Last night my friend said she'd be glad when the "gas shortage" was over

[SoCalDem]

and prices went back down again.. I was flabbergasted when she said that.. I replied: "When was the last time you saw a sign that said "No More Gas Today".."Or OUT OF GAS"?

She was not driving when there was a REAL gas shortage back in the 70's..when your last number on your license plate determined whether you could even BUY gas or not.. There WAS a shortage then, and yes prices DID go up...to about 75 cents a gallon(from about 35cents)..for a few months...

Media is playing fast and loose, and actually making some headway convincing people that the prices are high because of a "shortage"..and some are even trying to make people feel "OK" with the high prices because:

1. Prices are way higher in Europe
2. Starbucks coffee costs more than a gallon of gas
3. Milk costs more than a gallon of gas
4. It's 'only' $6 or $7 extra per week
5. 9-11 changed everything!
6. It's because of the insurgents
7. It's because we aren't drilling in the Arctic yet
8. Shortage of refineries/ accidents at same
and some others..

Those 'arguments' are specious at best..and downright LIES on their face.

There is NO current shortage.. There are no lines around the block.. There are no people running out of gas IN line, and then pushing their cars to the pumps..Gas stations all have PLENTY of gas..

The only "shortage" is the shortage of TRUTH..When BP/Texaco/Mobil/Shell/Exxon/Chevron (who knows what latest mergers actually make them these days)can have a 44% (and more for some) increase in PROFIT in a single quarter, something is verry "rotten in denmark".. The extra 100% you are paying for every gallon you pump, is going directly into the pockets of the fat-cats who give money to *² and his pals, by the shitload..and the very same ones who have so much money, they don't know what to DO with it all.. I have a suggestion for them.. BUILD SOME DAMNED REFINERIES WITH THE WINDFALL-RIP OFF OVERCHARGES.. With the amount of extra cash laying around, I cannot think of a better time to build them..It would help the economy too, with the additional jobs

So while you are deciding: gas for the car for work vs paying the phone bill on time or gas for the car vs back to school stuff for the kids..remember where the "extra' money you are paying is really going..

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. And there certainly is no shortage.....

of oil company profits.

[malmapus]

2. It actually blew me away, I remember on the Daily Show

They were making fun saying "a galleon of milk costs more than a galleon of gas."

That was funny..

The other night on like KCAL 9, they freaking were going on how "if you bought a galleon of white out it would be so much more than a galleon of gas."

I wanted to shout, "who the hell burns a galleon of white out in about as much time!!!"

[Art_from_Ark]

11. And a pound of gold costs more than a pound of ice

Their point is, what, exactly?

[SoCalDem]

14. That we are supposed to parrot their nonsense

and feel all tingley and patriotic as we spend $75 to fill our cars so we can drive to Walmart to buy some Chinese plastic junk :puke:

[electropop]

36. Just think of it as contributing to the "Impeach Bush Fund."

:evilgrin:

Anybody still think Iraq is a war for oil? Nope, it's a war _against_ oil, but _for_ Bushco's oily gang who have big reserves of American crude. Reduce the Mideast supply, and the value of their hoard shoots up.

[ooglymoogly]

63. gee that's a great plot for a movie...how about OIL FINGER

for a title

[electropop]

70. Please, a movie needs a credible plot line.

Who would ever buy:

(1) A supervillain who steals a national election - TWICE?
(2) A justice system that fails to prosecute a traitor for 2 years?
(3) All the media for an entire nation becoming propaganda mouthpieces?
(4) A Congress which permits a serial liar and mass murderer to fool them over and over, and never gets fed up enough to impeach?

It's just way too farfetched for a movie plot.

;-)

[Syncronaut Seven]

34. You could use a gallon of whiteout to paint your galleon!

That'll show 'em! :spray:

[malmapus]

43. lol yeah...mind was elsewhere

problem with posting on multiple boards at once hehe

[freeplessinseattle]

46. a gallon of white-out? hell, one bottle lasts a year or more.

a gallon would last a lifetime, with some left over for inheritance.

How about uh, a gallon of ink toner? or, um, nail polish? ooh, ooh, how about a gallon of Nyquil?

[zbdent]

54. On the wite-out - Bush's speech transcribers

But the screens get covered too soon . . .

