It's time to hit the streets, folks. Is anyone getting sticker shock when they fill their gas tanks? Let's take those protest signs over to the nearest Commodity Futures Trading offices and raise a stink....What? Not to the local gas station?
Sure, go ahead. You'll probably get more press if you & your buddies protest outside a visible BP station. But, who's the real culprit? A list of suspects:
1. George Bush & Congress
2. Environmentalists
3. Big Oil companies
4. Local gas stations
5. OPEC
6. China
7. Commodities trading
1. It's a fact that GB is an oilman from Texas and his trust assets are simply growing by leaps & bounds while he's in office. So, what does he do? Invade Iraq, claiming WMD's & then, when that proved a lie, claiming Al-Qaeda bases (even though Saddam Hussein hated Al-Qaeda & wouldn't let them in the country). In case anyone missed it, the real reason for invading was, & has been, oil. So, we've had 5 years in there & still can't get control of the country nor it's key asset? Not to worry--McCain says we can do it in 100 years. Congress has been unable to do much, esp. while it has been Republican-controlled for 16 years. So what has been done to help? I must've missed it--prices at the local pump are now hovering around $3.50 a gallon.
2. Whenever there's an energy crisis, right extremists immediately blame environmentalists. Go to http://digitalartpress.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/liberalsdemocratsenvironmentalists-responsible-for-high-gasenergy-prices/ for one such example. It's easy to blame environmentalists, especially because they get lots of press trying to protect the environment from all the damage done extracting minerals & oils. So often, companies go to the federal government because it's cheap. Our government will sell the rights for $1. Go to a homeowner & offer a dollar and see what you get! Is it possible to drill in a more environmentally friendly way? I'm sure there is, but these companies won't do it unless forced to do so. Right now, they take advantage of regulatory loopholes that allow them to be major sources of pollution. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2007-10-31-energy-pollution_N.htm. It's true that not all environmentalists have a real understanding of energy. Some have even blocked alternatives, like wind energy. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1258373/environmentalists_appear_to_be_winds_biggest_enemy/
Environmentalists can be credited with many things: getting DDT banned, pushing for the Clean Air & Clean Water Acts, vehicle emissions standards, and much more. Let's keep an open mind that environmentalism and energy production aren't necessarily polar opposites.
3. Let see, $40.6 BILLION earnings for Exxon Mobil in 2007 (http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2008/02/01/exxons-profits-measuring-a-record-windfall.html). That's for one oil company in one year. "If Exxon Mobil were a country, its 2007 profit would exceed the gross domestic product of nearly two thirds of the 183 nations in the World Bank's economic rankings. It would be right in there behind the likes of Angola and Qatar—two oil-producing nations, incidentally, where Exxon has major operations." On top of that, Congress has yet to repeal the special oil company tax break pushed by Bush during his first term. When OPEC first arose in the 70's and gas prices drastically escalated, Nixon (a Republican, btw), enacted a special tax called Windfall Profits. Go to this link to get more info on WP taxes: http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/readings.nsf/cf7c9c870b600b9585256df80075b9dd/edf8de04e58e4b14852570ba0048848b?OpenDocument
It's not all the fault of Big Bad Oil, of course, but I haven't seen any move by them to spend some of those profits on new production or new refineries. Nor have they appeared to invest heavily in more environmentally sound energy sources--but I admit to not having all the details on this topic.
4. Local gas stations. These poor guys have to essentially place a bet on how much gas will cost them next time they fill up. They also have to be competitive with everyone else around them. I don't know what the markup might be, but I also don't see too many gas-station owners in Congress (so they can't be that rich).
5. OPEC. Leave a bad taste in your mouth? Go to http://www.opec.org/aboutus/history/history.htm for a history lesson. They control the flow of oil out of the biggest producing countries. We've had over 40 years to create replacement products and reduce consumption. We answered the call with SUV's, huge energy-hogging homes, and few green initiatives. While household energy consumption has gone down, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0204.html on data thru 2001, imagine how much more it would have gone down if we'd enacted construction changes, size limitations, energy efficiency and tax credits for older homes. Last I heard, 40% of the energy consumed in the US is from our homes. Let's do a better job or removing OPEC from the picture.
6. China. It's all about supply and demand. Demand is way up in China and it's looking for more supplies. http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050901faessay84503/david-zweig-bi-jianhai/china-s-global-hunt-for-energy.html. That means they're competiting in a market where the US is the #1 consumer and they're #2. I read somewhere China may be #1 in the next 6 months. An article in Asia Times talked about how China (back in '03) wanted to move from less coal use--due to pollution concerns--to gas or natural gas. You can't deny that more demand has affected supply and hence prices.
7. Commodities? Go to http://www.wtrg.com/ for the latest prices. Note the news on speculation. I rarely hear anything about the commodities market & how speculation has led to the increase in prices. On the radio today, I heard them say the price isn't up because of supply--there's plenty in stock pile. So, why don't we stop the trading? Go back to #1. Nice circle, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment