Gas Price Thread

Off Topic
41

Not much has changed from when gas was $2.50. All I see is everyone griping and bitching about gas prices, but most haven’t done a damn thing to adapt.

Americans (yes you) need to understand that the world doesn’t stop turning outside your borders. China saw almost 10 million new drivers hit their roads last year. Their middle class is growing at an alarming rate. Can American’s (or the rest of the world for that matter) conserve enough oil or cut back on driving enough to compensate for 10-20 million new foreign car owners every year? Impossible. ANWR and taxing oil companies are popular talking points, but will not be our salvation I assure you. America might sneeze, but these days it doesn’t mean the world will catch a cold.

We had plenty of chances to be proactive about this, and the best we could do was hand farmers massive gov’t subsidies for growing corn. A shot was fired across the bow all the way back in 1973 and everyone sat staring at the sun. The world does not mourn for the stupid.

42

[quote]forkknifespoon wrote:
Like others have pointed out it’s not so bad in the USA, check out most European countries. The price has increased quiet a bit already and we haven’t suffered too horrible economic repercussions. [/quote]

Much of the difference is in taxes. The American government makes more money off of oil then the oil companies do, and our taxes on oil are so much lower then the European countries, last I knew.[quote]

It can only really go so high. At some point it wont be all that efficient and we’ll probably switch over to liquid coal, of which we have something like a 30 year supply, that 30 years should give us plenty of time to figure out another efficient energy source. That’s at least one way I see it going. [/quote]

Liquid coal is only one option. As I have written before, I think liquefied natural gas is more likely. There is 6 trillion cu ft of the stuff that is not being accessed for energy just because of the problems with moving the stuff, but liquefying it changes that. They make synthetic crude, and synthetic diesel out of it.

But it may be better to tap the 800 billion barrels of accessible at current technology oil from the shale in an area overlapping only 3 states.

But there is plenty of oil. People want to act like we are running out soon, or that its because of our military action, (which analysts conclude is only ~$15 worth of the price, and that includes all the terrorist worries too, not just military action.) There are actually a multitude of reasons that justify part of the increase, and a multitude of reasons that do not.

I have said it before and will say it again, it is a bubble that will burst. Until I gain some real psychic ability I can’t tell you when that will happen, but it will happen.[quote]

Africa and other places have been using liquid coal for a long time. People whine and even blame rising gas prices on current government leadership, but I think that’s a bit of naivety. [/quote]

Everything from the economic woes that only seem to exist on the evening news to somebody’s bunion gets blamed on the president. The is simply politics.

The next president, whoever it is, will get praised by their own party and vilified by the other, regardless. The fact is the president does not have some magic button on his desk that controls everything.

And we need to get away from thinking that all our problems are supposed to be solved by the government, and if we still have problems in our lives, it must be their fault.

The only thing we can blame them for is getting in the way. Every time the government tries to fix a problem, they just fuck it up worse then it was, and create another billion in debt.

Then it doesn’t help that people are out and out lying to us. Telling us that the polar bears are going extinct when their population has actually grown, or forget to mention that land is already set aside for the drilling, planned out, and with minimal impact on the environment in Alaska, yet we are convinced that by putting a few pumps up there that suddenly the whole place is going to suddenly turn into a giant cesspool, just like what has happened in… uh… oh yeah, some foreign country where they don’t really care. (The rules are very strict here.)

Then there is the terrible “BIG OIL” companies that control a whopping 6% of the worlds oil supply. That obviously gives them lots of control over the price. (Which OPEC, with ~60% seems to have had trouble controlling it.)

But Saudi Arabia just had 400k barrels of daily production come online. They also agreed to increase production by 300k barrels a day. (Leaving 2 million in the hole for a cushion.) Next year they will have another field come online producing another 1.4 million barrels a day.

(Why do I keep commenting in these oil threads?)

43

$3.899 in Central Maine.

Mind you, about $0.60 of that is taxes…

Next time anyone complains about oil companies ‘gouging’, remember that they are doing all the research/work to extract it.

The government is the only entity gouging consumers. All profit.

44

$8.06/gal in Iceland…

45

$4.13 a gallon regular on Long Island. The price increases every day.

46

[quote]Tithonus81 wrote:
…
Americans (yes you) need to understand that the world doesn’t stop turning outside your borders. China saw almost 10 million new drivers hit their roads last year. Their middle class is growing at an alarming rate. Can American’s (or the rest of the world for that matter) conserve enough oil or cut back on driving enough to compensate for 10-20 million new foreign car owners every year? Impossible. …[/quote]

Yet some people still blame political leaders for market forces

47

[quote]The Mage wrote:

(Why do I keep commenting in these oil threads?)[/quote]

…because sometimes it’s too painful to just let others do it.