[MADem]

56. Hey, tell the kiddies to put gasoline on their cereal!!!

That'll cut your food budget incredibly!!!!

Stunning, how idiotic people are...hey, they're all LIQUIDS, aren't they????

[CitySky]

81. are you sure?

i mean, maybe gas is a gas, right?

/sarcasm

[shoelace414]

3. In California...

the "power shortages" of 2001 ended the moment the democratic senate passed regional energy price caps.

[livetohike]

4. In the 70's people were stealing gas by siphoning it out of car tanks

and that led to locking gas caps!

I remember those days well (sigh). We couldn't afford to drive to the coast for a vacation, so we hitch-hiked 400 miles.

Meanwhile, here in Oceanside gas is $2.72/gallon and my neighbor said they spent $450.00 last month to fill their gas guzzling SUVs.

[Art_from_Ark]

20. Hitchhiking in the '70s

Did you ever get picked up by someone with a "Gas, grass, or ass" bumper sticker?

[SoCalDem]

22. Was that YOU???

:evilgrin:

[Art_from_Ark]

32. 'Tweren't me

O8)
I didn't even have a car in the '70s. But I was hitching with my girlfriend once, and a truck with that sticker proudly displayed on the bumper stopped. My girlfriend wanted to take the ride, but I didn't, for obvious reasons. She started walking toward the truck, and I had to follow, sweating bullets the whole time. Fortunately, it was a woman who had borrowed her son's vehicle.

Whew!

[livetohike]

23. I don't remember

:-)

[mongo]

55. My neighbors were stealing my gas for the last few months

I suspected it a couple of times, but wrote it off as my imagination, until a couple of weeks ago when I lost more than 1/8 of a tank.

It must have been going on for a while, just a gallon every few days, because I am lasting two more days on a tank now that I have a locking gas cap.

These are my neighbors.

[MADem]

58. That was SO common during the gas shortage

A few things I remember:

With odd-even days, you were lucky if you had two cars, one with an ODD plate, and the other EVEN. That way, you could always get gas no matter what day it was.

Ron Popeil sold this giant plastic hypodermic device on late night TV, so you could siphon the gas out of your odd car and put it in your even car, or vice versa (or steal gas from someone without a locking tank....!).

Locking gas caps became all the rage. Bummer when you lost the key!

Miserable bastards in the city would actually steal gas late at night from people with locking gas caps by PUNCTURING the gas tank with an ice pick, and then put a pan under the car to catch the leaking gas--this happened to several friends of mine.

Your neighbors are total assholes. Pity you didn't set up a video and catch them before you locked the tank.

[mongo]

71. Puncturing gas tanks?

Damn that's low.

I'm pretty sure who it is too. I own a store so I must be rich, right? Plus, I'm the only person on the block that hasn't lived there all their life - and we are talking about 25yo's that are still mooching off their parents.

The crackheads who used to live in the now abandoned house next to me used to steal the light bulbs out of my porch light too.

[livetohike]

61. We lived in the city (Pgh.) back in the 70's

Stealing gas was a common thing going on then. I'm sure it has to be happening now, too.

Glad you caught on to the thievery.

[sunnystarr]

64. At least they were smarter than the two featured on Countdown

who broke into a company site to steal their fuel. Only problem was it was diesel and the two gas thieves didn't get too far lol.

[sunnystarr]

65. I remember the long lines in the 70's

and they talked about the problem with refineries ... we didn't have enough refineries they said and it seemed like the problem was big enough to do something about it. They never built new refineries and the talk of the day was of the oil tankers who were sitting out in the waters not delivering the oil. After all it wouldn't be right to call it a shortage and deliver that oil. They had to make sure they weren't lying.

[rman]

5. more reasons for high fuel prices:

- the oil companies are price gouging
- the energy market has panicked because of all the loony talk about peakoil


The one thing that's certainly by all means definately NOT the reason for high oil and fuel prices, is peakoil.
Or so the truth tellers of the mainstream media would have us believe.

[lectrobyte]

37. peak oil "loony talk"... might want to research that one a bit more.

[rman]

47. it's the MSM saying PO is loony talk, not me

[lectrobyte]

80. sorry, didn't mean to sound schoolmarmish, misunderstood your

post. Whether you believe "peak oil" projections etc. (and I happen to do -- common sense seeems to indicate there is only so much under the ground there to be pumped out), the whole lack-of-energy planning and SUV-crazy time in this country will be looked on from the future as the craziest, if not the evilest f-ing thing ever. You know what I think I mean?

