Want Cheaper Gas and Oil? End the Damned Wars! »
Posted By populist 1 year, 1 month ago in Business & Financeit's not just oil that has been driven up in price because of the war. As energy costs have gone up, so has the cost of food. As well, to the extent that Americans' food is imported, they are paying in shrinking dollars, whose value is being driven down because of the war.
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engineer1 year, 1 month ago
This is a real great post. If we didn't get the world so upset, gas would be $1.50 per gallon!!!
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Locky121 year, 1 month ago
Yeah, great idea Engineer. NOT!
We should just allow Iran to have nukes, Just let Iraq be flushed down the toilet run by Islamofascist military junta, and just forget about Afghanistan all in the name of keeping the Middle East at peace for cheaper oil.
It's called APPEASEMENT. It never worked before, what makes you think it'd work now?!?
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MRCOFFEECAKE1 year, 1 month ago
Look who voted to sink this story.
What a list of war mongers who still don't get it.
So much for supporting American ingenuity or even thinking the horrible thought of mankind becoming more civil.
More of the same?? How original. How pro-death and destruction. How blind.
How pro-pollution. How pro-oil company of them!!
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mark-stevens1 year, 1 month ago
I saw a retired CIA operative on late night news... 20 years Middle East assignment. Al-queda for 20 years has been working towards $300 a barrel. A bullet to the head of the American economy.
The oil companies profit is at 7%. Whats your credit card or bank loan interest??
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.6 Replies
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ML2007Comment removed: User banned.
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2FatCMe1 year, 1 month ago
As a country, we need to do two things to end our dependency on foreign oil:
1) Refuse to purchase any new car that runs on gasoline (the automakers would come up with alternatives in a hurry)
2) Refuse to purchase any new home that does not utilize solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal power (especially solar in the south and west)
Just imagine driving your electric car to and from work, then plugging it in each night to be recharged by the energy produced by the sun!
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nostalgia1 year, 1 month ago
Great goals but are they realistic?
How many middle class Americans can even afford a hybrid vehicle?
Have you looked at the price of installing solar, geothermal or even a windmill?
There is a new development north of us that uses all solar and geothermal in the homes
The prices of the homes are out of reach of the vast majority of buyers and the homes are not large by any stretch of the imagination
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quackpot1 year, 1 month ago
The price of oil was constant (when adjusted for inflation) for 20 years prior to Bush's Iraq fiasco.
Since that time the price has increased about 4-fold in terms of dollars (about 2.5 fold in terms of the Euro).
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nostalgia1 year, 1 month ago
Take a look at these graphs on world oil consumption
It's fairly obvious why there is a problem and why it isn't going to get better any time soon without a dramatic increase in supply
http://wolf.readinglitho.co.uk/mainpages/consum...
Congress just voted again last week against any new drilling
BUT there is another hearing today in Congress with executives from the oil industry
Another show hearing and Congress will pretend they are doing something
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Origin1 year, 1 month ago
The Energy Markets are out of wack because of the Enron Loophole.
An advisor to McCain, named Grahm, is to blame.
Its time you stupid ass lazy americans who play partisan BS on here wake up and realize that Oil Speculators have raised the price of oil $2 a gallon.
These are the same people involved with Enron and Cheney, that caused the California Energy Crisis years ago, with the rolling blackouts and price gouging.
Support any effort to roll back the enron loophole.
otherwise it will be $5 a gallon by winter.
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.5 Replies
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Leemck021 year, 1 month ago
Origin, thanks for the lead, I will learn more on this. I know speculators are in the mix as the nation has backed away from regulating any greed motivated plot by the wealthy.
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Leemck021 year, 1 month ago
Origin, I looked a little more since your comment. I am offended that we have elected officials accused of ripping the public so blatantly and no more is said in the media. Why do I want to hear about Reverend Wright or Paris Hilton when Cheney, Senator Gramm 'now working in the McCain background' and his wife were involved in this Enron loophole; formerly the California energy rip off. I would like to know if this is true or not. The Farm Bill, today, goes against the lobbyist interest known as the Enron loophole. If McCain is, as we speak, is fighting to stop the Farm Bill, on Gramm's advice, an it is an effort to uphold the special interest on energy then we have a problem. I really would like to see the debates cover this sort of issue. We really would be voting to do ourselves in if this is true. Who knows more about this? I try to keep up but this is new to me. Again, thanks.
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albionperfides1 year, 1 month ago
You'll soon be catching up with the UK where diesel is around 1.30GBP per litre, ie about 9.20USD per US gallon. Will you put up with that?
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vor1 year, 1 month ago
You will when the dollar is worthless. They aren't loaning us the money to fight these wars out of the goodness of their hearts. They know exactly what they are doing.
A terribly dim witted comment, worst I have seen today and that's really saying something. Your like Alfred E. Newman, "What?, Me Worry!" Do some research, obviously you haven't, you won't like what you find. They are laughing at our stupidity as I type this.
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hefaa11 year, 1 month ago
TESLA!!!!!
