Oil hits yet another record high

[forestal]

This is what a weak dollar does to your gas. Before Bush took office it only took 30 dollars to buy a barrel of oil, now it takes over $100.

Oil Hits Record Near $106 on Dollar, OPEC, Supply - Futures Commodities Overview * News * Story - MSNBC.com

Oil hit a record high near $106 on Thursday as a weak dollar helped prices to extend the previous day's gains, which were prompted by a drop in U.S. oil inventories and OPEC's decision to keep output unchanged.

 

[beerlover]

I'm not a fan of Bush by any means, but I think it is misleading to link the high cost of oil to any of his policies. I really think it's just plain old supply and demand, the continued weakening of the dollar, as well as a little bit of supply-side manipulation by OPEC.

 

[forestal]

Oh, it's not all his fault...

No new refineries in over dozens of years, our love of big cars, etc, but every barrel of OPEC oil sold must be sold in dollars. When the dollar is weak, we pay more for oil. Did you know that the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the U.S. Dollar? Part of the dollar's weakness is due to our spending habits, and lowering interest rates. Those can be traced to Bush and the Republicans who have sunk us another 4 trillion dollars in debt.

I'm not a fan of Bush by any means, but I think it is misleading to link the high cost of oil to any of his policies. I really think it's just plain old supply and demand, the continued weakening of the dollar, as well as a little bit of supply-side manipulation by OPEC.

 

[PsyOps]

Oh, it's not all his fault...

No new refineries in over dozens of years, our love of big cars, etc, but every barrel of OPEC oil sold must be sold in dollars. When the dollar is weak, we pay more for oil. Did you know that the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the U.S. Dollar? Part of the dollar's weakness is due to our spending habits, and lowering interest rates. Those can be traced to Bush and the Republicans who have sunk us another 4 trillion dollars in debt.

For once I agree with you. The present-day GOP has proven to be just as liberal when it comes to spending and increasing our debt. Of course this current Congress has yet to do anything to curb the problem. Lots of blame to go around. The president doesn't hold the purse strings, Congress does. All they have to do is say no when the president wants to spend money on something.

Another point you conveniently left out is, the reason more refineries aren't being built and more oil being produced on American soil is our liberal environmentalist friends. They have held the entire process hostage to the redheaded woodpecker and the darter fish. You can't complain about the price without accepting the solution.

 

[ImnoMensa]

The Ayrabs and Opec have us by the balls and they know it.

Makes you kind of wonder who's side the Democrats in Washington are on ,when they keep refusing to allow drilling offshore and in Alaska, while the Chinese are drilling in the Carribbean. CHINA STARTS OIL DRILLING
BBC NEWS | Americas | Cuba oil prospects cloud US horizon

No: we cant dril for the oil but we can piss away millions on "creative " "environmentally friendly" experimental products that dont work and have no promise of working in the immediate future. certainly we need new ways to get energy, but we are facing ruin while we wait, and the dipsticks in Washington are too busy calling names and placing party above country to care.

The same solutions were offered in 1976 that are offered now. Solar Power, Electric cars, Nuclear Energy, They have been working 30 years on these experimental solutions and they are still in their infancy. Meanwhile what do we do?

Certainly our dollar is weaker and it will get weaker. The EU was formed with the sole purpose of destroying the US dollar. It worked. We clean up, our environement by sending our manufacturing to China , where they dont have to clean up. We tax and regulate our businesses out of the country. We bring in Mexicans while we have Americans out of work. We havent built a refinery in 30 years its too easy to buy oil already refined and it fouls someone elses air. California wont build an electrical plant, they want a clean environment, so they foul someone elses air. We need a strong president with a strong Congress to get common sense laws passed and what do we have running---a Wimp, a crying woman ,and a nut.

 

[PsyOps]

... and what do we have running---a Wimp, a crying woman ,and a nut.

And, by crackie, I can't figure out which is which...