[RaleighNCDUer]

42. I think it is peak oil.

The oil companies know they will be essentially out of business in 20 years, so they are racking up all the billions they can while the getting is good.

In another five years it will be so obvious that even our government will subsidize alternatives, but the oil execs will live out their days in their 20 million dollar mansions, untouched by the coming energy collapse.

[northzax]

77. it's not gouging

actually, in my opinion. selling gasoline is a percentage based business, they get a percentage cut of every gallon they sell. The higher the price, the greater that percentage is worth. They don't need to gouge, the system is built to give them higher profits in times of higher prices, which is why they don't bother to expand capacity, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they did.

[peekaloo]

6. Good thing Kerry isn't in office or we would be seeing record

gas prices......wait....nevermind.

:sarcasm:

I love saying that to Bu$hbots when they whine about gas prices. *stomp feet* *mutter*

[BOSSHOG]

7. More people die in car accidents that in the Iraq War

More conservative logic. I look forward to listening to the poor white trash bush base here in South Mississippi who can barely afford their beer and pork rinds to start rationalizing the price of gas as either insignificant or a good thing brought to us by conservatives.

[rateyes]

8. Reported on one of the morning shows this morning...

that Exxon-Mobil's profit margin alone has risen from 21 to 31 BILLION dollars.....47% increase in PROFITS, not revenue PROFITS...which means that if they dropped price of gas down to point they were making ONLY 21 billion in PROFITS....that gas could come down to about 1.25 a gallon....

And, these people want us to think they are PATRIOTIC AMERICANS!!
Bullshit.

[jsamuel]

9. There is no gas shortage, only gas price rises

[WCGreen]

10. There is a shortage....

It's in the capabilities of the oil companies to refine and ship their product to the consumer in a cheap and effective way....


Something I posted way back in May of 2001 at BartCop

The tone of a recent speech given before the Newspaper publishers, vice-president Dick Cheney was decidedly dark. Cheney spoke of an impending energy crisis in terms that bordered on the apocalyptic. With present production at near capacity, we can not keep up with the increasing demand for energy. Our Nation's pipelines that transport natural gas can handle no more. The crisis is upon us, we must act quickly. We must act quickly or face a very bleak future.
"The present crisis does not represent a failing of the American people," he said, but rather is "the result of short-sighted domestic policies — or, as in recent years, no policy at all." Washington Times May 2, 2001.



There hasn't been any new refineries coming on line for decades....

Now whose' responsible for this. Certainly it is not us, meaning consumers, rather it is the oil companies seeing the ramp up of demand coming and refusing to deal with the situation bu adding more refining capabilities. So now the oil industry is getting hues government subsidies to ramp up refining capabilities while we pay more than twice what we paid in 2000.

[SoCalDem]

12. That may be true, BUT why would the oil companies be making

SO MUCH extra if the price to deliver wentup, and the "cost was passed on to the consumer".. Our prices would risem, but their profits would remain somewhat static if they were not GOUGING US:)

[crispini]

29. Here's what I don't understand about that argument.

How does the refinery shortage lead to a hike in the price of CRUDE? Crude oil = before refining, right? So I can see where it leads to a hike in the price of GAS (after refining) but I don't get why it leads to hikes in the price of crude?

To me that's like saying that a lack of clothing manufacturers is leading to hikes in the price of cotton. Huh? Clothes, yes. Cotton, no.

Or what am I missing?

[jsamuel]

40. You are absolutely right. The high price of CRUDE OIL comes from STOCKS.

People are buying oil to INVEST IN IT. (WHICH RAISES THE PRICE)

They think that the prices will keep going up, so they buy more of it at it's current price.

If prices go to 100 dollars per barrel, those who bought at 50 dollars per barrel will have DOUBLED how ever much money the put in in the first place.

Invest 100 million in crude oil, get 200 million back.

[WCGreen]

75. The cost of gas has gone up more than the cost of oil...

Why else would the oil company's be making so much profit....