Performance enthusiasts have known about the Tesla sports car for the last two years or so while under R&D. A prototype was built in 2005. 2008 is the first mass production run.
100% electric
135mpg
0-60 in 3.9 seconds (faster than a stock corvette)
body by Lotus
140mph top end.
runs on many ion (laptop computer) batteries
220 cruising range per charge
Cons: expensive, 100k for first production run. Tesla will be producing a cheaper daily driver for us average folks in 2009. The unit price is high right now, however as sales increase, price should go down with increased availability of technology and better, faster production techniques. A litte competition wouldn't hurt either.
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gbilly08Comment removed: User banned.
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MeanMotherUSA1 year, 1 month ago
YOU AREN'T THINKING: Deport 20 Millions Illegals Mexicanos Out Of Los Angelese Sleazy Mexifornia Not Only Will They Stop Building ( On Foreclosed House Lots) 100's Apartment Complexs To House Them...
You We Won't Be Paying $4.00 Gallon For Corn Fed Cheap 81 Octane Gasolina...
LOs Angelese Sleazy County You Us Taxpayers (You Are Included) Won't Be Paying (AGAIN 2008) $$ FREE Welfare,Medical,Food Stamps Year 2007=
{{{{{ $444 MILLIONS }}}}}
Los Angelese Sleazy City Taxpayers Paid Out On To Control 765 Illegals Gangs (Est 185,000 Illegals Mexicanos Gang Bangers)Paid Year 2007=
{{{{{{{ $100 Millions }}}}
That Doesn't Include Cost $$$ Of GRAFFITI In Millions...
Nor Will You Beer Drinkers Be paying $19.50 For 12 Pak Budweiser Sales Exc TAXES
MeanMotherUSA
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crite401 year, 1 month ago
Have any of you guys ever actually tried solar power?
Like here there's a lot more talk than do!
I live in a house built entirely of farmed Pinus Radiata with aluminium (yes we spell it that way!) cladding. It has solar water heating which produces over 70% of its hot water with a small timed heater for cold periods. The lighting using high efficiency lamps is solar powered year round.
The house itself has a covered porch on the north side which generates enough solar heat to warm the whole house on many winter days.
It's water supply for the laundry and toilet flushing comes from rainwater tanks with solar powered boat pumps and for those in Texas who perhaps haven't heard of them, the air conditioning is done with a Heat Pump whose outside unit is placed to be in shade in summer and full sun in winter. This uses only 30% of the electric power thet a conventional heater would do.
Total cost of all the alternative power and air conditioning?
$9,000 NZ ~$6,500 US. Not that dear!
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.
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BB641 year, 1 month ago
This story is a load. Here's a few things the article forgets to mention. First, Iraq prior to the invasion didn't export much oil. Only oil for palaces, mean food. The main reason for the high prices are the markets. In the last 10 years you have 2 new markets, India and China. Imagine being the guys selling the USA and the EU. Now you have literally doubled you customer base but you only have so much oil. You're in the driver's seat. Food costs? Stop making ethanol. It takes 5 gallons of fossil fuel to make 1 gallon of ethanol. Add to that the huge subsidies farmers are getting for corn and it only reduces other crops. You can't use pipelines to transport ethanol, it can only be trucked. It's a terrible product, over priced and burns less efficiently than regular gas. Did I mention it actually increases the carbon footprint too.
You want cheaper gas, refine your gas from coal. It can be done for under $ 40.00 a barrel.
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.2 Replies
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TrueProgressive1 year, 1 month ago
I hate to admit it, but I agree with BB on the corn ethanol issue. The more I learn, the more I see that not only does ethanol production leave us with a net energy loss, but it's also playing havoc with world food costs, and stimulating devastating deforestation around the world. Not to mention the enormous subsidies agribusiness is getting to grow corn and other fuel crops.
Where BB and I part ways is what to do about high petroleum costs. The article is dead on that it's Bush's wars that have precipitated these costs. The markets are accounting for the enormous uncertainty Bush and the neo-cons have created in the world by speculating in oil futures. Call it Bush's war tax, except that the revenues are going to his oil cronies not the government. Everytime I'm gouged at the pump I whisper a little, "Thank you George Bush."
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TrueProgressive1 year, 1 month ago
[continuing] What to do about it, I favor immediate enactment of stringent CAFE standards to take place immediately. The technology for much better fuel efficiency is in place. [If Toyota can do it, so can all the others.] The automakers just need to be forced to produce fuel efficient cars. I also favor very heavy gas guzzler taxes. You want to drive an energy hog [read that Hummer, American SUV's, large P/U's] you pay for it, through the nose. These steps may not be enough to sufficiently wean us from petrol, but it may be a good start.
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Leemck021 year, 1 month ago
I got some good answers to my questions, let me try again. Can oil be sold without going on the world market? What, other than the capital investment to make mini-refineries, stops a state or the nation from making oil for national or state use? I am aware the possibility of others doing the same but I want to know. Secondly, the onshore drilling issue is heating up, using U.S. reserves that is; if more oil is pumped here, who gets rich? What is the real point of conflict?
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