Gas Prices

[leroy]

Check this out:

Corn production: Grains corn production by country. Definition, graph and map.

Soy beans: Soybean > Production statistics - countries compared - NationMaster

Wheat (...we are third; behind china and india...): Wheat Production > Grains statistics - countries compared - NationMaster

Interesting stuff.

leroy

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I think Dave is exactly right. See post #98 ^^^^^.

Take the time to dig out and read "War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler.

alibris link here: Alibris: war is a racket, butler. By the way, I paid about

$6.00 bucks for my book; not $44!! Keep watching, they will get cheaper. Dave's point is exactly the point that Butler made in 1935. Interestin aint it?!

leroy

A lot of good points bubble up, eventually:D Some are more timely than others. I'll read that one, thanks.

[RobertNashville]

Just F.Y.I. - I paid $3.31/gallon for Premium (after a $0.10 Kroger discount) at a Kroger gas station today.

[Guest KimberChick]

1. China. Trading the bikes for cars...and don't think for a minute those cars get decent fuel mileage. They aren't as clean or efficient as the stuff the US automakers sell stateside....there have been a few expose stories on this fact....much like how the same US automakers sell cleaner and more efficient vehicles to Europe than they do to us. Why is that? What do they have to gain(or lose) by keeping us in vehicles that get relatively lame MPG...especially in the "small car" market? Anyone open the fuel door of a new Ford recently? "Ford recommends BP fuels." Right there on the gas cap...with the logo! Boom goes the dynamite.

2. Clean energy alternatives. The same hippy-dippy folks who pray to Lord Prius are also against anything but wind and solar power...the nuclear option...out of the question. Wind doesn't blow everywhere and the sun doesn't always shine. So, for now, plug-ins are coal-fueled vehicles, much like the GM EV1 was and the Volt will be. How long before the coal lobby gets in on this oil company action?

3. Ethanol. Is a joke. A decent midwestern farmer's lobby and tenacious porkbarrellers got us the component-destroying fuel blend we have now. So, in addition to the rising oil prices driving up food costs in America, we're also burning our food...and our food's food....under the guise that it helps break dependence on foreign oil. Burning corn raises commodity prices...for corn and pig and cow...and puts money in the pockets of corn farmers....because corn is in EVERYTHING NOW....from the meat you eat to the soda you drink...to the gas you burn getting to the store to buy more corn-containing crap! OH, I SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE! Boom.

4. Speculators. If they say "gas is gonna be $7.00 a gallon by December" then damn it, it will be! And panic ensues and people horde and it creates an artificial shortage and prices go up more, because that's how supply and demand work. The Libyan crap? I've heard anywhere from 3% to 30% of our oil comes from there, depending on whose doing the talking. all I know is, the only refinery in the entire state is about a rock's throw from where I work. It's been going full-tilt boogie for months....fuel trucks galore...backed up in lines...picking up their haul.... Left hand...right hand...

waka waka waka...hold onto your wallets. I'm thinking $5 by June but I hope I'm wrong. Smoke and mirrors are a dangerous game.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, you were being polite about ethanol, too.

When you consider what you said and the use of the oil and gas to produce it, and BTU's of

energy contained in a gallon of ethanol, the huge subsidy required, it is a pitiful substitute.

There was a link on Drudgereport(maybe still there) to an article really trashing the Volt.

Those damned hippies need to go back to their commune, don't they?

Ford has been putting that BP ad on gas caps since at least 06. I have a Focus that has it.

Still scratching my head over that.

I agree with your assessment.

[Guest forte10]

Those damned hippies need to go back to their commune, don't they?

Don't get me started on the earth muffins and granolla munchers...I just moved out here from Eugene, Oregon where I believe they all breed for fun....

Petula oil anyone?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Don't look too close. There are still some stragglers in TN.

[Oh Shoot]

....Petula oil anyone?

Patchouli.

