Am I the only person around who is totally furious about the high (and rising)cost of fuel. It is getting absolutley ridiculous. I am paying $3.42/gal for diesel fuel right now. I know that means heating oil, reg gasoline and everything else is through the roof. It just seems that there isn't the hue and cry there should be for this sort of thing. I see very little about it in the news othere than record crude prices and their effect on the stock market. What do the rest of you think.
Fuel Prices
- Thread starter mulepackin
- Start date
I think we should all start to come to terms that fuel supplies are finite, and as the supply gets lower the price will get higher.
Why do you think Iraq was invaded illegally!
If governments were more far sighted, and used it's huge tax revenues from fuel to fund renewable fuel technologies, we would be driving no-emission, very low cost, environmentally friendly vehicles ALREADY!
I know that some alternative technologies that have been developed in the past have been bought by the major fuel suppliers and locked away from the world, so that their monopoly and stranglehold on the world's ennergy supplies would continue.
I love conspiracy theories, but this one has too many facts behind it to be called a conspiracy any more! It's just plain extorsion or the basic hard working person who needs to get around to make a living.
Obviously fuel prices are not high enough...................because the average person is not doing anything about it!
Enjoy~
Why do you think Iraq was invaded illegally!
If governments were more far sighted, and used it's huge tax revenues from fuel to fund renewable fuel technologies, we would be driving no-emission, very low cost, environmentally friendly vehicles ALREADY!
I know that some alternative technologies that have been developed in the past have been bought by the major fuel suppliers and locked away from the world, so that their monopoly and stranglehold on the world's ennergy supplies would continue.
I love conspiracy theories, but this one has too many facts behind it to be called a conspiracy any more! It's just plain extorsion or the basic hard working person who needs to get around to make a living.
Obviously fuel prices are not high enough...................because the average person is not doing anything about it!
Enjoy~
I guess we need to get used to them. As China and India crank up their demand and dwindling supplies...
here is australia diesel is at $1.34per litre and unleaded at $1.17 per litre. I think there are 4 litres per gallon so you do the sums...
here is australia diesel is at $1.34per litre and unleaded at $1.17 per litre. I think there are 4 litres per gallon so you do the sums...
What is really rediculous is that it takes less refining to produce diesel than gasoline.
I just traded my Ford F250 with a 7.3L diesel for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I figured that I would save nearly $800/year on fuel. I also got my monthly payment reduced $100/month.
==Tom
Here in Western Washington State gasoline is $3.30 gallon. Hmmm... pre-invasion barrell of oil = $15, now it's close to $90. Who is making out from this war?
I think the real problem is that the U.S., due to political choices and the sheer size of the country, never bothered to develop any kind of infrastructure that was not reliant on gas. If gasoline were to become suddenly scarce does anyone have any way to travel to and from work? Does anyone have any realistic way to travel across the country? (I don't consider Amtrak to be a realistic way for millions of people to travel.)
Good point about developing alternative infrastructure. Australia is in the same boat and most of our goods are moved via trucks which as the price of fuel increases, so do our goods. The government has been slow in getting goods off trucks and onto rail..
Here in Nz it's $1.65 per litre for 91 and $1.12 a litre for diesel and with the diesel we pay about $200-00 for every 5000k's road user charge as diesel doesn't have the surcharge that petrol has but then comes the dreaded gst (goods and services tax) we call it grab snatch and take and that's 12.5%...ouch
If oil was the reason for invading Iraq then why haven't we invaded Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela and Algeria? And In that order. Those are the six biggest suppliers of imported crude. http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/...ons/company_level_imports/current/import.html
Mexico is now drilling in the gulf and selling us the oil that enviromental activists won't let US companies drill for!!!! Activists have prevented companies from drilling in ANWR, stoped us from drilling in coastal waters off of Florida, and bogged down efforts to build much needed new oil refinerys with enviromental impact studdies and endless red tape.
But I'm sure some how or another its all Bush's fault.
Oh stop whining...in Western Europe fuel prices are around 1,30 euro's (around $2,0, US) PER LITRE......around $8 per gallon that is. Just switch to a more economic car like the whole of europe already has and you won't even notice the price rise.
Now that the Texan oil supply is dwindling and the grip on the middle east is not so firm as certain politicians would like you to believe, the US is suddenly standing in awe before the post-petroleum era. China's industrial might is now guzzling the fuel that you once poured in your F150's tank...What is more scary, though, is that the US will need ten years to adapt to this situation, at best. The worst case scenario is that it will take you fifteen to twenty years to adapt and billions of dollars.
Carwise, my Golf mk.V tdi averages 56.4 mpg and emits only 140g CO2/km. This is now a medium sized car. In ten to fifteen years' time, the Golf will be considered a limo.
Welcome to reality, boys.
