Gas prices are outrageous... still Bush's fault??

I still think we should just drill in Alaska. Who cares if we kill some freaking caribou? OPEC is the cause of high gas prices. They limit supply to keep prices high. If they wanted to they could flood the market with oil and we could have plenty of cheap gas, but greedy people exist outside of the "the west" too.

Either Obama has big oil buddies too or it's still Bush's fault. That's the only reasons I can think of.

There is absolutely NO REASON why gas couldn't be priced at $1.50/gal. The various oil companies would STILL make money hand over fist.

quote:

Originally posted by Dusty1963:
Either Obama has big oil buddies too or it's still Bush's fault. That's the only reasons I can think of.

Yeah, but Obama's big oil buddies are the towel head dictators, you know; his fellow Muslims.

It is the law of supply and demand, which the libtards who were blaming Bush did not understand. As long as third world merging countries such as India, and the sleeping giant China, continue their pursuit of a car in every garage and their massive building projects, the US will have to compete with them on the world oil stage, and we will pay more for our fuel.
There is no reason that all of it has to be bought from foreign companies though, we have resources here we can tap into and lessen the burden until more fuel alternatives come into play, but we are to stupid to drill in our own back yards. Instead we can let the Russians and Canadians, and the Chinese, horizontal drill our resources out from under us.
Anyone blaming Bush and Cheney nowadays is simple showing their ignorance. Barry could do more to help the situation, but he is bound by his promises to the tree huggers and environmentalists.

quote:

Originally posted by 47.m450n.47:
I still think we should just drill in Alaska. Who cares if we kill some freaking caribou? OPEC is the cause of high gas prices. They limit supply to keep prices high. If they wanted to they could flood the market with oil and we could have plenty of cheap gas, but greedy people exist outside of the "the west" too.

It is estimated that there are between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of oil in ANWR. The Department of Energy website states that the US uses about 6.9 billion barrels of oil per year. Therefore, all of the oil in ANWR would last us anywhere between a little less than one year, to a little more than two years.

The answer is to find an alternative energy source. (NOT ethanol!)

It seems like we're making big advances in the automotive industry to bring feasible electric vehicles to market. Granted that the automotive sector is just one market for oil, and there are tons of others. Either way, I would be happy with a year or two of cheaper gas.

Also, those are only estimated figures. There could be more, or there could be less. I still say we should go drill it and find out.

US oil is readily available. To maximize its value, that oil will not be tapped until prices jump to $5-6-7/gallon. Mexico and South America have lots of oil, available now.

quote:

It is estimated that there are between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of oil in ANWR. The Department of Energy website states that the US uses about 6.9 billion barrels of oil per year. Therefore, all of the oil in ANWR would last us anywhere between a little less than one year, to a little more than two years.

Yes, but crude oil is a highly fungible commodity. In other words, the oil in ANWR could be easily substituted with the oil from, well, anywhere else.

It's not as if we would exclusively use that oil for 1-3 years, run out, and then be begging other countries for their oil. Just adding that oil to the world market could drive prices down and put pressure on other oil producing countries to avoid price manipulation. That could simultaneously lower the demand for ANWR oil, thus ensuring it lasts longer.

quote:

Originally posted by O No!:

quote:

Originally posted by 47.m450n.47:
I still think we should just drill in Alaska. Who cares if we kill some freaking caribou? OPEC is the cause of high gas prices. They limit supply to keep prices high. If they wanted to they could flood the market with oil and we could have plenty of cheap gas, but greedy people exist outside of the "the west" too.

It is estimated that there are between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of oil in ANWR. The Department of Energy website states that the US uses about 6.9 billion barrels of oil per year. Therefore, all of the oil in ANWR would last us anywhere between a little less than one year, to a little more than two years.

The answer is to find an alternative energy source. (NOT ethanol!)

