Crude Impact is a film currently playing on Sundance Channel. I recommend it, esp. for those who know very little about oil & how it affects everything. I've picked up a few other "crude snippets" over the last few months. Enjoy.
1. According to Congressman Robert Wexler (FL), the oil industry is sitting on hundreds of oil leases that have yet to be developed. Leases with proven energy deposits. In the meantime, the Republicans keep pushing for drilling in ANWAR & other protected areas (with no proof of energy deposits). Do we smell delay tactics in Big Oil? They're making tons of money now; why bother developing further? And Exxon is one of the biggest contributors to Republican coffers. (http://www.wexler.house.gov/).
2. What US company has the most oil interests? Nope, not Exxon. It's Morgan Stanley, a financial/investment services corporation. They own 60% of Olco Petroleum Group. . They also run an oil tanker business (see http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Morgan-Stanley-May-Run-Larger-Tankers-for-Oil-Trades-206124.html). They are the world's biggest trader in oil derivatives (see preceding article). So, what happens every time Morgan Stanley issues oil forecasts? They predict higher prices & lo & behold, the price spikes. Cha-ching. Right into the MS coffers.
3. Big Oil subsidies (reduced corporate income taxes for the oil industry, lower than average sales taxes on gas, government funded programs for big oil, etc.). These subsidies provide no incentive for anything to change. (see http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/fuel_economy/subsidizing-big-oil.html). Also see . Let's reduce or eliminate these subsidies & instead help solar, hydrothermal & wind companies.
This is pretty crude stuff, alright.
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