Don't fall for it!

[Nasus]

Today in the NY Times.. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/business/14oil.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

It seems the Saudis are going to start pumping more oil.. and it is NOT because "W" went hat in hand begging for more output to lower the price. It is because the Saudis realize that what is going on is not good for them, politically or economically. And here is why.. for the first time the world and especially the US is searching for an alternative fuel.. this would mean less oil profit for the Saudis and the cartel.. less ways to control us.
If anyone remembers the 2 oil embargo's we freaked when gas hit over a 1 dollar but got used to it, freaked again when a few years later oil went over 2 dollars.. but again we got used to it as it hovered at 1.80 down to 99 back up.. etc. We went back to those big gas guzzlers and went on our merry way. I to have a big gas car.. i was lulled into complacency twice! Not any more folks! I will not allow some middle east king who i might add has spent millions promoting, setting up schools to teach the strictest form of Islam and hence growing your future terrorists union, to dictate my life.. remember in SA women are not allowed to drive, must be covered from head to toe, where rape is HER fault always, and women can't even leave the house without a male escort.. family or husband. NO NOT AGAIN!
We must write our congress, senate, and anyone else u can think of to keep the research going on to get off oil.. let the Saudis and the cartel eat sand for all i care.. and don't buy any car or truck.. send a msg to Detroit to start producing energy efficient cars or hybrids in mass numbers and at a price all can afford. WE CAN DO IT..

This rant is brought to u by one pissed off women who just won't take any more BS.

 

[Emma & Nigel's Mom]

Interesting. I lived in England for a while back in the mid 90's and first of all I walked everywhere, second my Dad, who is very English, has always teased me about us Americans being spooiled because he's been paying double what we have for gas for years!

I realized this year that I've been driving my kids to and from school everyday, when really even they could use the walk. It'll take time to adjust, but I think I should get us back on the walking track!

 

[NewfyDad]

I agree with a lot of what you say, we need to continue research into alternative energy. But currently there is NO magic bullet on the horizon. The problem though is not the Saudi's, it frosts me to no end that the US is literally sitting on enough oil to last the next 100 years and we are not allowed to drill for it. The only short term solution is to drill and expand refining capability. We also need to follow the European model, the only European model I support in fact, and start to build new nuclear power plants. There is NO other form of electric power generation that can supply enough power for US industry.
Since the current high price is largely due to Futures Speculation, announcing today that we are going to drill in Anwar and the Dakota's will drop the price overnight. When I watch these senate hearings it boggles my mind that all these "Learned" senators don't have a freaking clue about Economics 101 and how the free market economy works. That or there real goal is to use it as an excuse to collect taxes and damage US Industry.
Bottom line is we don't have to rely on the Saudi's if we just expell the environmental extremists from Washington.

 

[ina/puusty]

Thanks for those comments/perspectives. Yes..we have had these 'reality bumps'..been aware of the directions america chose..and so..our family and most of personal friendship circle were 'out of step'..and bitched..at low, what I like to think of as..'well-reasoned' levels. The greater public..in the suburbs hereabouts..found our thinking..quaint. Old fashioned. We..none of us..has the 'killer financial gain' dna. All around us..the real estate market hungry for profits..bought farm land..further and further out of town..and covered the land..with McMasions..and then..the daily 'multi-drives'..from upper Marcola..to Eugene. Upper McKenzie river..to Eugene. All the biggest vehicles, all the guzzlers..and still we..huddled and hoped..for wisdom..to overwhelm..the self serving common-man. Will this global shock finally act to wean the people who didn't 'get it'..the first hits..in the 70's? One hopes so. I have never been in a life style where we 'gathered things/and social happenings'..and lived an affluent lifestyle..because me n mine..have always been schooled culturally..to 'look to the family health'..and thus..we see the entire unit..as our motivation to be as supportive..as we can. 'What..The Joneses'..may have, be up to..means an ego trip..must be important..and MUST be 'trained for'. One does not become egotistic..accidentally. It is..a direct product..of being average, so far as valuing humanity, is concerned. Giftedness..in the expanded, humanitarion sense..means looking at ALL life..human and non-human..as..'worthy'. Ave. people..focus upon their own..and do not see 'others'..as of EQUAL value. Us vs Them. Sound familiar..when looking at a community, or curr. political stance, religion (!!) or culture? Yup..if any of you..are pointing a finger..at any group..you have 'interior work'..to do. I have my biases..as this posting shows..but..I am working to smooth..the edges..I 'see' what my visions..entail..and I work..endlessly..to 'weed the personal garden'. Our coveted..if you will things..are the health emotionally, and culturally..of the worlds peoples..and the educations..to allow all to thrive. If I chose to live an affluent life style..others..nameless others..are doing the scut-level work..so I can thrive. There actually are places..where there are the Elders, who do executive-level living..part time. The rest of the time..they are grooming peoples lawns and hedges, they are bringing home the bacon. They..do the high-level financial planning and corp. work a few hours a day,..and then they rise to oil tools of the trade..at 4 am. This rant brought to you..from strong caffine..and the visuals..I was out and amongst..while in the Seattle area...last week. The word we need..is egalitarion..however..it is spelled. A world in which, no one is forced to live below their healthy life style..to support my..life style. THAT..my friends..is how each should judge..how they live the next years..of their lives. How many situations, and things..do you use..which someone elses pain-in-just-surviving..day to day..provides? ina n HB

 

[NewfyDad]

Sounds very Stalin-istic to me. I prefer freedom.