Oh "Erstwhile Hippie Who Can Spell" Shoot

Edited March 2, 2011 by OhShoot

[hardknox00001]

1. China. Trading the bikes for cars...and don't think for a minute those cars get decent fuel mileage. They aren't as clean or efficient as the stuff the US automakers sell stateside....there have been a few expose stories on this fact....much like how the same US automakers sell cleaner and more efficient vehicles to Europe than they do to us. Why is that? What do they have to gain(or lose) by keeping us in vehicles that get relatively lame MPG...especially in the "small car" market? Anyone open the fuel door of a new Ford recently? "Ford recommends BP fuels." Right there on the gas cap...with the logo! Boom goes the dynamite.

2. Clean energy alternatives. The same hippy-dippy folks who pray to Lord Prius are also against anything but wind and solar power...the nuclear option...out of the question. Wind doesn't blow everywhere and the sun doesn't always shine. So, for now, plug-ins are coal-fueled vehicles, much like the GM EV1 was and the Volt will be. How long before the coal lobby gets in on this oil company action?

3. Ethanol. Is a joke. A decent midwestern farmer's lobby and tenacious porkbarrellers got us the component-destroying fuel blend we have now. So, in addition to the rising oil prices driving up food costs in America, we're also burning our food...and our food's food....under the guise that it helps break dependence on foreign oil. Burning corn raises commodity prices...for corn and pig and cow...and puts money in the pockets of corn farmers....because corn is in EVERYTHING NOW....from the meat you eat to the soda you drink...to the gas you burn getting to the store to buy more corn-containing crap! OH, I SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE! Boom.

4. Speculators. If they say "gas is gonna be $7.00 a gallon by December" then damn it, it will be! And panic ensues and people horde and it creates an artificial shortage and prices go up more, because that's how supply and demand work. The Libyan crap? I've heard anywhere from 3% to 30% of our oil comes from there, depending on whose doing the talking. all I know is, the only refinery in the entire state is about a rock's throw from where I work. It's been going full-tilt boogie for months....fuel trucks galore...backed up in lines...picking up their haul.... Left hand...right hand...

waka waka waka...hold onto your wallets. I'm thinking $5 by June but I hope I'm wrong. Smoke and mirrors are a dangerous game.

Hardknox00001 KimberChick

[ttocswob]

I take about a 10% hit on gas mileage w/ ethanol, compared to pure gasoline - it might as well not be there.

We'll see $5 a gallon gas/other flammable substance by June at the latest IMO.

Ant this is not "peak oil" - it's all political.

[RobertNashville]

I think panic and speculation and outright fear more than political influence is what is currently affecting oil and gasoline prices.

The politics that I see is in Washington/Dalai -Bama trying to move us to "green" energy....I have nothing against renewable sources of energy as a general concept but the change to those sources of energy shouldn't be forced on the public; mot especially if the "force" is predicated on ridiculous "global warming" BS.

[Guest db99wj]

1. China. Trading the bikes for cars...and don't think for a minute those cars get decent fuel mileage. They aren't as clean or efficient as the stuff the US automakers sell stateside....there have been a few expose stories on this fact....much like how the same US automakers sell cleaner and more efficient vehicles to Europe than they do to us. Why is that? What do they have to gain(or lose) by keeping us in vehicles that get relatively lame MPG...especially in the "small car" market? Anyone open the fuel door of a new Ford recently? "Ford recommends BP fuels." Right there on the gas cap...with the logo! Boom goes the dynamite.

2. Clean energy alternatives. The same hippy-dippy folks who pray to Lord Prius are also against anything but wind and solar power...the nuclear option...out of the question. Wind doesn't blow everywhere and the sun doesn't always shine. So, for now, plug-ins are coal-fueled vehicles, much like the GM EV1 was and the Volt will be. How long before the coal lobby gets in on this oil company action?

3. Ethanol. Is a joke. A decent midwestern farmer's lobby and tenacious porkbarrellers got us the component-destroying fuel blend we have now. So, in addition to the rising oil prices driving up food costs in America, we're also burning our food...and our food's food....under the guise that it helps break dependence on foreign oil. Burning corn raises commodity prices...for corn and pig and cow...and puts money in the pockets of corn farmers....because corn is in EVERYTHING NOW....from the meat you eat to the soda you drink...to the gas you burn getting to the store to buy more corn-containing crap! OH, I SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE! Boom.