I just mentioned coal, because I had recently been small talking my uncle, engineer for GE, about this very subject.

48

Prices running at just over $9 for a US gallon here in NW UK.

It looks set to rise again soon as does our road tax. Oh great!

I was concidering all sorts of modifications to my car to help reduce the fuel bill and I think I’ve finally decided on this option.

Great fuel economy and my garden will look great too!

49

[quote]Renton wrote:
Great fuel economy and my garden will look great too![/quote]

You just have to make pooper-related lines, don’t you?

Post pics anyway…

50

$3.99/gal in NE Ohio for regular

$4.60 for diesel

Although I’m still able to pay for as much driving as I want to do (thankfully), I started car-pooling to school and now to work in the summer. Save roughly 90 miles (or 3 gallons) a week.

That bike is looking more and more appealing though.

51

$3.97 for 89 octane as of today, but it’s been there for a week now so I expect over $4/gallon any second now.

So much for saving up for that Audi R8. (Actually, fuck that. Gas could cost $20/gallon, I gladly pay that to drive a fucking R8)

52

Gas Efficiency Tips aka Frugality Is F’Boring:

  • Drive Sensibly - Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.
    Those speeding tickets are a pain in, cost of each one will fill your tank many times over.

  • Observe the Speed Limit - As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. More on speeding tickets in later post.

  • Remove Excess Weight - Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

  • Avoid Excessive Idling - Turn your car off at rail road tracks. Get out and stretch, you body and wallet will thank you.

  • Use Cruise Control - Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

53

In the mean time, Iraqi army soldiers demonstrate their skills, during a joint military and police parade in Karbala, Iraq.

Sorry guys, I just don’t think this is helping much.

54

[quote]TKOWKD1 wrote:
Gas Efficiency Tips aka Frugality Is F’Boring:

  • Drive Sensibly - Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.
    Those speeding tickets are a pain in, cost of each one will fill your tank many times over.

  • Observe the Speed Limit - As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. More on speeding tickets in later post.

  • Remove Excess Weight - Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

  • Avoid Excessive Idling - Turn your car off at rail road tracks. Get out and stretch, you body and wallet will thank you.

  • Use Cruise Control - Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.
    [/quote]

Good tips. Too bad America is largely illiterate or, they feel that they can choose which facts to believe or not believe.

My bonehead state recently INCREASED the speed limit on h’ways to 70. Highway MPG avgs are not even based on that speed, or even 65mph for that matter So you know, we were already doing 70, now with what I see as non-existent speed traps people regularly go 80+. Holy fuck what that does for fuel economy… and in SUV’s no less. It’s like burning a candle at both ends.

And car companies keep pushing SUV’s in american advertisements… wtf? No one cares about corporate responsibility though and e-mailing an angry letter, as ineffective as it already is, is too much to ask. Good thing about this is as gas increases the market will fix itself and those great deals the automakers offered on SUVs will be long gone.

And in recent news resale value of SUVs are well below blue book values! Karma kicks one to the vag of soccer moms everywhere!

I just hope there is a point in my kids lives where they can say it’s great to be alive… like the time when the only motorized vehicle they see downtown is public transportation.

And even though it may be hard we as americans have to stick through it, and we’ll get through it just like all our other tribulations. Its going to be hard to do but we’ll f’in do it.

I bike commute 80 minutes daily and I only use my car for grocery shopping once a month so I couldn’t tell you how much gas is here, I don’t pay attention. Ask me again in 12 months and I’ll still have this same tank of gas XD

55

[quote]meanest wrote:
Good tips. Too bad America is largely illiterate or, they feel that they can choose which facts to believe or not believe.

My bonehead state recently INCREASED the speed limit on h’ways to 70. Highway MPG avgs are not even based on that speed, or even 65mph for that matter So you know, we were already doing 70, now with what I see as non-existent speed traps people regularly go 80+. Holy fuck what that does for fuel economy… and in SUV’s no less. It’s like burning a candle at both ends.

And car companies keep pushing SUV’s in american advertisements… wtf? No one cares about corporate responsibility though and e-mailing an angry letter, as ineffective as it already is, is too much to ask. Good thing about this is as gas increases the market will fix itself and those great deals the automakers offered on SUVs will be long gone.

And in recent news resale value of SUVs are well below blue book values! Karma kicks one to the vag of soccer moms everywhere!