Today on CNBC, they put up a graph that said Mobil had made 21 billion in profit in 2004. This year, with crude up higher and the amount of gasoline relatively static since the refinery capacity has not increased, the profits were expected to be 31 billion....

They control the distribution chain. They control the cost at the pumps. They dictate to the statio owners what they can charge for the gas....

The margins for the retailers are actually falling.....

So, who is making the money?

[WCGreen]

76. The price of crude is irrelavent.......

It is the price of gasoline that should be examined. In the last eight months of so, the cost of gas has risen more than 50% while the cost of a barrel has gone up only about 38%....

[RaleighNCDUer]

45. You believe this because Cheney said it?

No, there haven't been any new refineries built IN THE US in the past many years. But my understanding is that refineries are being built overseas, and a lot of the shipping is of already refined product, which makes a lot of sense, economically.

I think the energy policy was decided on before they got into office, and part of that policy was to create a crisis to allow the industry to gain RECORD PROFITS.

Their energy policy is not a failure. It is working exactly as planned.

[Walt Starr]

13. Gas prices are NEVER going to go down

You can tell your friend that for me.

If we see a decrease, it will be small. Gasoline will never get below $2.00/gal and probably will never again get below $2.25/gal.

Once they get the entire country over $3.00/gal there will be a push to go higher yet so that coming down means hovering around $3.05/gal.

[SoCalDem]

15. I said the same thing last year as they were edging up..

Get them SO high for an extended time, so that when they decide to 'drop' them to $2, people will breathe a sigh of relief and say "Thank you Jesus..for the cheap gas"

:puke:

[SmokingJacket]

41. Yep... and then $2.95 will seem like a bargain...

and people will start buying gas guzzlers again...

[Imagevision]

18. "Gas prices are NEVER going to go down" sad, but I agree!!

[MadHound]

16. Better than building more gas refineries

Let us put the power of the market to work for us. Start by ditching any stand alone gas fueled vehicle. Instead, start driving hybrids, and diesels fueled with biodiesel.

Then start putting in wood heating systems, solar panels, and/or wind turbines.

Insulate your house and make it tight.

Start using more mass transit, bikes, car pooling, etc.

I know not everybody can afford all of these measures, but we can all afford some of them, and if we all started dropping our gas consumption, we can leave these corporate thieves to drown in their own gas. And the world, and the enviroment will be a better place because of it.

[kestrel91316]

27. We can't afford NOT to do these things.

[CitySky]

82. hear, hear

common sense, all of it

too bad we don't have the leadership to back it up right now.

[Toots]

17. Tell her when Republicans are out of Power things will return to normal

We all know Bush* is a Lame Duck and it is now the entire Republican Party we need to hold accountable. End their Abuse of Power and America will once again shine brightly.

[etherealtruth]

19. Oil reserves ARE finite ...

...as world supply diminishes the cost will rise incredible amounts as it becomes more and more complicated to get to remaining reserves ...

That said, we're not there yet ... the "energy" bill's give away to energy corps (that coincidentally have enjoyed record profits) is OBSCENE and IMMORAL ... thanks George and your evil cabal.

[PurityOfEssence]

53. Such a simple and obvious fact that's lost on virtually everyone

Not only that, the demand is skyrocketing with India and China gettin' the fever. Sadly, the cheap labor of both of these countries and the accessibility through the internet have us stoking the fires of their economies and increasing their demand.

Couple this with the corporate habit of overstating reserves, and we have what will be a precipitous fall. It's just crazy, and all I can think about was an idiotic thread on this board a few weeks ago where someone was railing that history doesn't repeat itself. There are so many parallels to what's going on and what's about to happen that it's dizzying to even think about them.

[etherealtruth]

69. I've been posting the same points all over ...

"We" are focused on the wrong problem ... gas prices (albeit a serious, but very short term problem).

We desperately NEED to be developing (and making affordable) new technologies ... in the interim we NEED to make the technologies we have as efficient as possible. I know people don't like the "C" word; however, responsible U.S (and worldwide) leadership would be demanding strict conservation measures NOW.

(I know I'm "preaching to choir" right now!)

[CitySky]

83. "and the church said,

AMEN!"

[Bozita]

21. Coming soon: BigOil CEOs "earn" $30-50mil/yr

This could be the year.