 

[RadioPatrol]

Oh, it's not all his fault...

No new refineries in over dozens of years,

Pin the tail on the Donkey and Environmentalists for this one ...............

 

[RadioPatrol]

Solar Power, Electric cars, Nuclear Energy, They have been working 30 years on these experimental solutions and they are still in their infancy. Meanwhile what do we do?

Certainly our dollar is weaker and it will get weaker. The EU was formed with the sole purpose of destroying the US dollar. It worked. We clean up, our environment by sending our manufacturing to China , where they don't have to clean up. We tax and regulate our businesses out of the country. We bring in Mexicans while we have Americans out of work. We haven't built a refinery in 30 years its too easy to buy oil already refined and it fouls someone else's air.

Actually Solar has gotten better ....... but the return on investment is about 20yrs @ current utility rates

the average whole house setup would be about $ 20 - 30k

the only way to get a more immediately return on your money is build a system that maximizes your output .... so for 90% of the yr your Pepco / Smeco meter is spinning backwards, and you only pay in the hottest parts of the summer ...... and then only small change ....

but most people cannot afford $ 30,000 out of pocket to build out the system .... IF Uncle Sugar was serious there would be programs that would pay 100% of the cost ...... not a measly 2500 bucks

You would be surprised @ the # of Phantom power sources in your house .... aka VCR's, Wall Warts ..... sucking up power all day .....

 

[ylexot]

Actually Solar has gotten better ....... but the return on investment is about 20yrs @ current utility rates

the average whole house setup would be about $ 20 - 30k

Expect solar prices to drop significantly next year to a few cents per watt. There's a new technology (I forget the company name) that is supposed to be going into mass production next year.

For now, I'm looking at wind. A windmill setup can be bought/built for under $1k, but I'm not sure how much energy I'd get from it over a year's time. I get pretty decent wind at my house.

 

[RadioPatrol]

Expect solar prices to drop significantly next year to a few cents per watt. There's a new technology (I forget the company name) that is supposed to be going into mass production next year.

For now, I'm looking at wind. A windmill setup can be bought/built for under $1k, but I'm not sure how much energy I'd get from it over a year's time. I get pretty decent wind at my house.

Yes I saw a show in the History Channel .... this company is experimenting with solar panels and Ink Jet Printing;

from endgadget:

Printed solar cell tech keeps getting closer and closer to reality, with a Massachusetts company called Konarka Technologies today announcing that it's now able to manufacture solar cells using inkjet printing. There's not a ton of information available about the process, but Konarka's already demonstrated it and published details in a trade journal called Advanced Materials -- which sounds like scintillating reading, if you ask us. Konarka says the process makes fabbing solar panels extremely easy, since it doesn't require a clean room, and the resulting cost reductions could lead to an increased number of applications for solar power. Of course, the economics of inkjet printing have lured more than one company to the dark side -- we wonder if Konarka is eventually going to start selling solar ink cartridges for more than the printers themselves?

Konarka Technologies, Inc. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


there also have been Solar Panel Shingles to replace your regular Shingles

 

[Pushrod]

Of course this current Congress has yet to do anything to curb the problem. Lots of blame to go around. The president doesn't hold the purse strings, Congress does. All they have to do is say no when the president wants to spend money on something.

Another point you conveniently left out is, the reason more refineries aren't being built and more oil being produced on American soil is our liberal environmentalist friends. They have held the entire process hostage to the redheaded woodpecker and the darter fish. You can't complain about the price without accepting the solution.

You notice how Forestidiot disapears when logical arguments are presented to him that would shatter his preconcieved world. You never hear another peep out of him as he sticks his head back in the sand.

 

[PsyOps]

You notice how Forestidiot disapears when logical arguments are presented to him that would shatter his preconcieved world. You never hear another peep out of him as he sticks his head back in the sand.

