High Gas Prices-- Thank You Congress
Posted by: Ken Campbell | 06/11/2008 9:13 AM
Bloger's note: Congressional members point fingers and blame everyone (but themselves) for high gas prices. Imagine what would happen if Congress just made the move toward drilling and building refineries- gas prices would fall. Then when oil actually started flowing, prices would fall even further.
And as a side effect to our drilling, building refineries and becoming energy independent, the crazed dictators currently selling us oil would no longer have oil profits to funnel into terrorist activities. The terrorism problem would be solved!
This is simple logic to everyone, but those in Congress. Terence Jeffrey's piece (pasted below or link here) is an excellent read... too bad these facts are lost in Washington.
Our Own Oil Cartel
by Terence P. Jeffrey
Posted 06/04/2008 ET
Contemplate this the next time you spend $60 or more filling up your tinny little car with gasoline made from imported oil: The U.S. government knows where it can get its hands on more untapped petroleum than exists in the proven reserves of Iran or Iraq, which have 136 billion barrels and 115 billion barrels, respectively.
This unexploited stock of crude is greater than what the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports is in the proven reserves of Russia (60 billion barrels), Libya (41.5 billion barrels) and Nigeria (36.2 billion barrels) combined.
It is more than Hugo Chavez's Venezuela has (80 billion barrels).
It is more than is now known to sit beneath the waters and sands of Kuwait (101.5 billion barrels) or the United Arab Emirates (97.6 billion barrels).
So, where is all this oil? And why aren't they pumping it?
What cartel is holding it off the market, to drive up prices at American gas stations and American supermarkets? What insidious power is stifling the free market for this vital commodity and thus threatening the vitality of our economy?
It is us, of course. We are the culprits. We are responsible for artificially increasing oil prices. It is our oil that sits untapped beneath our deserts, our forests, our swamps and our oceans. It is our politicians -- the ones we freely elected, and re-elected, and re-elected -- who are not allowing our oil to be drilled by us and sold to us.
In 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, requiring the Department of Interior to
inventory the oil resources that could be found both onshore and offshore in U.S. territory. In
February 2006, Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) published the report on offshore oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). It determined there were 85.9 billion barrels of "undiscovered technically recoverable" oil sitting off our beaches.
Just this offshore portion of our undiscovered oil is more than all the proven oil in Venezuela, and more than all the proven oil in Russia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain combined.
What does the government mean when it says this oil is "undiscovered technically recoverable" oil? It means we can go get it with off-the-shelf technology, but the government makes no judgment about the profitability of doing so. This oil, the government says, is "in undiscovered accumulations analogous to those in existing fields producible with current recovery technology and efficiency, but without any consideration of economic viability."
Last month, with almost no attention from the liberal media, the Bureau of Land Management
released the report estimating the other part of America's undiscovered oil riches, the onshore
resources. This added another 53 billion barrels to the national petroleum pot.
"The nation's undiscovered oil resources total about 139 Bbbls (billion barrels)," says the report. "Of that total, the MMS estimates that 86 Bbbls are offshore under the OCS, comprising 62 percent of the nation's resources. State waters and nonfederal onshore resources are the second largest potential source of production (21 percent), followed by Federal onshore oil resources (17 percent)."
Yet, so long as Congress and the president retain the federal moratoria that forbid most offshore drilling, the 85.9 billion barrels of crude offshore won't be tapped.
The May BLM report explains why most onshore oil won't be tapped, either. Of the 279 million
acres of federal land "with potential for oil or natural gas resources," 60 percent is off limits to
leases as a matter of federal statute or administrative policy. Another 23 percent is open to leases with "restrictions." These include such things as "lands that can be leased but ground-disturbing oil and natural gas exploration and development activities are prohibited" and "lands that can be leased, but stipulations ... limit the time of the year when oil and gas exploration and drilling can take place to less than 3 months."
A final 17 percent of federal land is open to oil drilling on more or less the same environmental
terms as private land.