[IrateCitizen]

24. Your conclusions are fallacious...

The only "shortage" is the shortage of TRUTH..When BP/Texaco/Mobil/Shell/Exxon/Chevron (who knows what latest mergers actually make them these days)can have a 44% (and more for some) increase in PROFIT in a single quarter, something is verry "rotten in denmark".. The extra 100% you are paying for every gallon you pump, is going directly into the pockets of the fat-cats who give money to *² and his pals, by the shitload..and the very same ones who have so much money, they don't know what to DO with it all.. I have a suggestion for them.. BUILD SOME DAMNED REFINERIES WITH THE WINDFALL-RIP OFF OVERCHARGES.. With the amount of extra cash laying around, I cannot think of a better time to build them..It would help the economy too, with the additional jobs

I'm disappointed that you would fall for the old refineries line, because it largely is not true -- except for the gas increases in the past couple of weeks.

The price of gasoline, per gallon, has gone up virtually hand-in-hand with the price of oil, per barrel. In fact, I read recently an analysis that compared how much gas prices are gone up directly with how much oil has gone up, accounting for the number of gallons of gasoline taken from a barrel of crude, and the numbers were virtually IDENTICAL.

What this tells me is that the problem is not a refinery shortage, it is an emerging supply issue. There simply is not any excess oil capacity on the global market anymore, and price shocks will become standard operating precedure over the near future, as demand keeps bumping up against supply.

The significant increases over the past few weeks have been a result of summer driving increases combined with lack of refining capacity. But the oil companies are not going to build more refineries when they know that supply is not going to increase, but rather plateau and then begin to decrease. Of course they're going to squeeze every last drop of profit they can while the getting's good -- after all, that's good ol' American capitalism, screwing over others (even your own mother) in order to make an extra buck.

If you really want to help ease this problem then the solution is to simply start building our communities and living spaces in ways that aren't so damned dependent on automobiles. Revitalize our rail network so that most freight is moved by train rather than truck. Those are the longer-term solutions. If you're blaming this solely on the oil companies, then you're blinding yourself to the long term in pursuit of more short-term thinking.

I would suggest checking out www.energybulletin.net and reading through the treasure trove of info they have to better acquaint yourself with the reality of peak oil coming upon us.

[SoCalDem]

30. Sorry to be a short term thinker.. but i am immensely annoyed

that the press is trying to cover for the obscene PROFITS of the oil companies..

I think most people KNOW what needs to be done.. Carter put the mechanisms in place, and we all know what happened to those plans..Reagan/Reagan-Bush and now another bush..

I guess in a while it won't really matter anyway.. we seem to be headed for shit jobs all around, so cars might go by the wayside for lots of folks anyway.. No car..no need for gas..

Sorry..just ramblin'..:hi:

[IrateCitizen]

38. The press is closer to the oil companies than to us...

Remember, the "press" is owned by multibillion dollar corporations as well, ones that make their own obscene profits. Their role is not to expose the obscene profits of the oil industry, but rather to help justify them whenever possible -- and when that fails, to sweep them under the rug.

One thing that is interesting is that in the face of constricting energy supplies over the last several years, the oil companies have not invested significant sums in exploration. Rather, they have gone on a merger and consolidation orgy. What this indicates is that they recognize what the real situation is, and they are simply trying to keep their stock prices and earnings up in the short term, to make as much money as they can regardless of the eventual misery their actions cause.

All you can do in the face of all of this is to inform yourself as much as possible, prepare yourself as much as possible, and talk to others who are willing to listen as much as possible. It doesn't do any good to talk to those who aren't willing to acknowledge this -- reality will wake them up soon enough, and it won't be your fault if you at least just tried to warn them.

[Strelnikov_]

57. Irate Presented A Fine Summary Of The Situation

One additional note. The 'Seven Sisters' (old name for 'big oil') are now somewhat minor players in the overall crude supply picture.

The vast majority of reserves are now held by nationalized oil (SA, Iran, Venezuela, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Russia, Mexico). In fact, there was a good article months ago about how one of the purposes of the Iraq invasion was to open up the nationalized reserves of Iraq to Cheney's darlings, the 'Seven Sisters'.

The pricing pressure is from free market futures bidding on a price inelastic fungible commodity where peak supply~=demand. All the 'Sisters' and the national oil companies listed above are more than happy to sell at these 'bid up' prices.

