Yes, and those are the main issues. Right now it's very inefficient and people dislike it because it's unglamorous. But I still believe it's the way to go.
Just one note: From another board, not that I believe this is a political issue. We don't build refineries because of a number of reasons. Refineries have a huge PR issue (nobody wants a refinery in their backyard). Also the left wing of politics hates oil production because they believe it contributes to global warming. The right wing supposedly doesn't want to increase refining oil because they can make increased profits off these scare tatics. What happens when both political parties don't want you to have cheap oil?? You get screwed. royally I don't blame one side or the other, they are both at fault and both had opportunities to bring out alternative energy in a big way and both did very little.
The recent -221 Dow sell off on the - CPI and consumer lack of confidence numbers are only the beginning... this artificial run up in petroleum and the subsequent "nothing done" by the Oil Administration is causing this.... the very idea that conversations show disgust and frustration over the idea that US citizens pay substantially lower gasoline rates than European patrons has never had validity... in simple words, the idea that we Americans should be glad that our gas prices remain lower than theirs is ludicrous and counted on by those directly responsible for attempting to close the gap, to the very detriment of the american consumer, and municipality and school systems, and emergency service vehicles and first responder fleets. In short these oil companies are worse terrrroooorrriiiiisssssstttttt(s) than those who seek disruption through violence and armed attacks against our infrastructure (read 9/11/01 events).
It now appears that the focus of the news is on speculators in the commods more than on the supply/demand or whatever else drives prices. Twice now this week Kudlow has said the Fed is targeting commodity prices. The thinly traded AIGCI futures contract I watch has taken quite a drubbing. Oil is the exception still. From Thursday: Late-Night Headlines Bloomberg: - Commodity prices are about 50% higher than they would be if they were based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, as a surge of investment sent prices for metals and energy to record highs, Merrill Lynch said. The âspeculative premiumâ at the end of April rose from a record 30% in March, based on an analysis of commodities traded on futures exchanges and those bought and sold on physical markets, according to the report by Merrill strategist Richard Bernstein in NY.
http://www.iags.org/costofoil.html According to the above analysis, America's hidden costs are $3.28 per gallon of gas. Assuming a price of $3/gal at the pump, the real price of a gallon of gas is therefore $6.28, which is comparable to what the Europeans pay.
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx One thing that I absolutely hate are all these references to what the Europeans pay for gas, as if somehow, even in discussion alone, that we Americans should eventually pay what they pay. Commodity Brokers trying to scare up interest in Sugar Futures would always quote the World price for Sugar vs. the US Price for sugar as a hedge position to take in the eventuality that they would cross and neutralize. Unsuspecting customers would allow those brokers to take all kinds of hedge positions, futures and option positions to support that falacious scenario, and lose everytime. every time!
(CNNFN Monday,May 22, 2006 article) Wall Street stares down a selloff Stocks futures sharply lower as markets dive in Asia, Europe on continued inflation fears. May 22, 2006: 7:48 AM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - U.S. stocks looked set for a major selloff Monday after overseas indexes plummeted on continued fears of rising inflation and slowing economic growth. U.S. stock futures were off sharply in early trading, indicating a lower open for U.S. stocks. Monday was a bruising day for overseas markets. Trading was halted in India after the country's benchmark BSE index lost over 10 percent. It later recovered some ground, but authorities were still on high alter for suicides, Reuters reported. Major markets in Asia chalked up big losses for the day on fears of rising inflation and tracking the selloff in commodities, with Japan's Nikkei falling nearly 2 percent. Major European markets followed Asia's lead and were sinking by midday. London's FTSE and Germany's DAX were both off nearly 1 percent. Concerns over inflation and whether the Fed will raise interest rates again are also weighing on U.S. markets, said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
(CNNFN Mon 22, 2006) Oil price falls $1 to six-week low Fears of inflation, economic slowing, drive dip in oil prices. May 22, 2006: 6:08 AM EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell $1 on Monday to a six-week low as concern that inflation may slow economic growth encouraged selling across commodities markets. U.S. crude was trading 98 cents lower at $67.55 a barrel at 0819 GMT after falling more than $1 to its lowest level since April 10. Brent crude was down 84 cents at $67.85. The drop added to a slide of nearly 5 percent last week after signs that the record cost of many raw materials was pushing up the cost of living and hitting consumers' pockets. Rising inflation may force central banks to target higher interest rates, in turn slowing growth and cutting demand for commodities
The Bush Cheney oil price premium is being reduced... http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1539530.cms The US public has been played........no ifs ...no ands...