By your logic, if $100,000 was located beneath the ground in your back yard and you lost your job, you would pass on it because it would only replace your earnings for a year or two.

quote:

Originally posted by Fighting Illini:

quote:

Originally posted by O No!:

quote:

Originally posted by 47.m450n.47:
I still think we should just drill in Alaska. Who cares if we kill some freaking caribou? OPEC is the cause of high gas prices. They limit supply to keep prices high. If they wanted to they could flood the market with oil and we could have plenty of cheap gas, but greedy people exist outside of the "the west" too.

It is estimated that there are between 5.7 and 16 billion barrels of oil in ANWR. The Department of Energy website states that the US uses about 6.9 billion barrels of oil per year. Therefore, all of the oil in ANWR would last us anywhere between a little less than one year, to a little more than two years.

The answer is to find an alternative energy source. (NOT ethanol!)

By your logic, if $100,000 was located beneath the ground in your back yard and you lost your job, you would pass on it because it would only replace your earnings for a year or two.

No, I would FIND ANOTHER JOB! Because if that $100,000 were like oil, if I dug it up I would have to give it to the "money companies" who would charge me just as much to use it as if I had never found it. Sure, it sounds simple enough, but really, oil companies are earning record profits. No matter how much oil we find and drill, do you think they are going to lower their profit margin?

If we drill in ANWR, a lot of that oil will go to China or India, just as the oil available today does. We can't strongarm the oil companies into letting only Americans have that oil, and at cheaper prices too.

All I am saying is that we need to find a alternative energy source. We have known for decades that someday we would run out of oil. If the Obama administration would challenge scientists to find a cheap, reliable source of energy before the decade is out, sort of in the same way Kennedy did with the moon landing, I would be willing to bet they could come up with something.

Nice try, but you are wrong. Please refer to teyates' post on supply and demand. Also, you lost any credibility when you started whining about oil companies making money. They have some of the lowest profit margins compared to most other industries. What are they supposed to do? Give it away for free? OPEC's power is the real issue and as long as we continue to fight oil discovery on our own soil prices will continue to rise.

Sorry Illini, but YOU are wrong. Oil companies have a profit margin of anywhere between 7 to 10 percent. Except for copper, right now most companies have about the same average profit margins, or less. I'm talking about stores, manufacturers of cleaning products, you name it. Here is an interesting website that shows profit margins for various industries:

http://www.theonlineinvestor.c...margins/gas_utility/


Because oil companies are the only players in the game, they can charge whatever they want. That is why they have been making record profits throughout this recession, and have been giving record bonuses.

I'm not "whining" about oil companies. I'm being realistic.

Does anyone know what country supplies the most oil to the United States? Try to answer without an internet search. You might be suprised. Take a guess.

Canada

Correct.

LOL, yeah and what really makes it a head scratcher is when you factor in the #2 importer. (You know the answer as well dontcha LE89)

I've sat here and wondered several times what was really behind NAFTA AND CAFTA. Did we exchange our textiles etc for an oil market under those agreements?

Thoughts LE89???????

quote:

Because oil companies are the only players in the game, they can charge whatever they want. That is why they have been making record profits throughout this recession, and have been giving record bonuses.

Incorrect.

If oil companies could charge whatever they wanted, their margins would be higher. They are seeing record profits in actual dollars because oil is getting more expensive due to increased demand. Many industries achieve higher margins than oil. Additionally, I've already pointed out that oil is a highly fungible commodity, making oil from anywhere in the world interchangable with oil from other parts of the world. It is a global commodity, and in the global market the largest oil companies are state owned. The profit motive is not driving oil prices.

There is a school of thought that demands that high oil prices will force us to change our habits , vehicle selections and develop renewable energy sources. I think its true.

George Bush is a dullard and a war criminal, his negative impact on our country will be felt for generations, just as Clinton's signing of NAFTA will be a thorn in our sides until it's changed.

/the price of oil is only important because it affects us daily. You can thank Wall Street speculators for that.