Comments on: Congress Divided On Energy Plan

As Gasoline Prices Soar, Both Democratic And GOP Proposals Face Difficult Odds

[killtheliars]

here are a few thoughts.
In the 70''s oil and gas were controlled and overseen by the government. Once the oil and gas industry was privatized gas princes jumped instantly and have never dropped near what they were before.
Do not let companies refining gas and diesel here in the U.S. export it to cheaper markets. I am pasting a link to an article that will blow your mind. The bottom line is a freight company owner in AZ cannot afford $4.00 per gallon diesel. He purchased a 500 gallon tanker and started going over to mexico and purchasing the same U.S. refined deisel for $2.00 per gallon
http://www.oilwatchdog.org/articles/?storyId=19882&topicId=8068
My question is why are we in the U.S. paying $4.00 for a product that sells for $2.00 in Mexico. If Mexican cannot afford more then $2.00 wouldn''t it make more sense to keep it all in the U.S increase supply and hopefully drop the price of deisel in the U.S. by a dollar or so. Also who the hell cares what people in mexico can and cannot afford?

[fstop100]

Our oil companies do not pay the open market prices for oil. They own most of their own wells and get the oil for almost nothing. Refining costs yes, but they sell everyday based on crude prices. This means windfall profits, and a very few people becoming very wealthy.
Big oil has alway been based on Greed.

[oscarez]

The world is going to run out of crude oil in 30 years and the congress will still be debating what to do about it. The EU will have solved the problem and will be the world%u2019s top economic power.

[andylance1]

"Most areas of federal offshore waters outside the western Gulf of Mexico have been placed off limits to drilling by a succession of presidential orders and congressional action to protect tourist industries and avoid the risk of spills and environmental damage."

This the primary reason we do not have enough domestic oil and have to import oil from Chavez and the Middle East.

How much financial pain does the American consumer have to endure before we permit oil drilling off coastal waters?

We must build more oil refineries and nuclear energy plants. We have to accept some risk. Why not fine the oil companies $750 million if they have an oil spill?
Like the ostrich, Congress has their head buried in the sand. Individual states should not be allowed to veto oil and gas exploration and drilling.

We must also end the folly of farm subsidies and ethanol for fuel.

[wdrussell1]

I know what you are saying sjc_1. Also one year in Iraq, we have been there 5 years, is enough money to put solar panels on EVERY home in America.

[sjc_1]

More than 80% of the world''s oil reserves are in the hands of national oil companies. One half of the known reserves are in the middle east. We need to get hybrids and cellulose ethanol going in a big way. Peak world oil production may be reached in the next few years at about 100 million barrels per day. Oil is a finite resource and with demand increasing there is no way supply can keep up on our present path. Reserve replacement has fallen behind for years. They are suppose to find a barrel for each one that they pump out, they have not and will not. Mexico is in decline and Canada is processing expensive tar sands. It is time for a change and I think people know this.

[forthepeopl1]

it has nothing to with opec.

united states of america get 3/4 of its oil from ,

mexico, and canada,

wake up america

[missingamerica]

Carter started ethanol and synthetic fuels in the U.S. Reagan decided to send war ships to the Gulf and we know the rest. Just 1 year''''s spending in Iraq invested in cellulose ethanol plants would allow us to not have to buy any more middle eastern oil. It would be nice not to be manipulated by other countries. I would call that better National Security.

Posted by sjc_1 at 10:09 AM : May 12, 2008

Interesting and true point...Carter generally got shafted by the consequences of Big Oil''s ability to keep America addicted to oil.

Because of that economic shock from the OPEC oil embargo, then as now our economy took a huge hit - which in turn enabled the Republicans and their policies of "the rich should get richer even at the expense of the rest of America", inequitable "free trade", our wars in the Gulf, and on and on and on...

In general, oil is both our nation''s primary strategic vulnerability and our nation''s primary corrupting influence.

I wonder what Cheney would think should somebody take his war-enabling statement that "Oil remains fundamentally a government business." to the next step that our rapidly approaching crisis makes both logical and self-evident and nationalize all oil companies?

[talkingham]

My eneregy plan is nationalize the the oil companies and oil resources in this country. If oil isn''t crucial to our national security and national economy then what is? After all, we are killing thousands of people in Iraq so the oil resources of Iraq "can belong to the Iraqi people." Obviously the oil resources in the US belong to a few greedy billionaires and CEOs.

Just last Fall the price of oil dropped to $44/barrel before it was artificially hiked back up to the absurd levels. Back when gas was $2.50gal in January I said Bush would have it up to $4/gal by the end of Summer. Well the liar and decider heir Bush proved me wrong, it will be $4 by the start of Summer and likely $5gal by the end of Summer. This liar won''t stop until he wrecks our economy just like every business daddy Bush ever bought lil Bush.