I just hope there is a point in my kids lives where they can say it’s great to be alive… like the time when the only motorized vehicle they see downtown is public transportation.

And even though it may be hard we as americans have to stick through it, and we’ll get through it just like all our other tribulations. Its going to be hard to do but we’ll f’in do it.

I bike commute 80 minutes daily and I only use my car for grocery shopping once a month so I couldn’t tell you how much gas is here, I don’t pay attention. Ask me again in 12 months and I’ll still have this same tank of gas XD[/quote]

Blah, blah, blah…

Meanest was that you starring in the South Park episode 1002 Smug Alert?

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1002/

Easy now, do you really think your farts smell better than ours?

That’s about the only cool thing you said, rest is blah, blah, blah…

56

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
$3.899 in Central Maine.

Mind you, about $0.60 of that is taxes…

Next time anyone complains about oil companies ‘gouging’, remember that they are doing all the research/work to extract it.

The government is the only entity gouging consumers. All profit.[/quote]

Surely you’re kidding. All the work to extract it and the government is the only entity that’s gouging consumers?

Exxon Mobil posted the highest profit of any Americas-based company (ever) in 2007 at $39.5B USD. Billion. Highest profit margin of any industry, even as their revenues declined 4% in the final quarter.

But that’s not gouging. The 60 cents per gallon for roads/graft/whatever pales in comparison.

Diesel is considerably less expensive to produce than gas but is no less than $0.75 more per gallon in Cali (as much as $1 more in some places). Why? Supply and demand – this is simple corporate economics, or the price of living in a capitalist society. We’ll pay it, so they’ll charge it.

It has nothing to do with cost of research and production – this isn’t the drug industry where the costs of ten years of clinical trials have to be recouped. Gas is pretty much what it has been for at least 50 years.

57

I will repeat what I have posted before. The American government makes more off of oil then the “big oil” companies.

Also the price of oil is not set by the oil companies. It is dictated by the market. And with the oil companies controlling only 6% of the worlds oil, they have little control. Even OPEC at 60% surprisingly does not have very much control.

Also there are costs to be recouped. It costs money to find oil, and that is a very risky venture. Those oil platforms are not free.

The cosmetics industry has a greater return on investment the the oil companies. (Actually much greater.) In fact their profit margin has remained stable over the past few years.

If you understand what is going on, and quit listening to the propaganda, you will realize that the ones who are bitching the most about the oil companies are actually the ones who are causing much of this high priced oil. (Speculators are the second problem, thinking they are investing in tulips.)

58

[quote]sdspeedracer wrote:
SteelyD wrote:
$3.899 in Central Maine.

Mind you, about $0.60 of that is taxes…

Next time anyone complains about oil companies ‘gouging’, remember that they are doing all the research/work to extract it.

The government is the only entity gouging consumers. All profit.

Surely you’re kidding. All the work to extract it and the government is the only entity that’s gouging consumers?

Exxon Mobil posted the highest profit of any Americas-based company (ever) in 2007 at $39.5B USD. Billion. Highest profit margin of any industry, even as their revenues declined 4% in the final quarter.

But that’s not gouging. The 60 cents per gallon for roads/graft/whatever pales in comparison.

Diesel is considerably less expensive to produce than gas but is no less than $0.75 more per gallon in Cali (as much as $1 more in some places). Why? Supply and demand – this is simple corporate economics, or the price of living in a capitalist society. We’ll pay it, so they’ll charge it.

It has nothing to do with cost of research and production – this isn’t the drug industry where the costs of ten years of clinical trials have to be recouped. Gas is pretty much what it has been for at least 50 years.
[/quote]

Most of the oil companies profits came from the 6% of the crude markey they control. Just think of the profits state owned oil companies are raking in! bad so many of them are assholes.

59

I heard oil dropped to under $127/barrel today due to a drop in demand. There might actually be some hope. I’ve cut back shit load on driving. I’m not going to the mall 10 miles away just for the fuck of it anymore.

60

[quote]analog_kid wrote:
I heard oil dropped to under $127/barrel today due to a drop in demand. There might actually be some hope. I’ve cut back shit load on driving. I’m not going to the mall 10 miles away just for the fuck of it anymore. [/quote]

Demand is down like 6%. Plus Saudi Arabia just added in a new field that is producing 400,000 barrels a day, then because of American pressure increased their production by 300,000 barrels a day. (Still leaves 2 mill a day in the hole for a “cushion”.) Next year they have another 1.4 million in daily production coming online.

Unfortunately they have another large field they are not going to touch.