[jbranson]

Not much our vote can do about gas prices....I guess they could reduce the tax, that would drop prices about ten cents. Gas and oil prices are based on futures contracts sold in the us/world comodities market. Other than tax the govt has nothing to do with prices, and oil companies have nothing to do with gas prices.
Well...the oil companies are in possible colusion when it comes to supply concerns....but the problem is no new refineries...we have the tree huggers to thank for that. And...I can't see an oil company spending 5 billion to build a refinery that will LOWER the price of their product.
The US has 100 billion barrels in uptapped reserves in our own country....guess what, thanks to the EPA we can't drill for them (100 billion barrels would by the way make us bigger than any OPEC supplier).

Sad fact is....we'll never see gas below $2.50 again in our lives. Even if a new refinery was started right now...they take five years to build. And they'd spend ten years in the courts fighting the tree huggers.

JohnnyB

 

[jbranson]

By Tree Huggers I don't necessarily mean tree people....although they do survive on the myth of less forest land. Truth is there are about 40% more forest land in the NE than there was 100 years ago.
Next time you go hunting 20 miles from nowhere back in the woods...and see the stone walls everywhere you go...well those were farm fields. I think it was T. Jefferson that wrote about the ride from NYC to Albany....where you would not see a single tree on the entire trip.

What I think is cool is that environmentalist have helped put us in a situation where heating oil is $3 a gal....so what does everyone do for where I live....we start burning trees to heat our homes....cool, that's well thought out.

I don't think anyone is the sport of motorcycle racing is in a position to talk about waste. We waste hundreds of gallons of fuel a year towing our shit to races and then burning leaded fuel in our race bikes.

I will grant you that easily half our problem is that fact that 110 lb women like to ride around by themselves in giant SUVs and small dick guys like to drive around in big diesel trucks that are empty 90% of the time. I certainly don't blame it all on environmentalists, or the oil companies, or us....it's a combination of all.

However I've got no bitch about the prices....it's just a fact of life, it's not going to change. It sucks...but it's the bed we made for ourselves. We live in a retarded world where about 30% of the people out there will actually tell you gas prices should be HIGHER than they are now. Course they are same people that claim to care about the poor, hard working, underpaid people of the country...mean while they don't mind the high gas prices cause they can afford it, while the lower middle class struggle to heat their homes. Course they have an answer for that too....more tax so you can give it out to heat homes.

The final answer to high fuel prices.....use less fuel. Adapt or perish.
JohnnyB

 

[jbranson]

Just paid my bills for the month. I used 722 KWH of electricity this month....guess what, that's the least monthly amount I've used in the 20 years I've lived here. Why, cause I'm adapting baby. How much heating oil do I normally use in a winter? 900 gals....how much did I use this year? 200 gals....why? I adapted and burned wood that I get off my own property for free.

I've got efficient applicances, I use energy saving light bulbs, heat with wood, I designed and built my own passive solar home, even the trees in the yard are setup to let sun through in the winter and block it in the summer. I piss twice in a toilet before I flush it, and since I like to take hot baths....in the winter I leave the water in the tub till it gives up it's heat to the house. The hot water tank is IN the house so any heat lose goes into heating the house, walls are 2 x 6, windows 1" argon double or triple pane.

I thought about all this 20 years ago, I take care of myself, I don't depend on or wait for others. My shit breaks, I fix it. I need something, I make it, I want something, I work for it.

Luckily I only drive about 150 miles a week for business (not counting driving to work). I do most of my work for small government agencies...so I pass the cost on to them...and they just tax everyone more to pay for it.

OVERCOME, ADAPT, IMPROVISE!! RECON BABY!!!

JohnnyB

PS. Go here to find the lowest gas prices in your area: Right click on map for detailed station lists in your county.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx



Edited by - jbranson on Apr 24 2006 02:20:10 AM

 

[jbranson]

Right now adjusted for inflation gas prices are 15 cents away from the record high.....oil will be at a record high when it hits about $90 a barrel.

Common sense conservation would probably go a ways to lower prices. If the greedy bastards in the comodities market see that there is plenty of oil for the next year or so they will stop buying it up and move on to something else.

I remember gas hitting over $1.00 back in the late 70's, early 80's. I remember being pissed that it never dropped back below .50 again.

The upside to oil company profits is that they'll be spending a ton on exploration.....so we'll have oil for years to come...but we'll be still be paying a lot for it.

Like Tex says, use public transportation more, ride the cycle and the bike, drive the Honda instead of the truck when you can. Giggle when you turn out a light.
JohnnyB

 

[jbranson]

Oil execs get the same giant checks all the other big CEO's get. Do you expect all of them to spend their money on your behalf?

I don't see anybody offering to pony up donations for the oil companies when times are hard for them. Why should they pony up for us when times are fat?

I treat other peoples wallet just like I treat my own. I don't give my money away, I don't ask other people to give me money.

And they will spend money on exploration...it helps ensure their future profits. And they spend only the money necessary to meet the safety requirements of law....just like every freakin other industry in the world.

Demonizing a publically owned company is the typical cop out of fat americans that have to always blame someone, or something else for their own greed (yes our pension funds, retirement accounts etc are buying oil stock), waste and lack of fore thought. If I can't have what I want, and have it cheap then I'm going to blame someone else.

Even the idea that the government is making more money on gas tax is wrong. Gasoline is taxed by the gallon, not a percentage. So as fuel prices go up...people buy less fuel...the government actually makes LESS money.

At least Oil companies are keeping the money here....meanwhile we all shop at Walmart, and buy our Chinese tools so they can afford the oil we can't. Yep..it's all the oil companies fault....imagine that, a company turning a profit on the waste, gluttony and greed of the people. Yeah they are easy to target, instead of the people making the real money....US, the owners of the publicly owned oil companies, and the hedge funds, and the mutual funds, and pension funds, and the retirement accounts. PUBLICALLY OWNED!! Get it? We have met the enemy and it is us.
JohnnyB

 

[jbranson]

Well you'll get no argument from me that greed and power on both corporate and private levels are the main problem.

I guess my stance is, I don't think greedy CEO's should be legally prevented from getting big checks...but it sure would be nice if they had the personal values not to WANT that much.

Since the 80's and the ME generations it's snowballed into grab as much as you can while you can. It's saturated all walks of life, from the Ghetto to the Boardroom.

My big worry is that when you get the govt. involved in anything it will end up being trouble. Today they put restrictions on the oil companies...tomorrow they put restrictions on me.

What about all the Italians...why can't we squeeze some oil out of them...literally.
JohnnyB