Doing Something Constructive About Oil Prices

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Doing Something Constructive About Oil Prices

Post by RangerX »

Methodology: Retail gasoline prices are the result of literally hundreds of factors including crude oil supply, global demand, refinery capacity, regulation, taxes, weather, the value of the dollar, etc. Therefore it is impossible to say with certainty what one individual action will do to the overall price. However, based on what we know about the impact of crude oil supply and prices it is possible to develop some potential ranges of impact on gasoline prices for certain policy changes. For example, using the methodology employed by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats that suspending shipments into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (between 40-77,000 barrels of oil a day) would reduce gas prices by at least 5 cents, bringing ANWR online (at least one million barrels of oil a day) could impact gasoline prices by between 70 cents and $1.60.



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Post by rgrokelley »

The Democrats keep trying to punish the effect, and not the cause. It would be like y'all punishing a private because he doesn't know how to load a machinegun, though he has never been taught how to.

The effect end of the gas "crisis" is the oil companies, the oil station dealers, and even to an extent, the speculators. All of them are merely reacting to what is happening out there. Though folks talk of the record profits from the oil companies, the profit margins have stayed the same, or in some cases, have declined.

So, back to cause, and not effect. Why is oil so high? Its not the evil oil companies. Its not the greedy service station attendant. Its not even the soccer mom in her enviromental nightmare of a SUV. It is high because there is less of it.

Basic supply and demand theory.

So, how do you lower gas prices? Make more of it. However the democrats, and even some republicans, have gone out of their way to stifle the "make more of it".

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Post by rgrokelley »

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Post by Ops NCO »

So, how do you lower gas prices? Make more of it.
...or use less of it.
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Post by RTO »

Yesterday I was talking to someone who was complaining about $4 gasoline
while holding a cup of $4 coffee in their hand... :roll: :lol:
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Post by ANGRYCivilian »

rgrokelley wrote:When in doubt...

Chuck Norris

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/Chuc ... ments=true
If any of that is true, about the massive stores of oil, natural gas, and coal, then now's the time to start doing something with all that fuel. I would not suggest only using our own oil/gas/coal, but just to supplement our current usage enough to bring fuel prices back down to a reasonable amount, which to me is $2.50-$3.00/gallon. In addition, heavily investing in alternative energy sources like solar and wind. That shit is free, and we don't have to tear up the environment to take advantage of it.

Imagine if every home in the US had some sort of supplemental alternative energy system. Imagine if there were 2-3 times the amount of alternative energy vehicles available than what we have right now, and more/better public transportation for those who would use it.

I think we will get to that point eventually, but not in my lifetime. Gas will be $8/gallon in a few years, and we'll be doing the same thing we're doing now, just bitching about the price of gas.
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Post by RangerX »

Ops NCO wrote:
So, how do you lower gas prices? Make more of it.
...or use less of it.
The solution is a combination of both.
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Post by RTO »

RangerX wrote:
Ops NCO wrote:
So, how do you lower gas prices? Make more of it.
...or use less of it.
The solution is a combination of both.
True that, but how expensive will a gallon of gas have to become before most people trade in their gas guzzlers for a Prius?
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Post by rgrokelley »

Ops NCO wrote:
So, how do you lower gas prices? Make more of it.
...or use less of it.
That ain't happening. Even all sorts of folks quit using gas in the U.S., you now have something we never had to contend with during the gas "crisis" of the late 1970s. We are no longer the only folks on the block guzzling gas. The new market of China and India will use up every bit that we "conserve".
Supply and demand. Get more of it out of the ground. There is no lack of oil. The stuff is literally everywhere. They recently found an oil field in the Dakotas that can run America, all by itself, for 250 years. That is with NO imports. However drilling it is next to impossible due to regulations.
We are the ONLY industrialized nation that refuses to use our resources.
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Post by rgrokelley »

ANGRYCivilian wrote:
rgrokelley wrote:When in doubt...

Chuck Norris

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/Chuc ... ments=true
If any of that is true, about the massive stores of oil, natural gas, and coal, then now's the time to start doing something with all that fuel. I would not suggest only using our own oil/gas/coal, but just to supplement our current usage enough to bring fuel prices back down to a reasonable amount, which to me is $2.50-$3.00/gallon. In addition, heavily investing in alternative energy sources like solar and wind. That shit is free, and we don't have to tear up the environment to take advantage of it.

Imagine if every home in the US had some sort of supplemental alternative energy system. Imagine if there were 2-3 times the amount of alternative energy vehicles available than what we have right now, and more/better public transportation for those who would use it.