4. Speculators. If they say "gas is gonna be $7.00 a gallon by December" then damn it, it will be! And panic ensues and people horde and it creates an artificial shortage and prices go up more, because that's how supply and demand work. The Libyan crap? I've heard anywhere from 3% to 30% of our oil comes from there, depending on whose doing the talking. all I know is, the only refinery in the entire state is about a rock's throw from where I work. It's been going full-tilt boogie for months....fuel trucks galore...backed up in lines...picking up their haul.... Left hand...right hand...

waka waka waka...hold onto your wallets. I'm thinking $5 by June but I hope I'm wrong. Smoke and mirrors are a dangerous game.

This and very well said!

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I think panic and speculation and outright fear more than political influence is what is currently affecting oil and gasoline prices.

The politics that I see is in Washington/Dalai -Bama trying to move us to "green" energy....I have nothing against renewable sources of energy as a general concept but the change to those sources of energy shouldn't be forced on the public; mot especially if the "force" is predicated on ridiculous "global warming" BS.

Robert, the administration is on record acknowledging the idea that energy prices must"necessarily skyrocket".

Remember that? The BP oil spill is playing into this with Ken Salazar only handing out one permit for some

deep well, but he wants no exploration and no drilling. Federal judges have been ruling against the government's

stance, twice now, I think. You're probably right about fear and speculation, but how did it start? I say the

gov is the major player in the fear, also. And what about the oil and gas fields locked up by the Antiquities

laws(federal)? I'd say the federal government is the problem. Obama is letting his minions do his dirty work.

[TSprint1]

Cheapest diesel we could fine today in Ocala, FL was $3.93.

[Mike.357]

yep raise the price of gas until no one can afford to go to work.

What then, battery cars? So how much does a battery car cost on a 5 year note? And if I can't afford to buy gas how am I supposed to afford a 40,000 car?

[RobertNashville]

Robert, the administration is on record acknowledging the idea that energy prices must"necessarily skyrocket".

Remember that? The BP oil spill is playing into this with Ken Salazar only handing out one permit for some

deep well, but he wants no exploration and no drilling. Federal judges have been ruling against the government's

stance, twice now, I think. You're probably right about fear and speculation, but how did it start? I say the

gov is the major player in the fear, also. And what about the oil and gas fields locked up by the Antiquities

laws(federal)? I'd say the federal government is the problem. Obama is letting his minions do his dirty work.

I don't disagree about the politics; especially in the long term. The "fear" I see out there at the moment is fear that the unrest we've seen in Egypt and Libya might spread to someplace like Saudi Arabia...minor disruption in oil flow from someplace like Libya is nothing...anything that might cause a major disruption from a major produces like the Saudis and we could see the entire world in a sh**storm.

Long term we nee to be developing our own resources while also doing what we can to limit our need for oil...there is nothing wrong with the concept of "green energy" but that doesn't mean we have to commit financial suicide to have it when it doesn't make financial sense.

[Garufa]

yep raise the price of gas until no one can afford to go to work.

Maybe not to the point that we can't go to work anymore but definitely testing the waters to see how far they can go.

The last time prices skyrocketed we heard alot of **** about how it takes 90 days for oil to make it into gas tanks. If that is the case then why does some turbulance TODAY in a couple of minor oil-producing countries cause the base price to jump? To my simple mind prices should jump in 3 months from now.

As long as oil prices are dictated by commodities brokers on open global exchanges (who are the most paranoid tin-foil hatters there are) we will see wild fluctuations in prices. The US is most affected by this as our entire economy is based on oil.

Is there a solution or do I have one? No.

[kieefer]

sadly interesting,

Reston, VA - North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.

A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.

USGS Release: 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montanas Bakken Formation—25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate— (4/10/2008 2:25:36 PM)

sad that we didn't start tapping it in 08

[Garufa]

sadly interesting,

Reston, VA - North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.

A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.

USGS Release: 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation—25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate— (4/10/2008 2:25:36 PM)

sad that we didn't start tapping it in 08

The US consumes something like 20 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL EVERY DAY.

