Rita Could Equal $5 Gasoline

[JGrubbs]

I am totally against that liberal approach of creating a new tax. Those who drive the gas-guzzlers are already paying more than those who don't by choice. Creating more government regulations and taxes will not solve the problem.

We rely on the Middle East and other countries for too much of our oil, the countries that use their own resources instead of relying on other countries pay less that $1 per gallon, we need to start being more self-sufficient and rely on other countries oil less!

 

[Matt Black]

I'm not sure that high prices automatically equate to a well-used public transport system. We have - as you can see - high prices here yet are pretty-much as car-dependent as Americans. Cross the English Channel to the Eurozone where fuel is taxed less heavily than in the UK and where prices are a little cheaper, and you'll find much more usage of public transport. So I think it has more to do with culture than price; there is a perception here - at least outside of London where public transport is (a) pretty good and (b) well-used because it beats sitting in gridlock - that the car gives independence and a sense of one's own space whereas public transport is only used by nasty poor people and old people who probably all smell a bit anyway. And besides that, public transport outside of London and one or two of the other big cities is crap, largely because the government can't be bothered to invest enough of our fuel taxes in it.

[Spelnig - 'fule', not 'fuel'. What a silly fule! ]

 

[sovgrace79]

If gas goes up too much, I'm going to start car-pooling with my father. We both work at the same company, so it works out pretty well.

One side effect I wonder about in our church is how many people that drive distances will not come to our Sunday evening and Wed. night services. I've heard a few of our members thinking of cutting back on the number of trips to church they make during the week.

 

[billwald]

We will discover what an American is willing to pay for gas. $5 gas could be redemption for the cities and the middle class moves closer to their places of employment.

Down side is that 90% or so of bicycles are probably made in Red China.

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Buy a Cannondale, or a Trek. There are several excellent bicycle manufacturers in U.S.A.

 

[Brother Ian]

I'll continue to ride my motorcycle.

 

[blackbird]

Funny how in the past we have had "upteen" thousands of zillions of hurricans rip and roar all over the Gulf coast---from Texas to Louisiana to Florida and back again countless times----and these two hurricanes(Katrina & Rita) are the only two that has affected gasoline prices---I can prove it to ya---just do a search engine on every hurricane that has hit the coastal gulf starting with Betsy in '65---and lay the surge in gas prices beside everything else---and you will see---that these two storms are the only ones---the only ones that have affected gas prices----and buddy---we've had some "Lulu" hurricanes to hit the Texas Louisiana area before----I'm gonna bet you ---when its all layed down on the table after you've done your search---you won't read anything of any sort of surge in gas prices---associated with any other storm but these two----which leads to the conclusion---that the gas surge is in the minds and in the pocketbooks of money hungry coorporations!!!!!

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by blackbird:
that the gas surge is in the minds and in the pocketbooks of money hungry coorporations!!!!!

Not so. Before we had lots of other refineries that have now closed during the past 20 years due to the difficulty of making a steady profit on the downstream end of the oil business. We don't have enough refining capacity to meet demand when all refineries are humming along. We are still missing 5% of our refining capacity due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by C4K:
Perhaps its time to start looking for long term solutions.

www.setamericafree.org/blueprint.pdf

 

[billwald]

"We don't have enough refining capacity to meet demand when all refineries are humming along."

If this was correct then retail price would rise independant of crude prices. This has not happened.

 

[Joseph_Botwinick]

Originally posted by JGrubbs:
Long term solutions would be drilling in ANWAR, building more refineries that are not in a "danger zone", investing in alternative fuels, dealing with the .50+ cent per gallon gas tax, etc.

For now car pooling is a good alternative to walking 10 miles to work.

These are all good ideas. But there is one idea that I am surprised you didn't more directly address: cutting the demand for oil within our lifestyles (not going out all the time and driving places where you absolutely don't have to go). If average Americans would only drive to places they absolutely have to go, and cut out a lot of recreation, this would sharply reduce the demand for oil.

Joseph Botwinick

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by billwald:
If this was correct then retail price would rise independant of crude prices. This has not happened.

It does.

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by Joseph_Botwinick:
If average Americans would only drive to places they absolutely have to go, and cut out a lot of recreation, this would sharply reduce the demand for oil.

Yep.

Increasing the CAFE standards on average vehicle mpg in a serious manner would help, also.

 

[ASLANSPAL]

Wow! Jimmy Carter would be proud of some these
responses....love it ..totally hilarious.


Anwar will not even make a spec in a bucket everyone knows that.The only merits would be to
cause a culture change and drilling breaking out
in even more pristine areas...even off the coast
of Jeb Bushs Florida.

Refineries are filthy and the way it sounds they
need to be really filthy as to be at high end
production...yeah put that refined product out
but then kill those long term who live close by.

Oh yeah let the market decide if we just slack off
or boycott the price will come down...WRONG! Can
we all spell CHINA AND INDIA boys and girls. They
want what we have and with all the bells and whistles...try telling them to conserve and slack
off. They will gladly buy up what we THINK we are
boycotting.

Get Real the black glob stuff has got to go and
we need to declare an energy war a 5 year plan
to consider nuclear safe plants and alternative
ways along the lines of the Eurozone as they have
been 10 years at it..whoops! sorry we dare not
be like those Eurozone people...with mass transit
and such.

