Comments (76)

This is a quto from harvardpress " Oil permeates our lives in ways many people may not even realize. Truly eliminating our reliance on it will be a challenge. Besides being in the obvious places—the fuel tanks of cars, trucks, airplanes, and buildings—oil is present in more subtle, but far-reaching places, such as plastics. And plastics are everywhere: food storage bags, containers and wrap; grocery bags, trash bags, disposable tableware, water bottles, children’s toys, baby bottles, diapers, medical supplies, garden mulch, greenhouses, flower pots, computers, all types of packaging—the list goes on. President Bush was right when he said we were “addicted to oil.” It’s hard to imagine living our lives without many of the things on this list." The article doesn't even mention that even if petrolem isn't used in the product itself that most every thing in our modern lives uses petroleum in at least one step in the process of making a product no mater what it is.

www.houseforsaleinchattanooga.com

From wikipedia:

The production of hydrogen with electricity makes it an energy carrier, and not an energy source, so the energy the car uses would ultimately need to be provided by a conventional power plant or a home hydrogen station. A suggested benefit of large-scale deployment of hydrogen vehicles is that it could lead to decreased emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone precursors.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle

==The energy to run the car comes from burning the hydrogen and not from the battery.

The energy from the battery is used to break up water into hydrogen and oxygen.

You need to understand that the energy to break up water is less than the energy to run the car. This energy differential comes from burning the hydrogen. ==

And what is buring, may I ask, if not a chemical reaction to recombine hydrogen and oxygen?

And what is coming out of the tailpipe of a hydrogen car? Water vapor.

If more energy is generated by the system than the battery supplies and water is conserved, our energy dillema is finally solved! Stop working on fusion - perpetual engine has arrived.

Burning of hydrogen does not produce any more energy than required for separation of an H2O molecule. Actually, inevitable energy losses ensure that notably less energy is produced by you engine that you put into the system with a battery.

sorry guys, I pasted it on the wrong box.

Mariano wrote "Once upon a time, and for centuries, the Catholic church, presuming to be infallible, held that planet Earth, the absolute truth, was flat, and that it was The Center of the Universe. That long-held religious belief was passed off as the truth, but truth based solely on the Bible".

WRONG. The Bible never said such things. Catholicism is not Christianity, therefore it is always naturally wrong. Those who claim that the Bible is myth are lacking in wisdom. Let an unlearned person read a very technical science book and you'd be sure he would treat it as garbage.

Thru the Bible I can foretell future events. In fact I already know what's the next coming war.

Stupid people continue to grope in the dark. The Bible is the "flashlight" and many people like you don't even know how to switch it on.

Regarding hydrogen car.

The energy to run the car comes from burning the hydrogen and not from the battery.

The energy from the battery is used to break up water into hydrogen and oxygen.

It is unlikely that we will be able to power trucks and muscle cars with water, or rather hydrogen from the water because the amount of hydrogen generated will not be enough. But we will be able to run cars at 25 to 40 mph, that is on city roads. That is a good incentive to go for hydrogen from water via batteries.

Dmitri

You need to understand that the energy to break up water is less than the energy to run the car. This energy differential comes from burning the hydrogen.

Dimitry, you don't get the point. The price of oil is NOT dictated by supply and demand. They are dictated by people who own OIL STOCK CERTIFICATES. These people will be forced to dump their oil stock certificates at a lower price to avoid a mass sell-out (where stock prices shoots down ) in case a legislated price ceiling is made.

The price ceiling is not necessarily 140 dollars per barrel. It will be set at the time the legislation will be approve. If oil is selling at 150 dollars/barrel for that day, then that would be the ceiling price. NO OIL STOCK CERTIFICATE CAN THEN BE SOLD HIGHER THAN THAT AMOUNT THE NEXT DAY.

The ceiling price for the next other day will then be the selling price for that day. Example : Monday ceiling price=150 dollars/barrel. During the day, it shoots down to 147. Tuesday ceiling price=147. The same day, it shoots down to 140. Wednesday ceiling price=140. Theoretically, the ceiling price goes down depending on the market behavior. It will only go down but never up.

The objective is to squeeze out all the speculators who are just buying oil stocks for gain.

The moment the U.S Congress starts debating about it and be really serious about it, the price of oil would shoot down. The rest of the world would follow suit. Let the speculators know that Congress is not bluffing or else it would just be business as usual.

NOT BUYING GASOLINE WON'T DO YOU ANY GOOD. As I've said, supply and demand is NOT the culprit here.

Dimitry, you don't get the point. The price of oil is NOT dictated by supply and demand. They are dictated by people who own OIL STOCK CERTIFICATES. These people will be forced to dump their oil stock certificates at a lower price to avoid a mass sell-out (where stock prices shoots down ) in case a legislated price ceiling is made.