$1.30 sounds about right for Sweden as well (give or take a crown). It's why we drive a small and very fuel efficient car
. It would be nice if we could break away from the dependency on oil, but it'll be a while longer and the alternatives are not always better... Ethanol fuel is becoming increasingly popular here, but there are serious environmental issues connected to the production of the ethanol (cutting of rain forest and transport costs and such).If oil was the reason for invading Iraq then why haven't we invaded Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela and Algeria? And In that order. Those are the six biggest suppliers of imported crude. http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/...ons/company_level_imports/current/import.html
Mexico is now drilling in the gulf and selling us the oil that enviromental activists won't let US companies drill for!!!! Activists have prevented companies from drilling in ANWR, stoped us from drilling in coastal waters off of Florida, and bogged down efforts to build much needed new oil refinerys with enviromental impact studdies and endless red tape.
But I'm sure some how or another its all Bush's fault.
I don't want to start a political debate here, but maybe the ground to invade the aforementioned countries couldn't be documented the way it was for Iraq?
Adjusted for inflation, gas is cheaper today than it was in the '70's, and cars also get better mileage. That is possibly why there is no hue and cry...prices are not high enough to pinch most of us.
As to invading Iraq or anywhere else for their oil...we can buy it cheaper than we could steal it. Wars are very expensive. And no one is threatening to cut off the supply. Oil is all the Middle East has and they can't eat it. They need to sell it just as much as we need to buy it.
As to invading Iraq or anywhere else for their oil...we can buy it cheaper than we could steal it. Wars are very expensive. And no one is threatening to cut off the supply. Oil is all the Middle East has and they can't eat it. They need to sell it just as much as we need to buy it.
What is more scary, though, is that the US will need ten years to adapt to this situation, at best. The worst case scenario is that it will take you fifteen to twenty years to adapt and billions of dollars.
Carwise, my Golf mk.V tdi averages 56.4 mpg and emits only 140g CO2/km. This is now a medium sized car. In ten to fifteen years' time, the Golf will be considered a limo.
Welcome to reality, boys.
Actually the oil supply isn't dwindling in TX or OK. I have worked in the oil industry and a lot of my family members still do..Living in Oklahoma I get to see sides of the oil industry that most don't.
For example the oil industry keeps saying that they don't have the capacity to produce gasoline because they don't have enough refineries...but you never hear about the 3 that are in Oklahoma that are just sitting there..All they would have to do is flip the switch and they could produce more fuel..
There has also been more drilling in the last year in TX and Oklahoma than there has been in years. The biggest problem is that a lot of the oil is either in shale or sand and it is harder to extract.
For the last 15 years or so our oil industry had slowly decreased the size and
capacity for refining oil. The reason for this was that crude oil from the middle east was cheap and the oil industry in the US couldn't produce it at that price...Now that the cost has risen our Oil industry is growing faster than ever.
Lets talk about coal. The Nazi's figured out a way to make gasoline out of coal during the war...The US has huge ammounts of coal...Do we use this method ..NOPE..
OK lets talk about alternate fuels...Hydrogen costs more energy units to produce than gasoline so it isn't even worth the time using it..
Hybrid cars are a "feel" good and really still cost more to run and produce than a gasoline vehicle...And lets not even talk about the energy units it takes to produce and discard the batteries..
Probably the biggest problem in the US when it comes to fuel savings is ..Big Brother and the Auto and Fuel industry. There is no reason for a pickup truck to get 13 mpg on average but we still sell them. I just sold an VW R32 and if I kept my foot out of it I could get 30mpg easy...I agree that we need to bring more Diesel vehicles to the US from Europe. We keep hearing that the auto industry can't bring them over because they don't meet or safety requirements, again Big Brother and the Auto industry..
A huge chunck of the price of fuel in Oklahoma is tax....So really the fuel costs less than 2.00 a gallon if you remove the tax. The price of fuel in the US isn't high because of supply or demand it is because the oil companies have raised the price of fuel for more profits. If no one believes this you just need to look at the record profits that all the oil companies are showing.
An example of how the oil companies control the actual cost of fuel is simple..
In Ardmore Oklahoma a refinery was hit by lightning....the next day the price of gas in Oklahoma jumped 30 cents a gallon. The oil companies said it was because the Ardmore plant was down and they couldn't produce enough fuel..
So how did the price of fuel at the stations increase since it was produced prior to the lightning strike? We should not have seen an increase for 2 weeks at minimum.
Here is another thought...You own a company..and lets just say you produce gasoline. .... Now lets say that you only have 20 years left to sell your product because you know that the supply will deplete by that time....
Wouldn't you be looking for something else to sell? You wouldn't just give up..
If there really is a shortage than why aren't Oil Companies spending all their profits trying to find something else to sell..Why are they putting it in their pockets?
The funny thing is that in the 70's there was big talk about oil shortage.....
And nothing was done about it...
We all know that the oil will run out some day but there isn't a product on the horizon that takes less energy units to produce and that provides more energy units than gasoline..
I don't want to start a political debate here, but maybe the ground to invade the aforementioned countries couldn't be documented the way it was for Iraq?