"All oil and gas leases on Federal lands, including those issued with only the standard lease terms, are subject to full compliance with all environmental laws and regulations," says the report. "These laws include, but are not limited to, the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act. While compliance with these laws may delay, modify or prohibit oil and gas activities, these laws represent the values and bounds Congress believes appropriate to manage Federal lands."
You elected Congress. It paid you back with $4.00-per-gallon gas.
The headline: Supes vote to move 69 jobs from Auburn to Rocklin
The money quote: ”With gas prices going up, we’re hearing more complaints about the drive,” Held said.
Yep, as I got back in the car after filling up, I said to my wife, “What ever happened to the good ole days when gas was $4 a gallon?
And I don’t mean to get crude here, but…
U.S. crude supply drops for a fourth week
By Myra P. Saefong
Last update: 10:40 a.m. EDT June 11, 2008 
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude supplies dropped by 4.6 million barrels to 302.2 million for the week ended June 6, according to the Energy Department Wednesday. They've fallen a total of almost 24 million in four weeks. Motor gasoline supplies rose 1 million barrels to 210.1 million barrels. Distillate stocks were up 2.3 million barrels at 114 million barrels. Refinery utilization was at 88.6% compared with 89.7% of capacity a week earlier. Following the news, July crude was last up $3.39 at $134.70 a barrel
Yes, those who enable Bush to keep his “made no mistakes that I can think of” record intact will trot out all the blame shifting rhetoric based on arm-chair economic theory.
It has been a mirage that Bush has been in the WH for going on 8 years and had the support of ® controlled Capitol Hill for the first 6 of them.
Actually, Bill Clinton has been president. We just thought the Clinton’s moved out of the WH in January, 2009
Lee,
I've got mixed feelings on your posting. Gas prices cannot be counted as a "mistake" on the Bush legacy. Unless he opened ANWR by executive order, there is nothing he can do to affect gas prices (opening up the strategic reserve is like offering a starving village bread crumbs...). I have no great love for Bush, I am mad as heck at his refusal to close the border, his rolling over and joining the enemy on Global Warming, his handcuffing of the troops (aka haditha trials...), his lacksidasical attempts at Social Security reform, his over the top spending, etc (I could go on...). It is entirely the fault of the congress under bush, and the Clinton presidency when the ANWR drilling bill was passed and then vetoed by ol' Bill.
The environmental lobby has tied our hands. We can't build coal fired or nuclear power plants. Bush's "mistake" here is being too passive about ramming down the throats of these greenies, bills that would allow more drilling and refining.
Amazingly, this is still not even being discussed as a possible solution to the problem. The ONLY thing that the congress is willing to talk about is adding extra taxes onto the price of gas. Um, if this sounds smart to members of congress then I think it's time to clean house...
How many of you have heard of “creation care”? It a growing movement within the Christian Evangelicals. It started back in 2006 and is picking up steam.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_care
"Evangelical environmentalism is a movement in the United States in which some Evangelicals have embraced the environmental movement. In February 2006, a group of 86 notable U.S. evangelical Christian leaders launched the Evangelical Climate Initiative, a campaign for environmental reform, calling on all Christians to push for federal legislation that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to stem global warming. The initiative's organizers intend to lobby federal legislators, hold environmental meetings at churches and colleges, and air television and radio advertisements that link drought, starvation, and hurricanes to global warming. In an effort not to be lumped in with the political left, many Evangelical environmentalists prefer the term "creation care" or "stewardship of creation" instead of environmentalism."
And I thought I would never in a million billion years give kudos to something Pat Robertson said…
"Those Evangelicals that support environmentalism were surprised and delighted when influential televangelist Pat Robertson changed his stance on global warming. In October 2005, Robertson accused the Evangelical Climate Initiative of teaming up with "far-left environmentalists," but in the summer of 2006 on his 700 Club television show, Robertson stated that "they're making a convert out of me." He also said "We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels. If we are contributing to the destruction of this planet, we need to do something about it."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_care
A year ago, my wife and I decided to get into “pocket book care.”
