Truckers threaten strike!!!

[NJT5047]

This is what scares the bejabbers out of petro producers.

http://electricandhybridcars.com/index.php/pages/electriccarnews.html

Just a couple of years ago the interest in these things was only from geeks and engineers.  Now everyone's trying to be the first to intro a functional plug-in.  We are getting a glimpse of the future in the above posts.   
It might even help the diesel car guys by freeing up gasoline needs. That will allow more diesel production.
Now where are the power companies going to find all these KW hours to charge the nation's EVs? 
NOOKULAR energy!
JR

[Lee Bradley]

At risk I have the following to offer:

I feel the gov't does one thing well and that is to defend the country. May cost alot of money but worth it. I will not commit as to whether we should be where we are currently, but when needed the military does its job as told Extremely Well.

Sorry the government does that as badly as anything else they try. WWII the army got about 1 in 10 solders to the fighting; it just doesn't show as almost all armies are government run. This is not a put down of the army I am a proud former member of the All American 82nd Airborne.

I believe that the gov't can eliminate some of the many blends of fuels and simplify the storage/deliver/ manufacture of fuels. Cut out the spring/ fall / regional blends etc.

Yes they could but politically they can't and if they did half a dozen green groups would have them in court the next day.

Make EPA reg's that would work and still allow oil refineries to open and be built. This would increase the thru put and cut out the down time risks of the production. I believe increased supply would allow more competition and hopefully lower prices.

Increased production would lower prices but new refineries, power plants, dams, etc. aren't built because of green group opposition, NIMBYers, anti-car lobby.

I would love to see Nuclear Energy come back, but with one gov't approved designed reactor, not the one off every time...Less expensive,

See above.

Stop the subsidy to ethanol fuels, Do not need to pay to produce fuels ( costing 121 % to produce amount of energy recouped in the produced fuel) Have my Post Toasties costing $ 3/box instead of $ 6.

Yes! Let the market decide.

I am for free markets and letting things find their level within the big scheme of things.

Any one's thoughts.

Gary Pasternak

[NJT5047]

Anyone notice that Valero, the largest refiner in the US, is having profitability problems?
This is what happens when old refineries cause problems, a glut of gasoline collects in storage due to customers buying less product, and crude prices  higher than the market will absorb.   
Gasoline has hit the magic point where people are buying less product.  Only a fraction of reduced sales will cause fuel to back up. 
Valero is being pinched from both ends. 
Market commodity speculation is what's supporting crude oil.  Not market prices.  I suppose commodity speculators are a form of "market forces", but they skew things out of the norm. 
They'll take a hit too.  Some win, some lose.
Also take heart that in China, where fuel is relatively inexpensive due to gov price controls, they are having problems with distribution.  Dealers won't buy and sell at mandated prices.  Refiners are illegally selling refined product on the spot market for higher prices than the locals can afford.  Locals are losing there butts buying at high import prices, but selling retail at gov mandated prices. 
Soon the Chinese will be paying more for fuel, which should cause a reduction in demand...and maybe a few riots?
We'll watch and see. 
China is finding that market forces are stronger than communist forces.  They cannot 'manage' the value of the market.   They are having major inflationary issues.
Energy costs will come down...may be temporary, but they'll come down.
JR

[Charles in SC]

I read these posts and wondered if anyone here has ever read an Exxon yearly report. I have because I own some stock in them. As far as I can tell most of their oil goes to making things non fuel related such as plastic, rubber,tar etc. They own a bokoos of oil they are saving unpumped underground to pump out when the price is right. They are not buying it from OPEC but they are getting OPEC prices. Most of their places are located in non US places that are not subjected to US taxes and so on. It sounds like they are doing a fine job of making money which is there job by the way. If we all quit buying fuel from them it would go unnoticed. As for me I have a little Honda Insight and a motorcycle for when the weather permits but I still wish gas was .25 a gallon.

[Gary '79 5C]

Lee Bradley,
Thanks for adding the "rest" of the story I didnot include. You covered that well. Our energy policy is strangled by not the green movement, but rather the career politicians whom need votes to continue their lifetime of public service, which for many of them means they never worked a day in their life.
NJ5047,
You also point a great myth of an electric car plugged in to avoid oil consumption, only to have the nearest electrical generator utilizing some fossil fuel to supply said electric...

Thanks all, but Lee and NJ thanks for expanding the comments.

Have a great day, Gatta go to work, and need to dodge the sniper fire.
and that is more of a reality in Camden NJ than one may think....

Gary Pasternak

[Stan]

Many Americans commute more miles to work than the border to border distance of some European countries. They don't want to live close to where they work and want that American dream of a large house in suburbia.

We have long laughed at Europeans riding bicycles to work and when they buy a car it lasts a lifetime. The always high price of gasoline has not been a major issue in Europe. When they make a major trip with their car they use less fuel than the average American uses every week.

Electric cars don't solve the basic problem of people driving too many miles.

[NJT5047]

And we wonder why the US cannot produce adequate energy?

>>>>>The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., contends that many of the species — ranging from butterflies and snails to grasshoppers and cactuses — could face extinction if action isn't taken.
"In a world that's bombarded by climate change, pollution, habitat destruction and human over-population, clearly few of our rare species are going to be secure in the long term," Nicole Rosmarino, director of WildEarth Guardians' wildlife program, said Monday. "That's the basis for the petition.<<<<"

We're talking New Mexico here!  Save me Lord!

BTW, pure plug-in electric cars are reaching the 200 mile per charge range.   Some "plug-in" hybrids get 125 MPG during the first 100 miles, and after 100 miles a tiny high-tech turbo gasoline motor kicks in and will operate the vehicle for another couple hundred miles as it both powers the vehicle and recharges the battery.   
These vehicles are not available yet, but the next two years will see introductions of all sorts of hybrids, hybrid plug-ins and pure plug-ins.
The power companies say they have the off-peak power to charge plug-ins.  As long as they avoid peak times, which would be relatively easy to do.  Timers on dedicated charger outlets would solve that problem.   
Technology is going to save our butts.  May not save our buses, but we'll survive with personal transportation.
Anyone see where refiners are cutting back production due to being unable to raise fuel prices vs the cost of crude?  The market just won't bear any more price increase on finished product, yet crude has not dropped in price.  Our thirst for gasoline has started to diminish.  Cool. 
There was a 500 million barrel refined product drop in US storage capacity, but it's related to production cutbacks and not increased use by auto drivers.
JR

[kingfa39]

oil prices were goverment regulated during and after ww 2, also the trucking industry, in 79 Mr carter deregulized oil prices and the next day prices went up from .50 a gal to .75, trucing companies shut down and the trucking business was runied, somebody needs to keep an eye on it or companies like exxon will desolve our way of life. They also shut down most of the american oil wells so they could buy from middle east. its simply not right for the big companies to make hugh unreasonable profits at the expence of the american public. there are tons of oil in the ground right here in the u.s and i think we need to be pumping it instaed of letting them do us in.
Frank Allen

[prevost82]

I don't have a problem that they make big profits. What I have a problem with is the way they do business, refinery's running at 80% capacity, where they ran at over 95% capacity before the oil prices went thou the roof or they shut down for maintenance when there's a shortage exacerbating the situation or keeping cured oil supply low to inflate prices. Didn't Enron do this to California in the 90's.
Ron