thedrifter
04-09-05, 02:55 PM
Oil: Cheap at Twice the Price
Tired of paying $2.30 per gallon? Think gasoline is way too expensive? Think again, Greenhouse breath.
I remember paying almost that much twenty years ago. Gasoline is astoundingly cheap. It is probably the best deal around. Corrected for inflation, oil ought to be above six dollars a gallon. This, in spite of the fact that worldwide consumption has exploded. This in spite of the fact that, due to the onerous environmental regulations passed by the tree huggers with the support of their sycophantic Democrat congressmen, leading to unreasonably high construction costs, there has been no increase in physical refining capacity in several decades. This of course doesn't mean that there has been no increase in capacity at all. The "evil" oil companies have heinously conspired to improve refining technology and thereby increase production using the facilities constructed in the '50s and '60s.
All of the above being true, we still hear Americans whining about the "high price of gasoline." Most vocal among those critics are the liberals harping about the "greedy oil companies gouging the public." This from the very people responsible for the current situation. If you want to lower oil prices, open up drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. How about drilling offshore in Kalifornia? It's okay for Texans and the other citizens of southern states (crackers? rednecks? hayseeds?) to live with the problems resulting from offshore drilling, but the state that consumes the most gasoline in the nation, the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, must not endanger its pristine coasts. It's not okay for the voting illiterati in Florida to drill off of their coasts. Why not? Because a few fish might be killed? Because the pretty scenery might be blemished? Well then shut-up. If your not willing to make a few sacrifices, then you've got no right to whine about oil prices.
The National Center for Policy Analysis E-Team has suggested just such radical actions. A summary of their proposals can be read on the US Newswire webpage (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=45482).
You want fuel cells? Hydrogen is available from two sources, refineries (the preferred source, meaning that you are still consuming oil) and hydrolysis of seawater (requiring tremendous amounts of energy, usually nuclear). Ethanol? Production of ethanol consumes more energy than it generates. Get that? It has a negative energy balance. This means that it will be more expensive than gasoline...absent the government subsidies.
You want lower energy prices? For now, start drilling in the places that are set aside, such as ANWR, Florida, and California. While we are doing that, revise the overwhelming regulations on the construction of coal fired power plants and refineries, and begin constructing them. The industry has proven time and again that they are capable of constructing safe, reliable, non-polluting, plants. Then we can begin funding research on more efficient methods of coal gasification and liquefaction. There's a lot of coal out there, but to fully develop it will require time and money.
In the meantime, stop whining and suck it up; otherwise, get a bicycle and start pumping.
Ellie
Tired of paying $2.30 per gallon? Think gasoline is way too expensive? Think again, Greenhouse breath.
I remember paying almost that much twenty years ago. Gasoline is astoundingly cheap. It is probably the best deal around. Corrected for inflation, oil ought to be above six dollars a gallon. This, in spite of the fact that worldwide consumption has exploded. This in spite of the fact that, due to the onerous environmental regulations passed by the tree huggers with the support of their sycophantic Democrat congressmen, leading to unreasonably high construction costs, there has been no increase in physical refining capacity in several decades. This of course doesn't mean that there has been no increase in capacity at all. The "evil" oil companies have heinously conspired to improve refining technology and thereby increase production using the facilities constructed in the '50s and '60s.
All of the above being true, we still hear Americans whining about the "high price of gasoline." Most vocal among those critics are the liberals harping about the "greedy oil companies gouging the public." This from the very people responsible for the current situation. If you want to lower oil prices, open up drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. How about drilling offshore in Kalifornia? It's okay for Texans and the other citizens of southern states (crackers? rednecks? hayseeds?) to live with the problems resulting from offshore drilling, but the state that consumes the most gasoline in the nation, the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, must not endanger its pristine coasts. It's not okay for the voting illiterati in Florida to drill off of their coasts. Why not? Because a few fish might be killed? Because the pretty scenery might be blemished? Well then shut-up. If your not willing to make a few sacrifices, then you've got no right to whine about oil prices.
The National Center for Policy Analysis E-Team has suggested just such radical actions. A summary of their proposals can be read on the US Newswire webpage (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=45482).
You want fuel cells? Hydrogen is available from two sources, refineries (the preferred source, meaning that you are still consuming oil) and hydrolysis of seawater (requiring tremendous amounts of energy, usually nuclear). Ethanol? Production of ethanol consumes more energy than it generates. Get that? It has a negative energy balance. This means that it will be more expensive than gasoline...absent the government subsidies.
You want lower energy prices? For now, start drilling in the places that are set aside, such as ANWR, Florida, and California. While we are doing that, revise the overwhelming regulations on the construction of coal fired power plants and refineries, and begin constructing them. The industry has proven time and again that they are capable of constructing safe, reliable, non-polluting, plants. Then we can begin funding research on more efficient methods of coal gasification and liquefaction. There's a lot of coal out there, but to fully develop it will require time and money.
In the meantime, stop whining and suck it up; otherwise, get a bicycle and start pumping.
Ellie