Again totally hilarious to hear people talking
like Jimmy Carter.<gig>

What goes around comes around for the bushbot
culture...ah yes the pursuit of happiness under
George W. Bush...In debt...at war...$5 dollar gas...isn't it just bliss <major sarcasm>

Joe I post this to make you feel all warm and
fuzzy ...make sure you wear that sweater as the
farmers alamac is predicting a record winter. <gig>

Jimmy Carter on the Energy Crisis-February 1 1977

1 February 1977

Good evening.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I became President. I have spent a lot of time deciding how I can be a good President. This talk, which the broadcast networks have agreed to bring to you, is one of several steps that I will take to keep in close touch with the people of .our country, and to let you know informally about our plans for the coming months.

When I was running for President, I made a number of commitments. I take them very seriously. I believe that they were the reason that I was elected. And I want you to know that I intend to carry them out. As you probably noticed already, I have acted on several of my promises.

I will report to you from time to time about .our Government--both our problems and our achievements, but tonight I want to tell you how I plan to carry out some of my other commitments.

Some of our obvious goals can be achieved very quickly--for example, through executive orders and decisions made directly by me. But in many other areas, we must move carefully, with full involvement by the Congress, allowing time for citizens to participate in careful study, in order to develop predictable, long-range programs that we can be sure are affordable and that we know will work.

Some of these efforts will also require dedication--perhaps even some sacrifice--from you. But I don't believe that any of us are afraid to learn that our national goals require cooperation and mutual effort.

One of our most urgent projects is to develop a national energy policy. As I pointed out during the campaign, the United States is the only major industrial country without a comprehensive, long-range energy policy.

The extremely cold weather this winter has dangerously depleted our supplies of natural gas and fuel oil and forced hundreds of thousands of workers off the job. I congratulate the Congress for its quick action on the Emergency Natural Gas Act, which was passed today and signed just a few minutes ago. But the real problem--our failure to plan for the future or to take energy conservation seriously--started long before this winter, and it will take much longer to solve.

I realize that many of you have not believed that we really have an energy problem. But this winter has made all of us realize that we have to act.

Now, the Congress has already made many of the preparations for energy legislation. Presidential assistant Dr. James Schlesinger is beginning to direct an effort to develop a national energy policy. Many groups of Americans will be involved. On April 20, we will have completed the planning for our energy program and will immediately then ask the Congress for its help in enacting comprehensive legislation.

Our program will emphasize conservation. The amount of energy being wasted which could be saved is greater than the total energy that we are importing from foreign countries. We will also stress development of our rich coal reserves in an environmentally sound way; we will emphasize research on solar energy and other renewable energy sources; and we will maintain strict safeguards on necessary atomic energy production.

The responsibility for setting energy policy is now split among more than 50 different agencies, departments, and bureaus in the Federal Government. Later this month, I will ask the Congress for its help in combining many of these agencies in a new energy department to bring order out of chaos. Congressional leaders have already been working on this for quite a while.

We must face the fact that the energy shortage is permanent. There is no way we can solve it quickly. But if we all cooperate and make modest sacrifices, if we learn to live thriftily and remember the importance of helping our neighbors, then we can find ways to adjust and to make our society more efficient and our own lives more enjoyable and productive. Utility companies must promote conservation and not consumption. Oil and natural gas companies must be honest with all of us about their reserves and profits. We will find out the difference between real shortages and artificial ones. We will ask private companies to sacrifice, just as private citizens must do.

All of us must learn to waste less energy. Simply by keeping our thermostats, for instance, at 65 degrees in the daytime and 55 degrees at night we could save half the current shortage of natural gas.

There is no way that I, or anyone else in the Government, can solve our energy problems if you are not willing to help. I know that we can meet this energy challenge if the burden is borne fairly among all our people--and if we realize that in order to solve our energy problems we need not sacrifice the quality of our lives.

The Congress has made great progress toward responsible strip-mining legislation, so that we can produce more energy without unnecessary destruction of our beautiful lands. My administration will support these efforts this year. We will also ask Congress for its help with legislation which will reduce the risk of future oil tanker spills and help deal with those that do occur.

Today they sound like Carter

Some satire at the expense of bushbots

Hello, I am Jimmy Carter , President Bush asked me to address the nation tonight because he said the right-wing needed someone to bash and blame for what I am about to say...so be it. As you know back in 1977 I asked for a war-footing to take on
our Energy Policy ...President Bush now agrees with that and conservation measures as well..he just does not want to face you and say it ..that
is why I am here...I have said it before. So while
he cowers for cover...Let us unite in putting our
country on a war footing...a manhattan project..to
truly give our great nation what it richly deserves ...Independence and freedom from foreign
oil. Thankyou and God bless America.

In the Spirit of satire,sarcasm,pointing out double standards, and how things seem to come
around full circle...in other words "what goes
around...comes around"

Aslanspal Triune wink

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by ASLANSPAL:
1) cause a culture change and drilling breaking out in even more pristine areas...even off the coast of Jeb Bushs Florida.

2) we need to declare an energy war a 5 year plan

1) I agree. We need to drill for oil and gas in ANWAR, off the Atlantic coast, off the Pacific coast, off of Florida, and on Federal lands.

2) I agree. And here's the practical plan I hope that you, ASLANSPAL, and lots of others in this country will support:

www.setamericafree.org/blueprint.pdf

We should drill everywhere while we are implementing this plan. It will vastly improve U.S. security and pull the rug out from under OPEC.

 

[billwald]

Originally posted by Joseph_Botwinick:
If average Americans would only drive to places they absolutely have to go, and cut out a lot of recreation, this would sharply reduce the demand for oil.

So would a $3/gal war tax to pay for Iraq and Afganistan oil wars.