stevebeilgard Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 We need to invest in alternatives to oil period. when a good alternative to oil is discovered, folks will flock to it if they can save money and/or get decent results. all we have so far is high priced, too small, crummy stuff no one wants. the electric chevy was on the market for 34 days (i think) before the first one actually sold. that's the $42,000 electric roller skate that goes 40 miles before it needs an 8 hour charge. we can do better than that, for sure. meanwhile, we need to drill, refine, and sell our own. that could put americas 14 trillion dollar defict to rest within 10 years. what we really need to do is follow the dollars. it's our money, sent to the persian gulf oil countries, that the muslim terrorism folks what they need to kill us. again, when someone invents something better than the cars we have now, they will sell. meanwhile, we're pretty well stuck making our enemies rich. thank you very little, most past politicians.:hammer1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 From someone who has been in the auto service business over 50 years, I can give some observations. # 1 We have been controlled by the whores on wall st. for ages. I still maintain the oil companies should be buying crude from the supplier and selling it as a refined product at a REASONABLE profit. Why do we need a middle man in the first place? # 2 in 1975 we had a so called " oil " crisis. Was there any lack of fuel? Not that I ever saw, but the rhetoric drove prices at the pump from 33.9 cents a gallon to over $ 1.00 almost overnight. Did our government intervene? No, Most of our so called leaders were connected to big oil anyway. In todays environment we are in direct competition with China for crude oil. It has been stated we only get 2% of our crude from Libya. So be it. But, how much does China get? China buys more crude oil than we do. Not because they have a lot of cars but everything they make requires petroleum. Synthetic clothing,material, tires, plastic for toys and who knows what else. We already know we are getting a lesser quality crude here because we are a second string buyer. This has added to refining costs to get a fuel our EPA is happy with. # 3 We are no doubt headed for a bidding war for crude oil with China, Tiwan, Japan and others for the above reasons. Interestingly enough, Pres. Obama is entertaining a grand plan to give each buyer of an electric car $ 7500 as an incentive This is from a guy who doesn't have to commute to work like some folks do. He flies in a private jet or is driven in a high cost, high maintenance limo. Duh! Suppose everybody ran out and bought a totally electric car tomorrow. Do you think our power grid could survive recharging these things? Think again! Our highways are maintained with a surcharge on every drop of gas we buy. No gas tax, no $. A while back I started a thread on this forum about ethanol fuel mandates driving up the cost of food. Some folks thought I was crazy. Have you bought a box of corn flakes lately?:saber: Food [ pardon the pun ] for thought. Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 We need to drill here, drill now, and quit relying on other countries. Yep yep. Enough oil here at home to be self sufficient. We need to invest in alternatives to oil period. Seems like we are Mike, at least to some degree. Govt incentives are out there for ideas and then there are rebates for energy efficient vehicles. That said I think the idea held by some liberals that we can cut our dependance on oil is a bit unrealistic. I mean not everyone can afford to make the transition to electric automobiles or other potential conversions, you look at working class folks and the ability to make a change and then look at the escalating prices and just who it is that is hurting the most. Then look at what is happening with inflation as a result of the money situation and higher costs of productions/transportation costs of goods. Folks barely getting by now are hardly in a situation to be able to go out and buy a new vehicle. Agree with Jeramie, we need to drill here at home and also continue with research on possible alternatives, put more American's to work in the process. Take a good portion of our foreign oil purchase out of the global market and watch the prices fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 From someone who has been in the auto service business over 50 years, I can give some observations. # 1 We have been controlled by the whores on wall st. for ages. I still maintain the oil companies should be buying crude from the supplier and selling it as a refined product at a REASONABLE profit. Why do we need a middle man in the first place? We don't need a middle man. Granted we need some regulation but there is no reason BP, Exxon, Shell, Valero, ConocPhillips, Holly refining, etc. shouldn't be able to buy directly from the sand box and sell it as refined products. # 2 in 1975 we had a so called " oil " crisis. Was there any lack of fuel? Not that I ever saw, but the rhetoric drove prices at the pump from 33.9 cents a gallon to over $ 1.00 almost overnight. Did our government intervene? No, Most of our so called leaders were connected to big oil anyway. In todays environment we are in direct competition with China for crude oil. It has been stated we only get 2% of our crude from Libya. So be it. But, how much does China get? China buys more crude oil than we do. Not because they have a lot of cars but everything they make requires petroleum. Synthetic clothing,material, tires, plastic for toys and who knows what else. We already know we are getting a lesser quality crude here because we are a second string buyer. This has added to refining costs to get a fuel our EPA is happy with. Yep, yep, and yep. Our EPA is pushing NOx levels to incredible lows. All refineries in the USA/ Canada are required to work in stringent emission levels. The equipment required to take a RFG (refinery fuel gas) or natural gas and turn it into heat, and in turn refine a product