The price ceiling is not necessarily 140 dollars per barrel. It will be set at the time the legislation will be approve. If oil is selling at 150 dollars/barrel for that day, then that would be the ceiling price. NO OIL STOCK CERTIFICATE CAN THEN BE SOLD HIGHER THAN THAT AMOUNT THE NEXT DAY.

The moment the U.S Congress starts debating about it and be really serious about it, the price of oil would shoot down. The rest of the world would follow suit. Let the speculators know that Congress is not bluffing or else it would just be business as usual.

NOT BUYING GASOLINE WON'T DO YOU ANY GOOD. As I've said, supply and demand is NOT the culprit here.

==A 1 month price ceiling is not that long. And at 140 dollars per barrel, it's way too high to lead to shortages. If it remains at that price depite the legislation, we will know that there is truly a shortage, but if it shoots down, we can then conclude that it is all bubble and speculation.==

Are you planning to force the rest of the world to abide by your "price ceiling"? Because they are already paying higher than spot prices for steady long term supply commitments. If you are offering $140 and the rest of the world is paying $145, the seller doesn't sell to you. American refineries only need to fail to get a couple of tankers' worth of gasoline and shut down a couple of plants in order to drive the gas price up. Unless, of course, we set the price of gas at $4.10 and not higher. While we are at it, let nationalize the whole industry and the government will set the price. The prices than can be as low as you like.

If all you are trying to do is find out if the price of oil is a bubble, stop bying gasoline when it is above some price and tell your friends to do the same. Lets have a national campaign - we will not buy gasoline above $4/gallon!

Do you think it might work? Or will it be exposed as a bad bluff?

Hydrogen car:

You do understand you are running on the energy in your battery, right?

You convert your battery electrical energy into chemical energy through electrolysis, then get most of that energy back in your internal combustion engine.

It would be more efficient to simply use an electric motor. But you would have to rebuild your car to do that.

So the benefit here is to make a "quicky" electric-powered car with minimal expense. It does sounds pretty cool. If you need more fuel flow, you will need to use a larger hydrogen generator/bigger battery. How big is your battery now? How big is the generator.

But it doesn't really solve the energy problem - you get your electricity from your wall, and someone has to make it for you, in most cases by burning coal or natural gas.

It does make for a very clean running car, though, so it pays dividends with low pollution.

All in all, definitely a worthy addition to the potential solutions to our overall predicament.

http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/bmw-hydrogen7.htm

Dmitri please go to link above. Same principle. My car generates hydrogen on demand.

The hydrogen being lighter than air moves up to the cylinders and is burned. That is the energy source. No different than burning gasoline. BMW uses a cylinder of gasoline. My car uses a H2 generator. H2 generators are very common in industry. The only difference is that they use de-ionized water. The real obstacle is no generating hydrogen and burning it but generating a steady flow of and enough hydrogen. That is the challenge. I am not saying I have solved the energy problem but the car moves on water in a way.

Dimitry wrote : "...this will lead to shortages here...long lines...no gas".

A 1 month price ceiling is not that long. And at 140 dollars per barrel, it's way too high to lead to shortages. If it remains at that price depite the legislation, we will know that there is truly a shortage, but if it shoots down, we can then conclude that it is all bubble and speculation.

Legislate that the oil commodity CANNOT BE TRADED HIGHER THAN IT WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE. That is the only way to scare off the speculators. At a price ceiling of 140 dollars per barrel, you won't see any oil producer frowning.

The oil producers had said it themselves, 'THERE IS NO OIL SHORTAGE".

DEMAND, DEMAND, DEMAND? Who are they going to fool? Only the FOOLS!

Dimitry wrote : "...this will lead to shortages here...long lines...no gas".

A 1 month price ceiling is not that long. And at 140 dollars per barrel, it's way too high to lead to shortages. If it remains at that price depite the legislation, we will know that there is truly a shortage, but if it shoots down, we can then conclude that it is all bubble and speculation.

Legislate that the oil commodity CANNOT BE TRADED HIGHER THAN IT WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE. That is the only way to scare off the speculators. At a price ceiling of 140 dollars per barrel, you won't see any oil producer frowning.

The oil producers had said it themselves, 'THERE IS NO OIL SHORTAGE".

DEMAND, DEMAND, DEMAND? Who are they going fool? Only the FOOLS!

==A battery provides the energy for electrolysis. The energy comes from the hydrogen that comes from the water. The hydrogen is burned in the engine like in the BMW hydrogen car.There is no tank involved. It is like an instant water heater. When the car demands it more hydrogen is produced. An that is a draw back because at 50 to 55 mph the amount of gas is not enough. The battery can be charged from an electrical outlet just as they do with batteries for fork lift. I am looking into a cell membrane techique to break up the water but I do not have all the details.==

This makes no sense from the energy point of view. The only energy available from water electrolysis is the energy YOU put into it to break the hydrogen/oxygen bond. Once broken, the bonds can be made again and that electrical energy (most of it) gotten back, either as electrical energy to power an electric motor or as heat to power IC engine. There is no energy gain - only loss.

