Gas Prices
Ok, I’m pissed.
First, let me get this out of the way - I’m pro green. I recycle. I believe in conserving energy and I fully understand the need to find alternative sources and eliminate the use of fossil fuels.
That said, let me ask a question - why are gas prices so high?
This might come as a surprise, but I read there is enough oil in the United States to MORE than meet it’s own needs for another FOUR HUNDRED YEARS??? (see url’s I listed below)
I’m not an economist and I don’t know much about oil as a commodity - but I know what supply and demand is. Do you know what else? Regardless of how complicated you want to make it, it is STILL all about supply and demand.
So, if the US has all this oil - why the high prices? There is NO shortage of oil and there never has been. We aren’t running out. We aren’t buying other countries oil because there isn’t enough to go around.
We import over half of our oil.
Why?
The reason the price goes so high is because OPEC, (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela - see any friends in there?) CUTS production whenever they want to raise the price. There is PLENTY of oil, they just decide to cut production. So you might say, they’ve got us by the throat.
The politics that go into this are hugely complicated - but how can you point the finger at OPEC when we already have enough oil right here?
Of course there is the issue of being able to refine all this oil into gasoline - but who has the power to change that?
This is some dirty, foul, rotten stuff going on… Legal thievery you might say.
The next step in trying to figure this out is to follow the money… Who stands to profit from remaining dependence on OPEC?
Why are we continuing to fund filthy rich foreign regimes, and then turning around and telling the world that they are terrorists?
Who’s expense is all of this? WE pay for it - hard working, modest people who can’t seem to get ahead. Meanwhile, the folks playing with the supply and price of this foreign oil (and some of our very own public officials right here at home) are gaining wealth beyond any of our wildest dreams. Try to imagine this wealth. You can’t.
This just doesn’t make any sense, does it?
Why aren’t more people pissed off? Why aren’t we doing anything about it? Are we stupid or just not paying attention?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_the_US_produce_enough_oil_for_all_of_its_citizens_to_use
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gas-price1.htm
July 21st, 2008 at 10:46 am
You have some good suggestions. They should start drilling for more oil in this country.
—Thanks, from what I’ve been reading, we already have plenty in reserves - its just a matter of how much we release onto the market, as well as the capacity to process and refine it. Additionally, despite my liberal biases and concern for the environment I also see nuclear power as a God send. There are risks of course, but they are small when managed properly. In addition the impact to the environment is minimal in comparison to coal fired power plants. Three Mile Island was thirty years ago. Chernobyl is an unfair comparison because the design is different from anything used here. Still, much has been learned in these years. There is still a great deal of superstition and general ignorance surrounding this option - which is very unfortunate. — CSS