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American Solutions: For Winning the Future
americansolutions.com — As gas prices continue to increase, Congress continues to blame others while ignoring practical steps to stop the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. To lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges. I'd like to roundhouse kick this pump all the way into the next county
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- rerdey, on 07/17/2008, -0/+5It is obvious that the Democrats know that more oil is the solution, but for some reason they do not want to drill for it; they want to use up our emergency supply. I think that if they suspend all taxes on oil and gas right now, that would give us immediate relief, while we wait for the oil from new wells to come in. I signed up for the "Drill Now" petition!
I am not sure if the petition listed at http://www.gaspriceprotest.com/ is the same one. - thoughtcrime, on 07/17/2008, -1/+5While I agree wholeheartedly that we need to explore and drill for more oil, there are some other issues which Congress is failing to recognize which are contributing, not only to high oil prices, but higher consumer prices in general. They are (in no particular order):
1. Stabilize the dollar: Oil is pegged to the dollar, and a weak dollar translates into instant inflation in oil prices. Stabilization techniques could include (ala recommendations by Steve Forbes) - increasing interest rates; the Fed allowing the interest rate to float in response to market conditions; the Fed announcing that increasing the value of the dollar is a top priority; the government needs to stop printing new money (i.e., money intended to add to the currency supply) since this devalues the currency and causes inflation; government needs to go on a "diet" - quit consuming debt-based funding, then they won't need to print more money (see last point); considering a return to the gold standard (this one's mine, not Steve's).
2. End Federal ethanol programs: Roughly 30% of the nation's grain harvest is going into producing less than 3% of our energy. This has caused soaring food prices.
3. Get off the "Evil Oil Speculator" Kick: Oil speculation is NOT the problem...it's a combination of diminished supply in the face of increased worldwide demand, and the weak dollar. Oil speculators actually add needed liquidity to the market (Warren Buffet).
4. And of course... DRILL AND EXPLORE: Having worked as a geologist for 18 years (before becoming a computer geek), I know full well that exploration is an expensive and very speculative proposition. It is only economically feasible for oil companies to explore in the U.S. when prices are high, since the reward is proportional to the risk involved and the commensurate need for large amounts of capital. NOW is the time to let the oil companies do their thing. The price is high enough, the government just needs to get the f*ck out of the way.
5. Deregulate, then deregulate some more: Federal and State regulations not only inhibit oil companies from exploring and drilling in currently "off-limits" areas; but they also impose severe environmental constraints on petroleum production and transmission, as well as on the construction of new refineries. With regard to the latter, U.S. refineries are strapped as the EPA requires several HUNDRED different formulations of gasoline fuel in various areas around the country. This complicates refining as refineries are no longer able to produce just 2 or 3 grades of unleaded fuel....but hundreds. Moreover, consider the impact this has on storage and distribution. Fuel suppliers have to anticipate demand in one of these several hundred fuel markets and make enough to satisfy demand, but not too much. If they overestimate, it will probably be at the expense of a different fuel formulation in a market where demand may be higher than expected. This results in transient supply drops in selected markets, translating into much higher costs in certain areas.
OK, now that I've solved all our problems, it's time for a coffee break.- IconoclastStill, on 07/17/2008, -0/+5Or, in regard to #2, allow us to import ethanol or sugar beet base from Brazil, which is less expensive than what we are doing domestically with the added advantage of providing substantially more energy per volume than the corn ethanol.
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