The one thing I will say about this whole argument is, if the GOP was more unified under the conservative base we wouldn't really be talking about this. But they have buckled under the pressure of the environmentalists for the sake of saving face. It makes no sense to me.

 

[RadioPatrol]

You notice how Forestidiot disapears when logical arguments are presented to him that would shatter his preconcieved world. You never hear another peep out of him as he sticks his head back in the sand.

Troll ............

 

[ylexot]

Yes I saw a show in the History Channel .... this company is experimenting with solar panels and Ink Jet Printing;

from endgadget:




Konarka Technologies, Inc. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


there also have been Solar Panel Shingles to replace your regular Shingles

That's the one! In fact, I think it was the History channel show where I saw it.

I looked at the solar shingles and they are expensive! It would also help if my house faced North or South.

 

[Bruzilla]

I wonder if Americans will ever wake up to the fact that the whole oil and gasoline market is artificial and has been for decades?

The supply of oil has not changed one bit. All that has changed are the stated "fears" of supply shortages. A war might break out, a hurricane might hit, exports could be cut. All of these "mights" and "could" don't make a bit of difference to the actual supply of oil, but allow speculators to artificially increase the price.

Also, where else in our economy do we accept having to pay the same for locally-produced goods as we do imported goods? Can you imagine buying MD Silver Queen corn at the Farmer's Market for $20 a dozen instead of $3 because of the potential for severe weather in Nebraska? Hell no, but it's okay to pay the same for gasoline made from oil that was piped to the refinery from passive Alaska as for gasoline made from oil that was pumped in a potential war zone and shipped from the other side of the world.

I hate to see government intervene in any business, but I think it's become pretty obvious that the oil industry has completely left the reservation and needs to be reined in, and that is the responsibility of the White House and the Congress.

 

[Pete]

I wonder if Americans will ever wake up to the fact that the whole oil and gasoline market is artificial and has been for decades?

The supply of oil has not changed one bit. All that has changed are the stated "fears" of supply shortages. A war might break out, a hurricane might hit, exports could be cut. All of these "mights" and "could" don't make a bit of difference to the actual supply of oil, but allow speculators to artificially increase the price.

Also, where else in our economy do we accept having to pay the same for locally-produced goods as we do imported goods? Can you imagine buying MD Silver Queen corn at the Farmer's Market for $20 a dozen instead of $3 because of the potential for severe weather in Nebraska? Hell no, but it's okay to pay the same for gasoline made from oil that was piped to the refinery from passive Alaska as for gasoline made from oil that was pumped in a potential war zone and shipped from the other side of the world.

I hate to see government intervene in any business, but I think it's become pretty obvious that the oil industry has completely left the reservation and needs to be reined in, and that is the responsibility of the White House and the Congress.

Doesn't the oil industry by crude on the commodities market?

 

[Cali Transplant]

This was in an email I received this morning. I thought it was amusing:

"Just in case you need a little more help in deciding how to vote!!!!
Too bad many Americans can't see.......IT'S THE CONGRESS!


A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.


Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we're seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) the cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.


America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

 

[awpitt]

The president doesn't hold the purse strings, Congress does.

Actually, the President does hold the purse strings in the form of veto power. Runaway spending in Congress can be stopped by the President. Figure the odds of Congress having 2/3 to over ride.

 

[awpitt]

This was in an email I received this morning. I thought it was amusing:

"Just in case you need a little more help in deciding how to vote!!!!
Too bad many Americans can't see.......IT'S THE CONGRESS!


A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.


Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we're seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) the cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate
(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.


America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

The Dems did that in one year? Yea, right. What we're seeing is the results of seven years of Bush and the previous leadership on the Hill.

 

[Pete]

The Dems did that in one year? Yea, right. What we're seeing is the results of seven years of Bush and the previous leadership on the Hill.

For the sake of honesty wouldn't it be more factual yo say "We are seeing the results of the Alan Greenspan led Federal Reserve Board's flawed monetary policy?