for market is very expensive. Also, people rarely mention OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) directly controls what you pay for gas at the pump too. If they mention they are cutting production panic ensues and gas takes a stark jump. They do this on a quite regular basis as both the USA and China will pay inflated prices to be sure Oil flows into our borders on a steady basis. Also, on that note. A lot of people fail to realize that oil Sheiks in the sandbox aren't wealthy. They are filthy stinking rich. Most are multi-billionaires and could buy our wealthiest with the money in their front pockets. They didn't get that way by finding USD in the sand. We ship it over there by the proverbial boat loads. The reality is we have loads of oil here. If we could actually lighten up on our fuel producers you would see gas drop for several reasons and the economy would get better. One of the biggest reasons is that China would be the major consumer of Middle East oil. The prices would drop like a stone from an airplane. # 3 We are no doubt headed for a bidding war for crude oil with China, Tiwan, Japan and others for the above reasons. Interestingly enough, Pres. Obama is entertaining a grand plan to give each buyer of an electric car $ 7500 as an incentive This is from a guy who doesn't have to commute to work like some folks do. He flies in a private jet or is driven in a high cost, high maintenance limo. Duh! Suppose everybody ran out and bought a totally electric car tomorrow. Do you think our power grid could survive recharging these things? Think again! Our highways are maintained with a surcharge on every drop of gas we buy. No gas tax, no $. A while back I started a thread on this forum about ethanol fuel mandates driving up the cost of food. Some folks thought I was crazy. Have you bought a box of corn flakes lately?:saber: Food [ pardon the pun ] for thought. Lynn Like it or not oil is the heart of this country. It really doesn't matter where it is drilled from but it is HIGHLY important to our economy. If gas really does top $4 a gallon by summer watch hotels, attractions, etc suffer. Everything is directly impacted. Our media plays oil and oil production as an evil empire out to empty the wallets of the common man. Granted it is a very profitable business but Oil is the black sticky life blood of our Countries. Regardless of your stance on oil, it is a 100% necessity and we are no where near having a solution or replacement. In fact, the Chevy Volt was voted as one of the worst buys. The trip to solving a lot of our woes now is to figure out how to get oil and the finished refined product to the consumer as cheaply as possible. We know thats not going to happen if we keep buying from Billionaire Sheiks. We are going to have to, for once, look out for our own and quit worrying about someone across the big pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Glad I filled the tanks three weeks ago..prices were just hinting at going up then.. listened to an economist the other day.. according to him we are going to be $5 gas and $7 diesel by 2014 to 2017 and food prices are gonna go thru the roof along with anything associated with oil... and what isnt? Edited March 1, 2011 by Mathews XT Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I'm sorry I didn't rant a bit in my last post about our dependence on foreign oil. This shouldn't be. However I am convinced the Wall St. traders are not in favor of any change to this. Just watching Fox News and crude now is @ $ 99.63. It is time our government puts its foot down and removes oil from the commodity market! I am not in favor of more government control, however it is government's job to help protect its people. We have more oil than we could ever use but the greenies in this country won't allow it. Anwar is only one example. Of course I am a little prejudiced. My business depends on folks driving and wearing their vehicles out. I am a little concerned about $ 5.00 per gal. gas. As a side note, I have felt for a long time we should have FREE OIL! With the money we have spent in the middle east to help protect the people there we shouldn't have to pay a nickle for oil. BTW, in 1960 I drove to a city 60 miles south of my home where they constantly had gas wars. Stations would undercut their competitors trying to put them out of business. I filled the tank on my '53 Olds for 7.9 cents per gallon. Back home the same day gas was 24.9. Filled up tonight, 3.61.9 per gallon. [ Earlier this AM was 3.54.9- same station ] Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 This is the same old song and dance. For as long as I have been alive I heard the call to wean ourselves from foreign oil. In that time I have also witnessed some of the most amazing technology. From what was science fiction is now reality. Who would have thought the things we saw in Star Wars and Star Trek would be in our futures? We have gained more in the last twenty years than we have for the last 2000. Don't tell me the technology isn't there to run things without oil. What powered the Starship Enterprise? What fueled Luke Skywalker's attack on the Death Star? What is powering our Navy in many instances around the globe? The answer is in there somewhere....time to move on whether we like it or not. Invested or not. Time to wean off of oil period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m gardner Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Went up eleven cents this week. Now it's at $3.34. Glad to be biker trash for sure now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 We have more oil than we could ever use but the greenies in this country won't allow it. Anwar is only one example. And this of course is because they are uneducated. Other countries are NOT regulated like we are. If they pill out 5000 barrels of oil in the sand box there is not massive effort for cleanup. They simply kick more sand over it and keep on drilling. In the USA we are so heavily regulated that if a fuel tank leaks at a gas station the owner has to remove all natural