That's just short-sighted nonsense. There are many reasons for invading Canada. They have Cuban cigars, and they are not sharing! They insist on keeping a few NHL teams. And there are rumors that American draft-dodgers are hiding up there. If we don't fight the enemy in Newfoundland, the enemy will come here!
A couple of issues I have with what has been said.
If going into Iraq was for the oil, shouldn't we not even be having this discussion then? Where is all this oil we should be receiving? The same excuse was given for the first Gulf War. Generally it is thrown out there with no proof whatsoever to substantiate the claim.
Oil prices are high because people will pay for it. I'm sorry, but that is the way it is. How many of you out there working for a living wouldn't like to earn as much as you can for what you do? I thought that the guy who came to fix my oven last week was ripping me off, but it was a competitive price, and he has a job because people will pay him. It may give you warm fuzzies to think that every businessman out there is trying to sell their product at the least possible price, but those ones aren't in business for long. They will only ever reach out to niche markets. Do you really think that it costs some company like Penhaligon that much more to make their shaving products than some of these other companies that sell us products for less? No. But they know they can charge the prices they do, and people will still buy, so they do it. Sorry, that's just capitalism.
Some have talked about ethanol as an alternative, but other than the Iowa corn farmers, this isn't going to help a lot. Ethanol is a lot less efficient than gasoline, so it will take more ethanol than gasoline. Additionally, current estimates suggest that 40% of usable farmland will have to be converted to growing corn to produce just a 10% replacement of gasoline. Yes, there are alternatives to gasoline, but none of them yet give a similar bang for your buck. Solar? Imagine how many solar panels it would take to power just one house. Wind? Sure, as long as everybody has a few acres laying around to keep their own house with a minimal amount of energy.
That is why gas prices are high. It is very inelastic, many people have to buy it, more people want to buy it every day, and the people producing it actually want to earn money (which doesn't make them evil or greedy, in general).
We do need more refineries in the U.S. We haven't built a new one in decades. We have oil that we can get at with a minimal environmental footprint, but that gets blocked. It is the same reasoning that allows these wildfires to go out of control, because environmental concerns over one minor issue prevent people from protecting against a bigger concern.
If going into Iraq was for the oil, shouldn't we not even be having this discussion then? Where is all this oil we should be receiving? The same excuse was given for the first Gulf War. Generally it is thrown out there with no proof whatsoever to substantiate the claim.
Oil prices are high because people will pay for it. I'm sorry, but that is the way it is. How many of you out there working for a living wouldn't like to earn as much as you can for what you do? I thought that the guy who came to fix my oven last week was ripping me off, but it was a competitive price, and he has a job because people will pay him. It may give you warm fuzzies to think that every businessman out there is trying to sell their product at the least possible price, but those ones aren't in business for long. They will only ever reach out to niche markets. Do you really think that it costs some company like Penhaligon that much more to make their shaving products than some of these other companies that sell us products for less? No. But they know they can charge the prices they do, and people will still buy, so they do it. Sorry, that's just capitalism.
Some have talked about ethanol as an alternative, but other than the Iowa corn farmers, this isn't going to help a lot. Ethanol is a lot less efficient than gasoline, so it will take more ethanol than gasoline. Additionally, current estimates suggest that 40% of usable farmland will have to be converted to growing corn to produce just a 10% replacement of gasoline. Yes, there are alternatives to gasoline, but none of them yet give a similar bang for your buck. Solar? Imagine how many solar panels it would take to power just one house. Wind? Sure, as long as everybody has a few acres laying around to keep their own house with a minimal amount of energy.
That is why gas prices are high. It is very inelastic, many people have to buy it, more people want to buy it every day, and the people producing it actually want to earn money (which doesn't make them evil or greedy, in general).
We do need more refineries in the U.S. We haven't built a new one in decades. We have oil that we can get at with a minimal environmental footprint, but that gets blocked. It is the same reasoning that allows these wildfires to go out of control, because environmental concerns over one minor issue prevent people from protecting against a bigger concern.
I guess my other point would be that we aren't really hurting that much yet that we have so much money to engage in the hobby of wet shaving. Sure, there are some on this forum who are doing it to save money, and stick to just the relatively inexpensive products. But you see Castle Forbes products and expensive badger brushes getting snatched up pretty quick on the B/S/T forum. The fact that we have so much disposable income to spend on these tells me we are not being hit so much by gas costs, so much as we are just exercising are natural human tendency to gripe. I do it all the time.
Now that I think of it, I think we should also be discussing how Big Shave has been gouging the little guy. I am outraged that Aqua di Parma can charge ~$50 for shave cream. Same for Penhaligon. How dare they profit off of us?
Now that I think of it, I think we should also be discussing how Big Shave has been gouging the little guy. I am outraged that Aqua di Parma can charge ~$50 for shave cream. Same for Penhaligon. How dare they profit off of us?