[rochest]

how about conservation with tax breaks for homeowners that insulate and byte energy-efficient light bulbs cars and appliances ..... the subsidies/tax credits available presently are very wimpy.

invest in renewable energy research and development to a much greater extent than presently ... and what about more solar farms in our deserts ? I know the native Americans have large unemployment rates would they be interested in having solar farms in their South Western reservations?

in order to solve this problem we need to think outside the box not keep looking the same old energy sources for the answer!

[sjc_1]

Carter started ethanol and synthetic fuels in the U.S. Reagan decided to send war ships to the Gulf and we know the rest. Just 1 year''s spending in Iraq invested in cellulose ethanol plants would allow us to not have to buy any more middle eastern oil. It would be nice not to be manipulated by other countries. I would call that better National Security.

[missingamerica]

Posted by ibsteve2u at 08:48 AM : May 12, 2008

The OIL problem, is BUSH/CHENEY...

Get a clue.

Posted by zoe2006 at 09:41 AM : May 12, 2008

lolll...I just saw the date/time stamp that indicated which of my comments that you were referring to, zoe...

I gather that you think I should "get a clue" and restrict my comment content to attacks upon the Bush/Cheney form of Republicans - and leave Clinton alone?

Not likely - I won''t shield anybody from their portion of the responsibility for the current state of America''s economy or the dim prospects for America''s future.

That includes the Democrats.

Assuming that the Clintons really are Democrats, which I think is stretching the meaning of "Democrat" quite a bit.

[missingamerica]

In 5 years of tax breaks for the oil companies, there has been no large increase in exploration investments nor found reserves.

Posted by sjc_1 at 09:47 AM : May 12, 2008

Posted by ibsteve2u at 08:48 AM : May 12, 2008

Get a clue.

Posted by zoe2006 at 09:41 AM : May 12, 2008

Exactly to my point...no expensive oil exploration efforts, no expensive new refineries built...so where are all of those billions in oil company profits going?

Checking accounts somewhere, in return for some free toasters?

Or is it more likely that such vast sums would be invested somewhere that would provide vast returns...say, the oil commodities market?

[sjc_1]

I would favor an oil import fee over a profits tax. If you want to encourage exploration and reduce imports, that is the way. In 5 years of tax breaks for the oil companies, there has been no large increase in exploration investments nor found reserves.

[missingamerica]

Speaking of "margins" - wonder how many of those billions in profits Big Oil has made are floating around in the oil commodities market.

Nothing like feathering your own nest by padding the margins with your own feathers...

[pgkuchar]

The only proposal that makes any sense and could have "some" impact is raising the margins required on futures trading in oil and gas. While it is true that some traders would take their business off shore, it still likely to have some effect since the NYME is where much of the volume of trading occurs. It sends a clear signal that speculators aren''t welcome. The message would be that if you intend to do future trading on oil or gas you intend to actually buy it. I only see upside to it even if I didn''t have a huge effect. The U.S. needs to be clear that using oil and gas futures as a hedge against the dollar is not welcome in U.S. markets.

[missingamerica]

(P.S. Many more of these "SPIN/FACT" articles, and I bet you the API starts doling out money through their lobbyists to have CBS labeled a "terrorism facilitator".)

[oleander8]

Ugly as it is - gas prices need to remain high if for no other reason than alternative energy methods are finally being taken seriously. People are moving out of their SUV''s, wind, solar and other alternative energy methods are being given a chance and receiving funding. Making gasoline cheap again just postpones facing the problem.

[missingamerica]

"Take on the OPEC oil cartel."

Hah hah hah hah...snort.

Yeah, right. Possible when we and our NATO and SEATO allies controlled the demand side of the market.

But Clinton and his Republican partners traded that leverage away along with our jobs back in the ''90s, when he and they created the enormous oil demand that is China and India in their pursuit of the profits enabled by low cost labor and absent environmental regulation.

The fact is we Americans are in a box and the inequitable "free trade" treaties nailed the lid shut.

We need to get complete OFF of oil - whether its origin is OPEC or elsewhere.

Else there are some mighty cold winters coming.

[singingrick]

If we had spent the 3 trillion dollars we''re going to spend trying to steel Iraq''s oil, instead on developing the sustainable energy sources we already have, we''d be well on our way to energy independence. We''d be exporting this technology to the world. Instead, we''re exporting dollars and blood to import oil.

Of course, this would have taken the kind of forward thinking leadership that "conservatives" are completely incapable of.