That 4.3 billion barrel estimate would last us 200 days. At what cost?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

The Bakken Formation has evidently been underestimated from the first day it was known. Still, it is just

one of the places oil is known in great quantities. ANWR is vast in a small plot of land. There are oil and gas wells sitting near ANWR capped. There are many permits in Alaska that were being sat on and not utilized.

It was something Sarah Palin acted on as Governor to get corrected. The Gulf of Mexico has vast reserves. Oilsands in Canada is estimated to be as large as the reserves in the middle east oil patch.

Want to keep going?

We have plenty of oil. This is fear based and speculation is running it up, plus our fearless leader has

apologized to the rest of the world for all our years of being the evil USA. The BP oil spill of "Mega"

proportions was a nail in the coffin for exploration and an excuse for the commies to kill our country.

i'm really sorry so many don't believe this. Some people's memories are so short some times.

Edited March 5, 2011 by 6.8 AR

[Oh Shoot]

The Bakken Formation has evidently been underestimated from the first day it was known. Still, it is just

one of the places oil is known in great quantities. ANWR is vast in a small plot of land. There are oil and gas wells sitting near ANWR capped. There are many permits in Alaska that were being sat on and not utilized.

It was something Sarah Palin acted on as Governor to get corrected. The Gulf of Mexico has vast reserves. Oilsands in Canada is estimated to be as large as the reserves in the middle east oil patch.

Want to keep going?

Personally, I believe that if we could chug out oil significantly cheaper than we import it for, we would have been doing a lot more of it, even with environmental/political opposition. And I believe that if Canada could sell us all the oil we need cheaper than we buy it from any other country, they'd have been doing that, too. Why wouldn't they? The answer is, they CAN'T get it out of the ground any cheaper than they are and make a loonie.

When oil hit almost $150/barrel in 2008, it apparently made a lot of US and Canadian sites suddenly worth going for, but of course price came back down before any significant changes. Maybe this time around it will make it feasible. But of course we're talking about $5 or more/gal gasoline period before any of that will happen on a much larger scale.

Maybe there is a huge collusion tween the oil companies, OPEC, the GOP, the CIA, and McDonald's. I don't know. But it's obvious that profit motive for increased domestic production just isn't really there when oil on open market is at $70/barrel or less. Tree huggers and Democrats have never been able to stop real full-tilt boogie greed.

- OS

Edited March 5, 2011 by OhShoot

[Guest 6.8 AR]

We could probably do that now if the enviros and the politicos quit raising the bar, but that would involve

too much cooperation from too many extremes. I doubt it happens until we go through some bad times

and get rid of some very dangerous people to our country. There is a very hig concentration of them in

DC right now.

OS, Suncor has been profitable for quite a while. I don't know how they got around their own country,

but they are producing syncrude out of oil sand since before the high priced barrels, but it is much more

economical when it gets up there.

I meant to add Canada's environmental agencies are a huge stumbling block.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

You're right about the tree huggers and other democrats. But they can sure mooch enough and

regulate stuff out of existence, eventually, if they don't get there way, at first. I'm still confuzed

over the light bulb coup Al Gore and his friends did.

[M4sherman]

The real answer is to start driving 80's model Japanese motorcycles. it is funny how my brothers bike gets 20mpg and mine gets 48mpg with a 50cc and 8 year age difference (his is newer). same thing with cars, The older 80's models get as good or better fuel mileage as the new ones with all of the extra efficiency. a perfect example Toyota corolla and the Geo metro, Both of the older late 80's through early 90's models got upwards of 35-40mpg and now the new cars are barely surpassing them despite 20-30 years in advancements...Or it could be that auto makers are not interested in higher fuel mileage ....

[kieefer]

I'm really surprised that motorcycle fuel mileage hasn't improved that much being most newer bikes are fuel-injected, computer controlled ignition and plasitc coated. But after saying that, my 93XLK650 gets about the same mpg's as my 05FJR1300 45-50 mpg.

But, if you don't mind being seen on a scooter you can get 80-100 mpgs.