earth within so many feet of the contamination. So basically they have to dig out their entire parking lot roughly 10' deep, ship the soil off, and then bring in fresh soil, re-level, pour parking, etc. If greenies really took a hard look at the facts they wouldn't have as many issues with opening up drilling in the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBow Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I left to go to Georgia on Sunday and just got home (Ontario) last night. We drove I81 from the Cdn/USA border to North Carolina then I77 to Georgia. I was driving a diesel pickup, so my observations on pricing leans that way, but I did see the odd gas pricing posted along the 1000 or so miles. Diesel prices per US gal ranged from $3.50 US to $4.00 US (the northern locals being the highest). I noticed some gas prices ranging from $3.20 to $3.64. TBow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 What powered the Starship Enterprise? The ship was powered by a space warp drive, matter/antimatter system. What fueled Luke Skywalker's attack on the Death Star? The force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBow Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Didn't Professor Brown's Delorean in Back To The Future (#2 or #3) use garbage or recycled refuge to power up the Flux Capacitor? That's what I want. A garbage eating set of wheels. Not one that produces garbage and eats my pocket book. TBow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Didn't Professor Brown's Delorean in Back To The Future (#2 or #3) use garbage or recycled refuge to power up the Flux Capacitor? That's what I want. A garbage eating set of wheels. Not one that produces garbage and eats my pocket book. TBow Ummm eh, not exactly the same but pretty sure I read somewhere where someone has used used/cleaned/recycled cooking oils to power automobiles with some sort of conversion of a gas burning engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Didn't Professor Brown's Delorean in Back To The Future (#2 or #3) use garbage or recycled refuge to power up the Flux Capacitor? Quick, someone go hit their head on a bathroom sink and think up the plans for one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 The ship was powered by a space warp drive, matter/antimatter system. The force. Thanks Corey...these have been questions all this time. What a relief to finally get the answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTPROFamily Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Gas is $3.59 here and diesel is $3.77! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Problem is this country isnt even close to weaning it's self off oil any time soon...it would take 30 to 40 years just to get the country geared up for "green" sources...and then it would be too expensive for any one to use it. we are oil driven folks..we need to drill our own sources period! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m gardner Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Problem is this country isnt even close to weaning it's self off oil any time soon...it would take 30 to 40 years just to get the country geared up for "green" sources...and then it would be too expensive for any one to use it. we are oil driven folks..we need to drill our own sources period! The problem I see with any "green" source of fuels is that biofuels use resources that we need to grow food. Even the little algae or designer bacteriums need some sort of food to produce fuel through photosynthesis. Problem is that 90% of the people I talk to think that these little creatures use water, sunlight and CO2 and that's it. We are looking at a food shortage worldwide right now and probably here too. We may not starve but prices are rising. I think God put coal and oil here to burn and food to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 your last sentence says it all, marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 3.399 Tuesday. $3.459 Wednesday. Diesel from $3.899 to $4.229 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 $2.99 this morning with the Kroger points, otherwise it would have been $3.49. They have it, we need it, bend over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion_70 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 It went up 25 cents in 2 days here. The kicker is, this comes at a time when we have an 18 year high supply... Now how can you have an 18 yr high supply and soaring prices at the same time when consumption is still low.. That defies every law of economics supply and demand, except for one, monopoly......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Here's a little humor to help ease the pain at the pump. I'm not implying gasoline is cheap but this will illustrate how outrageous some prices are when compared to gas. Lipton ice tea 16 oz $1.19....$9.52/gallon Gatorade 20 oz $$1.59....$10.17/gallon Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25....$10.00/gallon Brake fluid 12 oz $3.15....$33.60/gallon Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35....$178.13/gallon Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85....$123.20/gallon Scope mouthwash 1.5 oz $0.99....$$84.48/gallon Evian water 9 oz $1.49....$21.19/gallon and we don't even know the source!:angry: The real kicker....ever wonder why printers are cheap? So they hqave you hooked for the ink! Someone calculated the cost of printer ink...you won't believe this...at $5,200/gallon...yep Five Thousand Two Hundred/gallon.:jaw: Next time you're at the pump be glad your car doesn't run on Evian, Scope, Pepto Bismol, Vick;s Nyquil or heaven forbid...printer ink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 $3.47 this morning in the SE corner of the Lone Star State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 BTW...sold 300 shares of Exxon stock yesterday...profit more than enough to pay for gas for a year. Paid $3.59 at the pump a couple of days ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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