We traded in our 91 octane gas guzzling 3.2 TL for a Prius. And so now we can get warm fuzzy feelings that we have melded “pocket book care” with “creation care”…
Aaron P,, what have you done for creation care today? God is watching ya…
I think its important that we note that God created us to be good stewards over the land. I try to do my part whenever possible (switching the lightbulbs to the new compact flourescents, recycling, etc), not only because of the environment but because God said so. So plain and simple!
Lee - I help business owners cope with the effects of Lawyers... that alone should qualify me for a medal. If that doesn't do it - then the fact that I help give people peace of mind for a living should... take your pick...
This Eagle Scout has to go burn some doughnuts in his Mustang now...
3:8 take a second look at Romans - it talks about nature worship, there is a fine line between stewardship and nature worship.
I know you are a fan of Pauline Rocucci - take a look at her stances on issues (anti-growth / green / etc...) and you get a clear picture as to why Rocky beat her in the runoff - even after longtime liberal Democrat activist Rene Aguilera helped her by jumping into the race to keep Rocky below 50%+1 in 2006.
Aaron, please take a vacation. It would please your missus and your community and your God. There is a time to recreate, rest, meditate...Here is a gift to you..
There should be some silence in this place so thought can harvest things it's lately caught. I hope that you will take this as a resting space. A bench provided just before the clearing up ahead.
Rest here, be foolish, not merely lady, gent. Be a little useless for a time. Turn around and chase your tail. Roll on your back, paws up and out.
...try and make for you the calmest place there is within this loud and getting louder world.
No map to help us find the tranquil flat lands, clearings calm, fields without mean fences. Rolling down the other side of life our compass is the sureness of ourselves. Time may make us rugged, ragged round the edges, but know and understand that love is still the safest place to land.
Rod McKuen, April, 1998
Peace, Brother
The lead headline in the NY Times today:
Plan Would Lift Saudi Oil Output to Highest Ever
Yes, King Abdullah has become concerned about the mounting protests across the world. He has called for an emergency meeting of OPEC to signal to the oil speculators that the supply spigot is going to opened up a bit more.
The downside is that this calls attention to the bubbas who see the world in very black and white terms. Bubbas do not do nuance very well. “It is those damned A-rabs."
Bubba never met Pogo. Well, Bubba meet Pogo now…
"We have met the enemy... and he is us"
That be right you cute little fella, the enemy is us. We have to change our ways. We have to change our narcissistic ways. One of the essential features of narcissism is the inflated sense of entitlement. We are entitled to be wasteful of our creation’s natural resources. We are entitled to scoff at and even flame those in our society who express concern about creation care.
Finding ways to open the supply spigot is very short term oriented at best. Finding ways to alternative energy should be put on the same footing as the Manhattan Project years ago. We need leaders in the major spheres of our lives to call this nation to arms. This includes clergy leaders, business leaders, higher education leaders, the Fourth Estate, and our political leaders.
Wake Up America… and “beware the terrible simplifiers“-Jacob Burckhardt, eminent historian
"Finding ways to open the supply spigot is very short term oriented at best. Finding ways to alternative energy should be put on the same footing as the Manhattan Project years ago. We need leaders in the major spheres of our lives to call this nation to arms. This includes clergy leaders, business leaders, higher education leaders, the Fourth Estate, and our political leaders."
Lee, without agreeing with your characterization of "Bubba" :), extraordinarily well said. And the interesting thing is, people from all sides of the political spectrum are unifying on this issue, both from the perspective of being a good steward of the Earth, and the national security implications of not solving this problem.
Sorry, I hit enter and it submitted my post early! What I was going to add was this:
The thing is, I don't think most people see this as your typical conservative vs. liberal either-or solution.