(I include Russia in nationalized reserves since recent actions by Putin that indicate State control is forthcoming.)

[IrateCitizen]

74. Good point regarding the Seven Sisters...

After all, it was their control over the North Sea and Alaskan production that helped loosen OPEC's stranglehold on world energy markets in the 1970's, and now those fields are going into rapid decline. They need new territory to exploit.

And if there aren't any new significant fields coming on line, well hell, just go after someone else's fields. It was no coincidence that the new Iraqi officials who came out of exile said they would open up Iraq's oil to foreign companies....

[Strelnikov_]

87. Found The Article "Oil Companies Control A Mere 4 Percent"

Crude Dudes
The Toronto Star
Sep. 20, 2004

http://www.energybulletin.net/2156.html

. . .

Gheit just smiles at the notion that oil wasn't a factor in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He compares Iraq to Russia, which also has large undeveloped oil reserves. But Russia has nuclear weapons. "We can't just go over and ... occupy (Russian) oil fields," says Gheit. "It's a different ballgame." Iraq, however, was defenceless, utterly lacking, ironically, in weapons of mass destruction. And its location, nestled in between Saudi Arabia and Iran, made it an ideal place for an ongoing military presence, from which the U.S. would be able to control the entire Gulf region. Gheit smiles again: "Think of Iraq as a military base with a very large oil reserve underneath .... You can't ask for better than that."

. . .

One reason that regime change in Iraq was seen as offering significant benefits for Big Oil was that it promised to open up a treasure chest which had long been sealed — private ownership of Middle Eastern oil. A small group of major international oil companies once privately owned the oil industries of the Middle East. But that changed in the 1970s when most Middle Eastern countries (and some elsewhere) nationalized their oil industries. Today, state-owned companies control the vast majority of the world's oil resources. The major international oil companies control a mere 4 per cent.

The majors have clearly prospered in the new era, as developers rather than owners, but there's little doubt that they'd prefer to regain ownership of the oil world's Garden of Eden. "(O)ne of the goals of the oil companies and the Western powers is to weaken and/or privatize the world's state oil companies," observes New York-based economist Michael Tanzer, who advises Third World governments on energy issues.

. . .

[ChairmanAgnostic]

25. Fill her up with starbucks? Of all the silly comparisons

the 44% increase in profits IS the story, as is the agreement by the powers that be with this situation.



there is a sliver of silver in the dark cloud - at $3/ gallon, people have breached a mental wall and will start changing their behavior. Smaller cars, fewer trips, shorter trips, walking instead of a short drive. They will also laugh and point fingers at drivers inside Escapades and Hummers and by shear embarrassmnent force them off the road.

More and more Senators are looking back at the Energy bill they just agreed to, and for the first time, they noticed that it does nothing for conservation.

[dogday]

26. They do this every spring through fall

raise the price of gas for vacations etc. There is a need for more oil in the summertime and they know it and take advantage of it.

[redqueen]

28. Recommended!

:bounce:

Why are so many people STILL so easy to fool?

[SoCalDem]

31. Because lots of people still want to believe

and when they are offered a plausible excuse, they just accept it and go on with their lives..:eyes:..especially when the 'pretty lady & the nice-looking man' tell them what they should believe.

[redqueen]

39. I'll never understand that...

at least not outside the concept of infatuation / love.

The whole "wanting to believe" thing seems to be more a hindrance to progress than just about anything else in the world.

[pdxmom]

33. The cost of milk here is $2.29. Gas yesterday was $2.51. n/t

[SoCalDem]

35. Now all you need is somebody to convert your car...Moo..fill 'er up!

:)

[rucky]

44. Oil Companies post record profits. End of Story. n/t

[rman]

49. Not all Oil Companies post record profits - not end of story

British Petroleum profits are disappointing:

BBC
Strong oil demand lifts BP profit
26 July 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4716639.stm

"Our record first half financial results could not have been delivered without the significant investments made over the last decade," said BP chief executive Lord Browne."

"There has to be higher spending, but I think they are doing that on the research and development front," said Elissa Bayer of Gerrards stockbrokers"

"However, Lord Browne warned it was not certain that the second six months would be as profitable as the first half of 2005."

"BP's shares fell 2% to 629.5 pence as investors factored in the cost of the compensation pay-out."