I think we will get to that point eventually, but not in my lifetime. Gas will be $8/gallon in a few years, and we'll be doing the same thing we're doing now, just bitching about the price of gas.
Heavily investing in solar and wind, from what sources? If it is from government taxes, then it isn't going to be too free. Look at the actual logistics of solar and wind. The few places in the US that do run on such things has to use an incredible amount of acreage, and then it still has to supplement it with conventional electricity. A lot of folks think that it is an inexpensive source of energy, but to run a city like New York with solar power, would require a Connecticut sized piece of real estate to do it.

Oil is as inexpensive as you get at this time, compared to all the other sources (except for coal in the US). Until the alternative energy is researched better, and made to be more effecient, oil is the way to go.
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Post by RTO »

It took something like 30 years for gas to go from .50cents a gallon up to $2.00 a gallon. It seems even when gas was going from $2.00 a gallon up to $3, it was more gradual increase and there was always a 'reason' for the increase like a Hurricane that allegedly damaged a refinery or something.

Then, it got so gas would go up when there 'might be' a Hurricane that 'might' damage a refinery. Once I remember they announced gas prices going up when there was a Tropical Storm off the coast of Africa that 'might' do some harm to refineries in Texas :roll: No damage, but the gas went up for that one and has never come down since... :roll:

A few years ago there were organized protests, everyone scream and bitched about the prices (when it was around $2 a gallon I think) and they actually lowered the prices for several months.

remember that?

And now? Gas just goes up for no apparent reason. Every month, every week, sometimes every day now from $3 a gallon just a few months ago to $4+ a gallon with no sign of slowing down.

I'd like to know how many barrels were being pumped when gas was $2 a gallon a few years ago as compared to today.

Sure, there are less refineries than there were like 30 years ago. But less than 2 years ago? How many refineries were closed after Katrina? Does anyone know?

I think we all are really the frogs in the pot of boiling water and are just allowing prices to go up unchecked.
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Post by ANGRYCivilian »

rgrokelley wrote:
ANGRYCivilian wrote:
rgrokelley wrote:When in doubt...

Chuck Norris

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/Chuc ... ments=true
If any of that is true, about the massive stores of oil, natural gas, and coal, then now's the time to start doing something with all that fuel. I would not suggest only using our own oil/gas/coal, but just to supplement our current usage enough to bring fuel prices back down to a reasonable amount, which to me is $2.50-$3.00/gallon. In addition, heavily investing in alternative energy sources like solar and wind. That shit is free, and we don't have to tear up the environment to take advantage of it.

Imagine if every home in the US had some sort of supplemental alternative energy system. Imagine if there were 2-3 times the amount of alternative energy vehicles available than what we have right now, and more/better public transportation for those who would use it.

I think we will get to that point eventually, but not in my lifetime. Gas will be $8/gallon in a few years, and we'll be doing the same thing we're doing now, just bitching about the price of gas.
Heavily investing in solar and wind, from what sources? If it is from government taxes, then it isn't going to be too free. Look at the actual logistics of solar and wind. The few places in the US that do run on such things has to use an incredible amount of acreage, and then it still has to supplement it with conventional electricity. A lot of folks think that it is an inexpensive source of energy, but to run a city like New York with solar power, would require a Connecticut sized piece of real estate to do it.

Oil is as inexpensive as you get at this time, compared to all the other sources (except for coal in the US). Until the alternative energy is researched better, and made to be more effecient, oil is the way to go.
I should have re-worded the part about solar and wind. I meant for individual homes as a supplement or totally replacing conventional energy. If urban and suburban areas could take advantage of alternative energy, then the large urban areas could stay conventional.
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Post by EvilCouch »

Heh. And people ask me why I ride my motorcycle, rain or shine.
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Post by RTO »

EvilCouch wrote:Heh. And people ask me why I ride my motorcycle, rain or shine.
X2

and speaking of rain, can we borrow some of your Pacific Northwest rain.....? Las Vegas as we know it will not be able to survive after our only source of water, Lake Mead/Hoover Dam dries up in 10-12 more years :shock:
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Post by Ops NCO »

We are no longer the only folks on the block guzzling gas. The new market of China and India will use up every bit that we "conserve".
A very good point. I've been amazed for years at our unwillingness to seriously invest in workable alterative energy sources. If we did run out of oil, in short order some entrepreneurial company would develop practical solutions. But we simply refuse to bite the bullet and invest the time and money to do so now. Instead, we'll wait until it's too painful not to do it.

We are, in many ways, a short sighted "don't worry about the problems of tomorrow until tomorrow" culture.
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