The Arbas told us to lay off of their land in 1948 and the U.S. wouldn't listen. Palestinians were slaughtered, ethnically cleansed, and their land stolen by invaders from Europe and America. Now you have to pay the Israel tax of $3 per gallon, on top of the 50 cents for local taxes, the actual cost is 50 cents a gallon. In comparison in Iraq gasoline sells for 25 cents a gallon or 7 cents per litre. You reap what you sow. Now suffer the consequences.
Sagarin wrote:
By the way, you do realize that we consume the exact number of barrels of oil per day now as we did some 20 years ago right? The exact same.
Do you realize that global consumption has increases dramatically over the last 20 years?
US consumption (MM barrels per day)
1985 15.73
2005 20.80
+32.2%
World consumption
1985 60.08
2005 83.56
+39.1%
Does anyone here take into account that oil is more and more difficult to extract, and costs per barrel to extract are much much higher? Additionally, it takes energy (oil) to transport and refine oil to its component petroleum products, then more energy (again oil) to transport and distribute the final product to market.
...but, OH, IT'S THOSE GREEDY OIL COMPANIES, after all!
We are not saying two different things. I am merely pointing out that a "gluttinous" US consumer is not the force du jour behind the escalating price of oil, and while further conservation is important, it is a small fraction of the myriad things that need to be done, should have been done 30 years ago. I saw an article in the local paper today about "Senators Probing Major Oil Companies; Inquiring Why Gasoline is $4.00 per Gallon." And I had to laugh, thinking to myself, the headline should have been reversed with the oil companies asking Congress the very same question. "Big Oil" is not to blame.
The Arabs are laughing out the ass. "You occupy our land, We tax you to death !". Poetic justice is being served.
Sagarin wrote:
We are not saying two different things. I am merely pointing out that a "gluttinous" US consumer is not the force du jour behind the escalating price of oil, and while further conservation is important, it is a small fraction of the myriad things that need to be done, should have been done 30 years ago. I saw an article in the local paper today about "Senators Probing Major Oil Companies; Inquiring Why Gasoline is $4.00 per Gallon." And I had to laugh, thinking to myself, the headline should have been reversed with the oil companies asking Congress the very same question. "Big Oil" is not to blame.
Excellent post. Spot on!
"conservation is important, it is a small fraction of the myriad things that need to be done"
I think I agree with you but conservation should be the first thing we try to do since we could easily cut back on our demand if we design and buy more efficient engines and we make a few choices that will decrease our demand and use of oil.
Bigsissypants wrote: The US is like 5X the size of Norway. The US population is spread out across the entire country not just the most southern part as it is in Norway.
Does that mean people in the US have 5x the reason to live a three hour round trip from their workplace, or to always drive and never walk or bike a third of a mile to pick up a pint of ice cream?
Good news for you suckas with cars:
http://runyourcarwithwater.youbetterreadthis.com/
Save 40% on your fuel costs!! So quit yer bitching already.
It's really quite simple. It is about supply and demand but in our electronic world where everyone is a trader short squeezes sometimes occur because the pool of funds that has the most money has the ability to squeeze you out of your short position and make the price keep climbing higher.
The more irrational the pricing of oil the higher it will climb because more people will think it is overpriced and short it. Those in turn will be squeezed out because those that shorted before them keep driving the price up as they are squeezed out.
The bubble will end when people get scared enough to not short oil anymore. At that time it will run out of buyers and supply and demand will take over and drive the price ever lower as people that start buying the dips keep getting margin calls and stopped out as the price of oil keeps dropping which will keep putting selling pressure on oil which will keep catching people in margin calls and traders stopping out on losses which keep the price going down.
Eventually when people are too scared to buy oil because they think it will keep going down then oil will stabilize as the large pools of funds move on to the next sector they want to manipulate.
Currently energy is getting squeezed and finance is getting squashed.
Now if everyone would quit trying to profit from these moves there would be more stability in the markets and then no one would have anything to whine about.