn't currently have plans to mass-produce the vehicle, but it may harvest the car's innovative technologies for future versions of its more mainstream models.

Stephen Mihm

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E2DC173AF936A25751C1A9649C8B63

[truthseeker2]

Democrats and Liberals call for nationalization of oil refineries.  They claim this is so that the "people" own them.  But....Congress will set prices.  Hugo would be proud.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1vhft39_gkc

[Tylergal]

Democrats and Liberals call for nationalization of oil refineries.  They claim this is so that the "people" own them.  But....Congress will set prices.  Hugo would be proud.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1vhft39_gkc

Yes, Hugo would be very proud of them because that is what he did.  I expect they were all getting information from him when Teresa Heinz, Robert Kennedy, Bill Richardsonet al, were visiting him.

Congress should watch what they say and do.  Their approval ratings are lower than those of Aruba, based on this article from a Democrat website.



Only 12 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, the lowest percentage in the 35 years that the Gallup Poll has tracked the number.

Americans now view Congress less favorably any of the 14 other American institutions tracked by Gallup, including big business, newspapers and health maintenance organizations.

Even as President Bush’s approval rating languishes at a record low, more than twice as many Americans have confidence in the presidency — 26 percent — than have confidence in Congress.

The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Congress since January 2007. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party brand will find itself chained to the poor public view of the legislative branch. A recent analysis of ABC News-Washington Post polls found that in April the Democrats held a 24-point lead over President Bush as "the stronger leadership force in Washington." Today, it's a tie.

While Americans have long viewed their local representative more favorably than Congress as a whole, the public's current view of Congress is exceptionally poor. Today's 19 percent approval rating (a different measure than “confidence”) ties the record low of August 2007 and March 1992.

Friday's survey showed an across-the-board disapproval of Washington, with only 32 percent of Americans expressing confidence in the Supreme Court.

The sense of malaise extends beyond the capital — Americans show less confidence than in 2004 in all 15 of the American institutions tracked by Gallup. That includes schools, organized labor and the military (which about 7 in 10 Americans show confidence in; it receives the highest percentage of the 15 institutions). Only banks and the criminal justice system have seen as precipitous a decline as the three branches of the federal government.
Like this story? Buzz it up on Yahoo! Buzz

[WhiskeyGirl]

Democrats and Liberals call for nationalization of oil refineries.  They claim this is so that the "people" own them.  But....Congress will set prices.  Hugo would be proud.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1vhft39_gkc

What is the value of an oil refinery if there is no oil?  Or, if the price of oil is to high?

[Tylergal]

We have capped oil at Fort Gull in Alaska, that could be drilled and delivered within months that is not in a refuge, but just sitting there and it is said there is more in that one area than in the whole of Saudi Arabia, but someone is shorting the market right now and that someone is George Soros, because he hates America and wants China to become the dominant force in the world.