 

[Yogi & Cordelia's Erin]

I was reading yesterday and Toyota plans to release an all-electric car for mass prodcution in 2010. I plan on getting one, and using my minivan for trips that involve dogs only. Electric's enough to get me around the total of about 11 miles that I drive every day.

 

[Nasus]

Yogi u don't have to wait till 2010.. Think America has and Electric car right now.. www.think.no Ok true it is small.. but they are coming out with a new model this year that seats 5. The body will never rust or scratch.. LOL it's made from "Tough Stuff".. i loved it.. if u get a scratch u just grind it out.
The Think car was born in Norway in around 2000, was bought by Ford and then dumped... see how forward thinking Detroit is LOL.. anyway.. think is back and as of now they are going to be selling in the US... btw the car is around $20,000 in the US and $40,000 in Norway.. go figure.. New Lith. Batteries were just announced for Think.

 

[ardeagold]

Sounds very Stalin-istic to me. I prefer freedom.

I agree. Socialism doesn't work well, IMO.

I have NO problem with the Oil Companies like Exxon making a profit. I just see no reason why the Govt is subsidizing them so that they can.

We do need to get busy and build new refineries, drill for our own oil, use every type of alternative energy available, and find MORE methods to cut our dependency on foreign oil. Ethanol isn't great...it's taking food resources to power vehicles. Don't like that much. However, to do it properly, we need ALL of the farmers to be producing......which isn't a bad thing at all. It's just one method of becoming less oil dependent. There are so many more we can be utilizing.

Both parties of the Government have been ignoring this problem for far too long....like 30 years, I believe. That needs to stop now. Or they need to go.

 

[NewfyDad]

I have no problem with electric cars, particularly if the electricity to charge them is derived from nuclear power. BUT... The current battery technology will result in more pollution being generated in the manufacture and disposal of the battery's than would be produced by a comparable gas powered vehicle. You may not be using petro fuels by driving one, but you are producing more pollution. Also, lithium batteries contain 10-13% cobalt. The cobalt production worldwide is already being taxed because of the use of litium batteries in laptops. It will be interesting to see where the price of cobalt goes. Probably a good time to invest in the speculate in the cobalt market. As I said earlier, I think experimenting with these technologies is great, but none of them are anywhere close to being a viable alternative and I hope we don't jump on the bandwagon the way we have with ethanol, which is a disaster.

 

[Nasus]

Hey NewfyDad.. how about switch grass ? While we were flying to the US.. we passed over Denmark and saw their fantastic wind farm in the Atlantic.. it was something to see..Norway uses Hydro to produce Electric and now gas fired plants in some places up North, but hey.. Norway is an oil country and gas. Today I paid $12 a gallon.. i do drive less and walk more.. oh my poor tootsies LOL. There are no nuke plants being built in Europe.. and the ones that are here are OLD.. don't know how long they will be around.. I would not want Nukes in my backyard thank you.

Actually you can use any plant to make fuel.. Trond thinks with all the potato's they grow in Norway we could use the plants once the potato's have been harvested, sounds good to me

 

[NewfyDad]

Some plants with more sugar content are more effecient for ethanol production tahn corn, such as sugar cane, but the bottom line is because the demand for ethanol is so high, acres are converted from staple food crop production to ethanol stock plant production, thus creating food shortages. Also, in South America deforestation is on the increase which will lead to environmental problems because the governments there see the huge cash influx from converting forest to ethanol crops. The whole problem with ethanol is that it was not properly looked at to determine the viability, ramifications and the overall impact. Pretty much the Big Corn convinced everyone jumped on the bandwagon with both feet.
Nuclear power can be safe and quite frankly there is no other green alternative to supply the power required for any industrialized country. You could cover the US with windmills and not produce the megawatts necessary to keep our homes and factories running. As a supplement or to provide power to your homestead, sure. Although a lot of environmentalists are now anti windmill because of all the birds the windmills kill. And again, the main problem is a windmill only generates electricity when the wind is blowing. If it is the sole power source you have to have a mega battery bank to store the power. The manufacture and disposal of those battery's is a far greater risk to the environment than coal fired power plants are. Greenpeace founder Patric Moore has becomae an ardent supporter of nuclear power as the only viable alternative to fossil fuel based generation.
All I am saying is there are no easy answers. Research has to be properly done to determine viability of some of the emerging technologies and to explore new possibillities. In the meantime increasing our oil supply by drilling is a sensible course of action. When the Alaska pipeline was built, environmentalist screamed that the caribou herd was going to be decimated. However, the caribou florished because the pipeline was designed with areas to allow the herds to cross and the caribou benefited from the heat near the pipe.

