Oil breached $135/barrel for the first time ever wrecking havoc in the Stock Market, in Congress and on Main Street. Fingers are pointing left and right on why oil prices are seemingly out of control. CNBC conducted a poll “Tell Us: Who’s to Blame for America’s Oil Crisis?” In their poll, Congress is the leading culprit.
Congress has its own opinion and Big Oil is squarely in the bulls-eye. In a demonstration of their concern, they marched the oil company executives in for a round of questioning this past week. The hyperbole is even louder on the campaign trail as increased taxation on the oil companies is shouted every day. Apparently the CNBC crowd hasn’t bought into this rhetoric, but if that poll was conducted on a general news outlet - I would bet that Big Oil is public enemy number one.
To get beyond the hype I like to turn to the alternative media outlets. Take a listen to the first 15 minutes of Jim Puplava’s latest Financial Sense Online podcast “The Oil Crisis: Keeping it Simple”.
Puplava boils it down to a few issues:
- Oil discoveries peaked in the 60s.
- Most of the giant oil fields discovered 50-60 years ago are declining and new discoveries are much smaller
- Since 1985 have failed to discover the amount of oil used every year
- Growing demand from China, India and OPEC.
- Oil producing countries subsidize oil, thus no incentive to reduce consumption
- US imports 70% of all of its energy needs including refined products since we don’t have sufficient refining capacity
- DEMAND is 87million barrels a day and SUPPLY is 85 million barrels a day
The bottom line is that Exxon Mobile (XOM) or Chevron (CVX) can’t address those issues and increasing their taxes is not going to solve squat. When OPEC imposed an embargo on the West in 1973, Brazil vowed never to be at the mercy of imported oil again. Today Brazil is energy independent. What is it going to take for America to get beyond Senate hearings - $5 or $6 gas?
It is time for us to start holding our elected politicians feet to the fire. No comprehensive energy policy – No Vote for You. If we vote enough of them out of office – they will stop pointing fingers and do something.
This article has 11 comments:
It would certainly be refreshing for someone to introduce a plan that utilizes short-term oil use from less restricted drilling, utilization of oil shale deposits (1 TRILLION BARRELS), and coal-to-gas technology combined with incentives to radically improve fuel economy. And utilization of existing natural gas deposits to get rid of heating oil consumption for home heating would be a nice step to reducing diesel prices. You could even argue for some cellulose-based ethanol added for the short-term consumption.
Mid-term goals could include developing plug-in hybrids (and corresponding battery technology) and high efficiency engines with ongoing development of fuel cells. Development of geothermal (never goes off), solar, wind, and nuclear sources to increase sustainable electrical production to support improved electrical heating of homes and offices (phase out natural gas) and to support electric vehicles.
The long-term goal, of course, is energy independence with primary emphasis on electric (from sustainable sources) and fuel cell vehicles and electric home and office heating. By 2030, we could be virtually oil free (except jet engines--but who knows) and energy independent with millions of new jobs created in these alternatives. But with some work and creative thinking, we can become energy independent with reduced greenhouse emissions (that's for the green crowd) and do it without driving the economy into the ground.
OPEC has the control and no one else. It is called a monopoly!!
Cut the subsidies to big oil and they will charge us more anyway.
If you want lower prices there is another way besides OPEC. All the oil produced in the states stays in the states... DUHHH.. Nothing leaves the country because the oil companies can get more $$$ elsewhere.
And when oil leases are sold the most that can be derived in terms of gas prices is on a cost plus basis.
Finally we dont need to be energy independent. We have the money to buy what is needed.
None of these things can be accomplished by congress. They are all nitwits and the new congress will be the same.
Now the peak oil folks are saying, 'see, we told you so' (high gas prices, political turmoil), and the environmentalists are saying ,' see, we told you so ' (food shartage, storms, bad weather).
We need to keep cool heads at this point. First, there is evidence enough that the various political situations, including relative falling petroleum supply (i.e., we cannot just crank up oil supply to meet demand) coupled with a panicked rush to commodities due to the financial collapse and various derivative contracts, shorting, etc. are big factors in the energy issues.
Now, peak oil eventually may be real, and with half the world waking up and developing, we need to take the underlyiong theory seriously. I think $120+ barrel oil may end up saving us IF we act NOW to start developing alternatives. We need tax incentives, government sponsorship, as well as good old American ingenuity to kick in NOW.The $120/barrel oil creates the economic framework to make alternatives possible.
This is not the time to give up as some of the more liberal peak oil advocates imply we should. A wise Catholic Saint once said something like 'Know that God can do anything, but act as though He will do nothing'. Let's not forget there is a God, and He could be testing us, He could be punishing us. We do not know for sure. But do not give up. Turn back to some of our basic Christian values (and natural law in general), think about what we are doing and why, and let's roll up our sleeves to solve this issue- not just prepare for the end, and hide in the wilderness. It is not all criticism for the more liberal peak oilers- some of their ideas about reviving urban living are not all bad, and make sense certainly in the short to medium timeframe. Much of their criticisms of suburbia deserve some consideration.
Let's also not get all tied up with Gore gloom and doom over highly speculative theories about disasterous human induced CO2 warming of the planet. In fact we may be headed for a little ice age! Let's develop any energy source we can, and not let the environmentalists tell us (especially the U.S., China and India which have extensie coal reserves) that coal is out because of the CO2 problem. This is pure insanity at this juncture. If the peak oil problem is allowed to play out because of our inaction, you will see an environmental disaster of unimagineable proportions. Even the anti-Christian Malthusian Darwinists could not create a scenario so hororible (though God knows they keep trying).
Turn back to basic values, including. God, country and family, roll up your sleeves, do not give up, and let's work together (with the rest of the world) to solve the problems ahead of us.
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Yeah, right! This will happen when Hell freezes over, global warming is recognized as a political ploy to raise taxes and make Al Gore richer than he deserves, G.W. Bush becomes a political genius, Barrack Obama admits he listened to all Rev. Wrights’ tirades and agrees with them, Hillary Clinton retires from politics, Bill Clinton admits he sold out the country to the Red Chinese, John McCain confesses that he is in the bag for the agribusiness’ need for cheap labor and has no intention to curb and stop illegal immigration, Michael Moore owns up to the fact that he is a propagandist and a liar, the courts stop legislating from the bench, the New York Times begins to report facts not fiction, MSNBC and NBC admit they are in the bag for the Democrat Party, women in TV take lessons and learn to modulate their speaking voices so they don’t sound like nasal ducks, and the American electorate stops marching to the polls in route step to re-elect the same clowns, election after election.
In other words, business as usual and the citizens take it in the shorts.
Nah, since government is for sale it works two ways. We'll build a super-fund for guys who want to serve the public but can't afford to run while working a full-time job. The top 1/10 of 1% are too self-engrossed to see this coming. Bummer it can't happen at this point until 2012 election. Until then, help out the neighbors.