Apr 04, 2008 09:22PM GMT
Question
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Politics - United States
Automotive expert Ed Wallace says there is no Gas shortage. Do you believe this?
"There is no gas shortage but Washington, Wall Street, and ethanol and oil and gas companies want you to think there is", says automotive expert Ed Wallace.1. There Is No Shortage
Gasoline reserves on hand are at the highest levels since the early 1990s, which is remarkable considering the nation's refineries have been cutting back on the production of gasoline because their margins have declined. In fact, average gasoline reserves on hand have risen since this past October. Of course, there is no pressure on gasoline supplies in this country as of today, but Bodman's statement must have made eyes roll among the executives at Pilgrim's Pride PPC; the Pittsburg, (Tex.) poultry producer announced 1,100 layoffs on Mar. 13, closing one processing plant and 6 of their 13 distribution centers because their company's outlay for chicken feed went up $600 million last fiscal year and was on track to increase by another $700 million this year.
2. Demand Is DOWN, Yet Prices Are UP
n January of this year, the U.S. used 4% less petroleum than we did a year ago. (Oil demand was down 3.2% in February.) Furthermore, demand has been falling slowly since July of last year. Ronald Bailey of Reason Online has pointed out that worldwide production of oil has risen 2.5% in the first quarter, while worldwide demand has grown by only 2%.
3. Speculation is Up, and the Dollar Is Down
Moving on to the weak U.S. dollar as a primary cause for skyrocketing oil prices—there is "some" truth in that statement. But consider this: The dollar has depreciated 30% against the world's currencies since 2002, while the price of oil has gone up 500%. So is it the weak dollar that has caused a 500% increase in the price of oil, or is it the extra $241 billion worth of speculation? You can make the call on that one.
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Answered Undecided
There is no gas shortage.There is no oil shortage.There is a glut of both.However the weak dollar,turmoil in the middle-east and yes the ever greedy corporations are keeping prices high.By the way all of this crap about global warming has alot to do with it also.There is no global warming,there is no oil shortage."They" want you to think that.
Yes,I have seen gas stations with no gas.The long lines of people waiting to get gas.The fights that ensued.I lived thru the worst presidency ever...the Carter years. -
Answered Yes. This is true. I have never seen gas stations with signs "Closed, No Gas."
I don't remember the year, but this whole story had been thrown at us before. There are days I'm convinced this is all a ploy to keep McCain out, to get Billary or the other guy in. Sad. -
Answered Undecided
I realy don't care if there is a gas shortage ..... All though im pissed off that more money come's out of my pocket ..... And in another way im not mad , Because if u think about more people are finding orther ways to get around because of the gas prices .... And in sum small way where not driven around as much polluting our world .....
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Answered Yes. This is true. I have never seen gas stations with signs "Closed, No Gas."
Not only is there not a gas shortage, but there is plenty of untapped oil available too. I'm not talking about the Arabian Penensula either. I'm talking about our own US real estate. Please let us drill for it!
It would bring the prices at the pump back down regardless of our situation in the Middle East. It would do wonders for us to not need anything from the Middle East and allow us to butt out of their messed up world. -
Sigh...This is what Bush is pushing for. He wants to break the backs of Americans so we BEG them to drill in Alaska, as if this is our last resort!
Half of the refineries here in the US are not running at full capacity, and the rest of them are in need of repairs. Why not work with what we have before we jump into more debt building new refineries? Why keep lining the pockets of the filthy rich oil mongers drilling for something that will bring even more devastation to our enviroment when we don't have to? -
You are the reason that we are so dependent on our enemies in the Mid East.
I totally agree with you about getting our existing refineries up to full capacity, but we have to drill for oil on our own soil. What makes you think the government should pay for it? The oil companies should (and want to) pay for it. If they make a huge profit, then so be it. Why else would they want to pay for it? -
Pardon me, but I am not the reason. I would have to bet the my carbon foot print is almost non existant compared to 99% of the US population. Would you care to expound on how exactly I am the reason.
Also, I don't think the government (WE, OUR TAXES) should pay for it, let the refineries, it's their baby. But it seems like we pay for it one way or another, if not through taxes, then outrageous prices!
AND bottom line is that we should be investigating alternative sources for fuel, and implementing with full speed ahead. And I am not talking about CORN either! -
You are the reason because of your "carbon foot print" phylosophy. Seriously, who really cares how ugly a a bunch of oil drilling platforms in the middle of nowhere in far north Alaska is? Who really cares if millions of non-threatened caribou are displaced to another field? (Not that they would be displaced anyway, but that's what environmentalist whackos want you to think.)