=======

Exxon's record profit was in 2004, not now
http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,11319,1402979,00.html

=======

OPEC is running at near maximum capacity (source: NBC TODAY), which means their production capacity will start to decline within a matter of years. Then they will have to make huge investments to exploit less profitable sources of oil.

[tk2kewl]

48. True... but... Seymour Hersh suggested that Iran, Saudi Arabia & Venezuela

are talking embargo!

[stevedeshazer]

50. I'll be glad when the integrity shortage is over.

I'm sure *Bushco will launch an "investigation"...after they all come back from vacation. :eyes:

[kitkat65]

51. Maybe I can get that pony I've always wanted since I was a little girl...

How about the new energy bill?

The tax breaks for the oil industry arae obsene. But besides that, there was no long term plan and little thought for the future of alternative forms of energy or even development of public transportation infrastructure.

[obreaslan]

52. My suggestion....

Start gathering all the road kill and vegetation you can, bury it in the back yard, and in just a few short million years...bingo, you have your own oil reserve. ;)

[Jackpine Radical]

59. Ah, but there WILL be an end to the gas shortage.

It will be called the Gas Outage.

[benburch]

60. We interrupt this thread...

[dalloway]

62. smart thread

[nashville_brook]

66. We were SLAVES to BUSH and the OIL WARS

(get free -- or at least as free as possible)

For the last year and a half we have been prisoners in a massive slave ring -- a vast conspiracy of government and corporate interests employing advanced mind-control techniques designed for nothing less than global domination.

http://johnsoncity.blogspot.com/2005/08/we-were-slaves-to-bush-and-oil-wars.html

[Ouabache]

85. yes buy a hybrid, and what job am I supposed to have to make payments?

is there a hybrid anywhere I can pick up for $2995 used?

[Tactical Progressive]

67. Tell her she needs to buy a bigger SUV

with a bigger gas tank. That way, with the bigger gas tank, she won't have to fill it up as often. Since she won't have to stop at the gas station as often, she won't be spending as much on gas. I mean, if you only stop for gas once a week instead of twice a week, then you save a bundle.

Argue that point dogmatically, since it's simple math. Or at least the kind of simple math that suffuses the entire nest of right-wing lunacy in every aspect of their approach to the increasingly difficult problems we face. Like sure, you lost your job, but America has a 'robust' economy, so what's the problem?

I'm trying to learn to think like a right-winger. It's hard, but people seem to like their solutions.

[TexasLawyer]

68. Strategic Petroleum Reserves

If supplies are so tight, why are corporate storage reserves so high?

And why is the US not only not releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, but actively injecting into reserve the maximum amount of crude per day that the SPR can accomodate.

The Feds are taking oil produced here-- ready to be refined and sold-- off the market!

Why this isn't in the paper I don't know... or then again, maybe I do.

[mongo]

72. Does the price fluctuate daily or hourly where you are too?

The local stations change the price of gas every day now.

One station lowers their price until 11pm when Walmart closes, then raises the price by .10 until the next morning.

[LibertyorDeath]

73. It's the "brain shortage"

That's the problem IMO

[liberalpress]

78. Top Ten reasons why you should Stop complaining about the price of gas!

#10 Why do you hate America?

#9 High gas prices are a direct result of Clinton getting blown in the Oval Office

#8 Demand increased by need for fuel to keep Dick Cheney's heart pump running.

#7 Why do you hate America?

#6 More illegal aliens = more opportunities for lawn maintenance personnel!

#5 The average person spends more on an elite military school for the bratty sons every year than they do on gas for their Hummer..

#4 And speaking of hummers see #9!

#3 Why do you hate America.

#2 Liberals wasting gallons of gas trying to drive around Michael Moore's big, fat ass! Ha-Ha!

And the number one reason you should stop complaining about the price of gas.... why do you hate America?

[SoCalDem]

79. Good one

:rofl:

[Pepperbelly]

84. Absolutely, categorically, totally TRUE. You hit the nail on the head.

All it would take would be the mere ANNOUNCEMENT of a serious DOJ investigation into price fixing and gouging and the prices would fall faster than respect for George Bush.

[Warren DeMontague]

86. You mean, after we find all that gas that's stashed on the MOON?

It's astounding how many people don't seem to understand what a "finite resource" is.