No hurricane, yet oil closes in on all time high

jamesey wrote:

Well perhaps if you would read the post I was responding to you would understand why I said what I said.

And also I would have thought that governing the country is a catch all which would most certainly involve dealing with current, and future, crisis.

You are obviously looking for something different in a president. I guess you are one of these people who voted for Bush because you thought you'd like to have a beer with him. From all of us - Good job.

The president is not the same as the government.

Unless someone builds some new oil refineries we will be screwed for quite a while. The problem isn't with supply, it's with the refineries. Refineries cost too much money to build and maintain. The last US refinery was build decades ago. Oil companies already found out we have no problem paying $3.00 a gallon when it was forced with Katrina. $3 a gallon and not many people rushed to trade in their SUV or started cycing or busing everywhere. So, the so called "crisis" is no where near the late 70s/early 80s that actually motivated people to drive smaller cars and build more effecient cars, etc. The new effecient technology is the hydrid technology, but it hasn't been perfected and the price is still a bit higher than the masses want. In the next 10 years or so we'll see a swtich to more and more hybrid cars so that it will eventually become standard in all mass production vehicles. That'll keep us on the oil teat for another 50 years.

Alan

"The president is not the same as the government."

Tell that to this president. Today he basically told everyone where to stick it when it comes to criticism of the head of the pentagon. And this head of the pentagon has decided it's his business to decide who becomes a three or four star general (which has almost never been a decision made by the civilian leadership in past administrations). So, unfortunately the president is much more closely tied to the government than ever before in our country. We are supposed to have a balance of power between the three branches of gov't. This president has used fear and intimidation to control all three.

I'm not talking about the government of elected officials. I'm talking about people who work behind the scenes anticipating and solving problems. Not the decision makers. The thinkers.

although it is true that refinery capacity is an issue it's not like the price of oil has stayed cheap. if it was entirely a refinery issue than the price of oil would have stayed the same or decreased (because the lack of refinery capacity would cause a bottle neck) and only the price of gas would have increased.

There is one refinery related problem that has effected the price of oil - and that is that most refineries are set up only to deal with light sweet crude - which is the type of oil that has risen above $70 a barrell.

The oil that is now coming out of the ground is simply worse quality than it used to be. The fact that we are digging into the hillsides of canada shows that you can no longer shoot a gun into the texas hillside and come up with "texas tea".

If refinery shortages were the culprit, there would be a shortage of gasoline. I haven't seen any gas lines lately, have you?

you mean like the energy think tank that cheney brought in the first days of the administration that was so pro-oil that he fought to keep people from even knowing who attended?

Or do you mean the cia analysts who quit because the adminstration wouldn't listen to them about the lack of proof of weapons of mass distruction in iraq?

Or maybe you mean those who had to work under bush appointee Steven Griles who was still being paid by oil and logging interests while he was #2 at the dept of the interior?

I can continue if you'd like.

The point is that these professionals, who have had an amount of autonomy in previous adminstrations have been pressured into only coming out with reports that are supportive of this administration.

Please continue - and feel free to cite sources.

NEB wrote:

I can continue if you'd like.

here are sources for the first three.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4830129/

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1359178,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veteran_Intelligence_Professionals_for_Sanity

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/07/state1927EST7853.DTL

a few more before i'm banned.

a career diplomat who resigned rather than serve under bush.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/international/27WEB-TNAT.html?ex=1145505600&en=417759b2c07a5df8&ei=5070

the general who gave up the number two post in Iraq because of the administration

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/21/60minutes/main618896.shtml

the report negating the administrations claim of mobile bio-chem labs that was hidden away until recently.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101888.html

Do you need more proof that this administration doesn't listen to experts unless they have the same opinions as the administration?

I wouldn't put much stock in this administration working towards a future free of oil.

We've known for a long time that oil would run out, and the disastrous effects it will have on America. Despite his other failings, Jimmy Carter was dead-on to try and bring this to our attention.....back in the late 1970s. His speech was ridiculed at the time, but it's been eerily prophetic. If only we'd spent the last 25+ years working towards a solution, instead of going in the opposite direction, with giant SUVs roaming the roads and consumers throwing conservation out the window.

This message board is strange. You can be responding to a post then suddenly its gone. I am very surprised the previous couple posts are still up. This board reminds me of the old communist USSR. Certain ideas were not allowed to be expressed. I wonder what this board would be like without the selective deletions.

I'm happy the previous posts are still up. Everybody must have been watching American Idol.

Katherine Mcphee was great by the way.

::in before you're banned::

well done, sir.