The primary reason that the US is so dependant on Mid East oil is because the extremist environmentalist organizations fight every single attempt for the US to become independant when it comes to oil. Whether it's drilling in Alaska or off the coast of Florida or California, or whether it's building more refineries, or whether it's buliding more nuclear power plants, the "evil human and his carbon foot print" is the argument that keeps us at the mercy of the Middle East.
The oil companies should absolutely pay for it, and yes, they are going to make a lot of money. It's called capatalism. Watch as oil starts flowing into the market from our own sources, flooding the oil market with billions and even trillions of barrels, and then watch Wall Street go crazy as the stock prices plummet. That's when you'll see the prices go down at the pump. It's simple economics.
As far as alternative fuel, what are you talking about? Wind? Have you seen the thousands of wind mills in California that are even uglier than oil derricks, that cost more money to build and maintain? Solar? How expensive are solar...You are the reason because of your "carbon foot print" phylosophy. Seriously, who really cares how ugly a a bunch of oil drilling platforms in the middle of nowhere in far north Alaska is? Who really cares if millions of non-threatened caribou are displaced to another field? (Not that they would be displaced anyway, but that's what environmentalist whackos want you to think.)
The primary reason that the US is so dependant on Mid East oil is because the extremist environmentalist organizations fight every single attempt for the US to become independant when it comes to oil. Whether it's drilling in Alaska or off the coast of Florida or California, or whether it's building more refineries, or whether it's buliding more nuclear power plants, the "evil human and his carbon foot print" is the argument that keeps us at the mercy of the Middle East.
The oil companies should absolutely pay for it, and yes, they are going to make a lot of money. It's called capatalism. Watch as oil starts flowing into the market from our own sources, flooding the oil market with billions and even trillions of barrels, and then watch Wall Street go crazy as the stock prices plummet. That's when you'll see the prices go down at the pump. It's simple economics.
As far as alternative fuel, what are you talking about? Wind? Have you seen the thousands of wind mills in California that are even uglier than oil derricks, that cost more money to build and maintain? Solar? How expensive are solar panels? Are you going to put them on the roof of every car? Come on. What alternatives are you talking about?(less) -
Answered Yes. This is true. I have never seen gas stations with signs "Closed, No Gas."
While they say there is no room for more refineries, what they really mean is Americans don't want a refinery built near them. Also we have capped many wells and the existing laws do not let us remove the caps......how about getting those caps removed? Drill in Anwar and off the coast lines. We are letting other countries drill off our coast lines, but our laws prohibit us from doing the same. And then there is ehtanol, which is creating a shortage in corn used for feed and has driven the cost of corn up to $6.00. So many reasons, so many ways to solve the problem and so many laws preventing us for doing so. You can add the environmental extremists into the equation also. -
I have been encouraging all my friends to write to their congressmen encouraging them to remove the laws that prevent us from moving forward. While I believe we need alternative energy, ethnol is not the solution and is only contributing to the problem. It will probably take us at least 20 more years to get a good alternative fuel source and until then we need to start tapping what we already have, but the laws need to be changed to allow us to do that. I know everyone is trying to blame Bush for this, but he is not the one writing the laws.
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Justly said. Bush has had his own agenda from the beginning. If we can find Saddam in a hole in the middle of nowhere, why can't we find Osama? Maybe because no one's looking!! The previous governor of Texas is standing by while billions are being sucked from Americans. The reason the economy's in shambles, there's only so much money to be spent!! People can't pay the credit cards, mortgages, etc. because they have to use their liquid funds to buy more gas. Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Bush is counting all money he is making behind the scenes!!
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Answered Undecided
There is a lot I agree with in the article. However ethanol is not the primary cause for grain prices going up. It is used as the reason corn has gone up, but again the speculators have driven this. Not supply and demand. Hopefully Democrats can bring back gas prices to "1.46" -
Answered Yes. This is true. I have never seen gas stations with signs "Closed, No Gas."
No gas shortage! Our govt. controls our gas prices. Right now Mr bush is getting rich off of spilled blood. The gas we use costs more than we can imagin! Add up all of the heart ache that is alive because a loved one on either side of this war is gone.....Thats a heck of a price!
Answered Yes. This is true. I have never seen gas stations with signs "Closed, No Gas."
Not only is there not a gas shortage, but there is plenty of untapped oil available too. I'm not talking about the Arabian Penensula either. I'm talking about our own US real estate. Please let us drill for it!It would bring the prices at the pump back down regardless of our situation in the Middle East. It would do wonders for us to not need anything from the Middle East and allow us to butt out of their messed up world.