 

[jane]

electric cars, alternitive fuels, and magic bullets are not the answer. they never have been. opec and the big oil companies are not the ones who control the price of oil. it's the chicago merc exchange and the commodities market.
the speculators who are making a ton of money are the ones who are driving up the price. they did it with the real estate market and now they are doing it again with oil, corn, gold, etc. etc.
the simple fact of the matter is that there is no reason for oil to cost more then $40.00 a barrel. there is no shortage of supply and there is enough oil in the ground to last more then 100 years. and i'm not talking about anwar alaska. Bush has made a huge issue about drilling for oil there. but the fact is, there has never been any test wells drilled there, and they have no idea what kind of oil is there , how deep it is or how much if any is there. they just want to drill no matter what. why? check out sen. stevens and what his family owns.
back in 1995 clinton gave, free of charge, the mineral rights and leases to 4 oil companies for an section of our country called area 181. in area 181 they have drilled the test wells. they know that it is light sweet crude there. they know how deep it is and they know there is more oil there then saudi arabia and iran has combined. it is the biggest deposit of oil ever found in the world. the problem was at the time that it wasn't feasable to drill there. too deep. the oil exec's told clinton that oil would have to be above $50.00 to break even drilling in area 181. now oil is well above that $50.00 threshhold and guess how many wells are producing there?
4. that's it. andarko has drilled 4 test wells. exxon, gulf and valero all own leases but they haven't drilled yet.
Cuba, with the help of iran is drilling and producing oil just 60 miles of the coast of the florida key's. but we are not. why?
if they opened area 181 for full production the price of gas would well below $2.00 a gallon.

 

[NewfyDad]

Your right Jane, they have not drilled any test wells yet in Anwar, but it was my understanding that the Dept of Interior won't allow the test wells. The geological reports on Anwar are promising however. And I agree with you 100% on the Area 151 fields in the gulf. It is also believed that the reserves recently discovered in the Dakota's are quite promising.
But I believe the real reason is that we aren't drilling because there are too many people in high elected office that want our economy to falter and are quite willing to make the engine that fuels our economy sputter and gag.

 

[jane]

this is danny, not jane who wrote that.
my question about the anwar is why are the republicans pushing so hard to drill in an area that no one knows how much or what kind of oil there is when they have proven wells in the gulf, proven wells in the nevada/utah boarder and also the shale oil in the green river basin.
those 3 areas alone have more oil then all the middle east and russia combined. but we won't drill there.
the 1st bush and the clinton administration gave the land from the closed military bases to the oil companies for the purpose of building refineries. the EPA gave those properties a special variance to avoid environmental conccerns. but again, the oil companies have not even asked for the permits to start building the refineries. so we continue to have a severe shortage of refineries, we continue to import oil from unfriendly nations and we have an energy policy that was approved by a republican congress and was written by the vice president and the CEO's from the 3 biggest oil companies
not building refineries and refusing to drill where they know huge reserves of oil is, and a vice president who doesn't think he's is part of the executive branch of government tells me one thing. they wanted this to happen.

 

[Windancer]

well, my son in law is making a hydrogen generator in the garage. The technology is there for making fuel from water by passing small electric voltage thru water which seperates the hydrogen gas..Cars run well on it...and the by product is water ! no pollution.. We actually made one together the other night. The gas bubbled right up. This technology should be improved apon for sure. My information is that this was invented in the 30's, purchased by the car companys, and filed away.....oil is big business folks. Most folks don't mind getting rich now, and never mind the future generations..... J

 

[sarnewfie]

we are going to buy a diesel and convert it to a grease car. we know several people who have them and are quite pleased, plus they traveled to california and back with no trouble.

 

[Nasus]

Whoa.. sure hope u have a list of every KFC or other greasy spoons for your travels LOL

 

[NewfyDad]

A couple years ago guy I worked with converted a 70,s era VW Rabbit to waste cooking oil. He was staying at a friends house in a rural area and black bears ripped the hood off the car to get at the oil scent in the engine compartment!!!!

 

[Windancer]

Oh my gosh ! J

 

[2newfs4now]

Any one see that the Japanese have developed a "water fueled" car? It will run on any type of water and even tea!!! Also, our not so Econ 101 smart senators are smarter than you think...where did most of their money come from? It sure wasn't from 9-5 jobs.