Both new technology and new supplies will take years to develop. Just from a general business perspective, if you can do both and hedge your risks, that's ALWAYS a good call.
And if we had started this process in either the Clinton or Bush years, we'd already be far closer to a solution on BOTH fronts.
I personally think that if we begin drilling or developing new and relevant technologies the OPEC will lower the price of crude to try and make the propblem (us not needing them) disapear and Ken is right prices will fall.
However as watch gas prices rise I sit and wonder what ever happened to the Anti-Trust act. If one of these company lowered their gas price by nothing more than a quater they would sell their competition out of business. For some reason none seem willing to this. Gee Price fixing comes to mind.
With crude at a record high and Gas companies showing record profits at the expense of the american public, I can not belive that no one in congress has ingighted these people yet.
These are not exact numbers but it seems to me that it works a little like this:
Crude is $30 a barrel and gas cost $1.49 a gallon. even if crude to gas was 1 to 1 and I dont think it is that would leave 89 cents for profit and taxes after the cost of crude. So when crude goes up to $120 a barrel Gas should cost $3.29 a gallon leaving 89 cents for profit and taxes but instead it cost $4.29 a gallon. Where is the extra dollar going? Its going to profit thats where.
I could be wrong on my figuring I by no means am a Oil or Gas expert but that is the way it looks from my vantage point
James, I respect the point you are trying to make, but there is another way to look at the high cost of gasoline. Integrated Big Oil may be inadvertently doing Americans a favor. Big Oil and the oil traders have presented us with a CRISIS. Yes, I put this word all in caps.
In my career, working for The Center for Behavioral Health* as a staff therapist, crisis was my friend. People are not ready to change their self-defeating behavior until they are in crisis. In some circles, it is called "hitting bottom".
On the wall of my office was a plaque** with the Chinese ideogram for Crisis. The written word is actually two ideograms. One is for DANGER and the other is for OPPORTUNITY.
That is what a crisis is, a very dangerous place in our life, but if managed well, an opportunity for a paradigm change toward a more healthy existence moving forward...
Again, it is about Ourselves...not about Them. In the end, It is only Ourselves we have control over.
* now part of http://www.centerstone.org/
** given by Vietnam Era Veterans Association
Lee, Wow! That really is verry well put. I belive you are pushing toward alternative energy. I belive that would be the best solution for our childeren really for us too. Hopefully we will live long enough to see it a reality. For now I hope we can start drilling off the coast and in the ANWR I think it is about that time.
James, thank you….What I am advocating is:
1. Massive life-style changes. We will have to become a much less mobile society. We have to change our narcissistic attitudes about what we are entitled to. That includes me.
I will be flying out to my wife’s lake place near Fergus Falls MN via Fargo ND to spend about a week with my kids. I want to take my golf clubs with me so that my USAF Ssgt. Son and I can play to our hearts content before he deploys to Kuwait in October.
I feel that I am entitled to have Frontier carry my clubs out there for free.
But now Frontier thinks different.
We need to lower the speed limits in Roseville-Rocklin. We feel entitled to drive 50 miles an hour on Blue Oaks, Pleasant Grove, Roseville Parkway, etc. Yes, the posted speed limits are 45, but those are only observed by creation-care do-gooders.
We don’t have to take our little snow flakes out to soccer practice, rock-wall climbing, etc, etc. to mitigate our worries that we are not being good parents and grandparents.
There are oh so many more life-style changes that we can make that can substantially reduce fossil fuel energy consumption. These are behavioral changes we can make immediately. So that we can buy precious time to…
2. Move full speed ahead on alternative energy development and implementation.
I said this before and I will say it again. Moving to drill for oil in currently restricted areas is a short-term fix at best. It would be like rushing to Safeway to get gramps a six-pack of Old Milwaukee because he is starting to go into DTs. We know that is not what gramps needs. He needs a more longer term based intervention.
And so it is with Mother Earth
And all of Gods people…