Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 16:04:45 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: gas prices going up.....more...
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.4.58.0503041526040.29741@rygar.gpcc.itd.umich.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Now you know someone who limits driving because of the price of gas.
I have a fixed income, and the gas thing is making me take a hit. I saw
this coming some time ago, and rearranged my life because of it. I no
longer make the long commute drive to work every day. I get up, walk 50
feet to my home shop - from which I make my living, and work there all
day. If I leave the premises more than twice a week I have had a busy
week. This is now my "normal" routine. I may make a trip once in a
while, and that increases my cost, but just for daily living, I'm very
cognizant of this fuel price stuff.
I think the oil shortage is hoakum - partly the consequence of extremely
poor planning on the part of our government, partly because of
contrived conditions on the part of industry, and partly because of
stupidity of the public. We have allowed ourselves to get snared into
this relation with foreign oil interests, haven't developed our own
resources, haven't developed more fuel efficient technology, haven't
developed conservative habits. We burn fuels like there is no tomorrow.
There is plenty of oil. It has just been easier to purchase from the
middle east than to develop our own resources, even when purchasing at a
higher price. There is plenty of oil!! But our infrastructure won't
handle the processing of more. Our refineries are limited. in their
capacity to the point they can't meet production demands. So, marginal
availability is the result, which drives up prices. Has every one
running scared. Part of the oil scare right now is to try and drive
through the development of ANWAR in Alaska. It is stupid! Alaska
politicians are looking for another boondoggle circa 1970's. If you
look around, the gulf of Mexico off the coast of Alabama has oil rig
after oil rig after oil rig sitting out there with capped wells. They
are simply not pumping. Same is true for Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and
parts of New Mexico, and I don't know where else. And then there are the
shale oil fields that are in the western states, just waiting to be
tapped. This oil thing is crazy. Add to that the fact that Alabama, and
other Gulf coast states, as well as Alaska, have an absolutely untold
amount of natural gas that could be tapped, liquified, and distributed,
giving us a relatively contaminant free byproduct of combustion.
The fuel thing is manipulated to get the most money out of all of us. I
believe that. If you had a refinery sitting in an oil field, why would
the gasoline produced there cost (sell) for as much as gas produced
anywhere else. Fuel costs increase the further they are distributed from
the cracking plant. But get this......Alaskans pay the same prices for
gasoline as those in the Lower 48 States. And they have the Cook Inlet
Oil Fields in their backyard, and a Tesoro Cracking Plant right there.
The plant takes the oil from the oil field - the oil platforms being
with in eyesight of the refinery , cracks it, sends it 100 miles through
a pipeline to Anchorage where it is delivered to various Distribution
companies,- Shell, Texaco, Mapco, to name a few - and it is all the
same gasoline from one plant. And Alaskans are charged the same price as
if they were "Outside" buying gas in California or some where. Why??
Because of "Rules" that allow the manipulation of the prices.
We Americans really can be stupid about things, sometimes.
OK, Rant over, and the soap box is put away.
Regards,
John Rodgers
88 GL DRiver
Jonathan Farrugia wrote:
>everyone likes to whine about the price of gas but i don't know anyone
>that drives any less than they used to, at least not over the price of
>gas. nor do people seem to be getting rid of their suv in favor of
>something that make more sense.
>
>jonathan
>
>On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 JordanVw@AOL.COM wrote:
>
>
>
>>and you thought it was bad enough..
>>last night i put $40 of gas in my car.. its just insane..
>>chris
>>-----
>>from USA today:
>>(March 4) Gasoline prices could rocket 24 cents a gallon the next few days,
>>as stations across the USA scramble to keep up with big jumps in the prices of
>>oil and wholesale gas, a veteran energy-price analyst forecast Thursday.
>>
>>"It's going to be brutal, horrendous," says Peter Beutel, president of
>>energy-price tracker Cameron Hanover. He has followed energy markets for nearly
>>three decades.
>>
>>Thursday, light, sweet crude oil for April delivery traded as high as $55.20
>>a barrel in New York before closing at $53.57.
>>
>>A 24-cent jump in the price of gas would bump unleaded regular to a
>>nationwide average of about $2.16 a gallon, blowing through last May's record of about
>>$2.06. It could go higher as increased warm-weather driving in another two
>>months pushes up demand, and therefore prices, forecasters say.
>>
>>Adjusted for inflation, gas would have to hit about $2.95 for a record.
>>
>>The price increase translates to "$90 million a day, every day that it
>>remains in effect," which could be several months, Beutel says.
>>
>>
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