The only energy you are getting is what your battery supplies. I guess it is a way to make you vehicle "electric" without changing the engine out. I still would be very concerned about hydrogen moving around lines in your car - it is highly volatile, almost impossible to contain fully and makes for a nicely explosive mixture when mingling about with air.

It does sound like maybe a practical way to convert an IC engine to electricity. If this is the goal, than I guess it could be a good thing.

I withdraw the snide "air" of the original response.

A battery provides the energy for electrolysis. The energy comes from the hydrogen that comes from the water. The hydrogen is burned in the engine like in the BMW hydrogen car.There is no tank involved. It is like an instant water heater. When the car demands it more hydrogen is produced. An that is a draw back because at 50 to 55 mph the amount of gas is not enough. The battery can be charged from an electrical outlet just as they do with batteries for fork lift. I am looking into a cell membrane techique to break up the water but I do not have all the details.

==Legislate that the oil commodity CANNOT BE TRADED HIGHER THAN IT WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE.==

Just set oil prices at whatever level you want!

Then producers will be forced to sell at this price!

How clever is that?

Wait...they can sell at the going price to others...this will lead to shortages here...long lines...no gas...

==I have converted a Grand Am to run on water. The hydrogen is burned in an IC engine and fuel cells are not needed. I get about 200 miles to a gallon of water. The only impediment is that it does not go more than 50 miles per hour and right now it is illegal so I have to be careful when I am on the road lest the cops get me.==

Really? And how do you "make" said hydrogen? Where does the electricity for water separation come from? Do you plug in the car overnight or carry massive batteries on board? Who made your hydrogen tank? Are you concerned about volatility of this highly explosive gas? Any considerations of a result of an accident?

Please, tell us more how to "drive on water"!

==Those who say that it is DEMAND that is driving high the cost of fuel are a BUNCH OF IDIOTS.==

Why not just check you facts instead of speaking out of ignorance?

The demand for oil has been rising steadily for years, the supply has stagnated over the last few years.

Here is a link to the rational discussion:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cd683aa0-4764-11dd-93ca-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Dr. Feel good wrote "It's demand stupid!"

In many countries around the world, a big portion of their population now choose public transport rather than using their cars to save on gas.

Those who say that it is DEMAND that is driving high the cost of fuel are a BUNCH OF IDIOTS.

The price of oil jumped more than 100% although the world economy was stumbling.

WHO SAID THAT THE NUMBER OF CARS INCREASED UPTO 30 PERCENT WORLDWIDE IN JUST 6 MONTHS? In fact there are lesser cars roaming the streets today compared to 6 months ago when the price of oil is ranging about 60 dollars per barrel.

DEMAND, DEMAND, DEMAND. Those who say that are IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT.

I have converted a Grand Am to run on water. The hydrogen is burned in an IC engine and fuel cells are not needed. I get about 200 miles to a gallon of water. The only impediment is that it does not go more than 50 miles per hour and right now it is illegal so I have to be careful when I am on the road lest the cops get me.

The US Gov't should hire independent contractors(more jobs) to drill these leased oil sites that belong to ALL OF US. Then the bottom line is added to our government's expenditure, not the oil companies. We can use the technology of the USGS to our advantage! We already have a great money making business within the government... the IRS. So why can't we do the same with our land? Hasn't anyone thought of this before?

The US Gov't should hire independent contractors(more jobs) to drill these leased oil sites that belong to ALL OF US. Then the bottom line is added to our government's expenditure, not the oil companies. We can use the technology of the USGS to our advantage! We already have a great money making business within the government... the IRS. So why can't we do the same with our land? Hasn't anyone thought of this before?

If the proposed solutions and understanding of this nation's energy crisis as posted here are in fact a representative sample for the electorate as a whole then May God Help These United States!!!

It's demand stupid!

1. Fix the limit of autos in this nation at the present number.

2. Each month thereafter reduce the total by 1 percent, attrition, age, etc. until the auto number now on the road is reduced by 25 percent, i.e. two years one month.

3. Only citizens over age 21 to be eligible to own a new car.

4. The right to buy will be evidenced by a license issued annually.

5. Licenses may be traded in the open market through brokers.

6. Only one license to a household.

7. Maximum horsepower fixed at 150 initially with consideration given to future reduction.

8. Only autos made or assembled in the U.S. to be sold here.

9. Any license holder convicted of DWI to lose right to own or drive an auto.

10. Initial cost of license fixed at $100 with bias toward future increases and initially subject to cost of living adjustment, i.e. fully reflect the continuing depreciation of the dollar thanks to incompetent American political leadership.

Plus other provisons subsequently deemed both desirable and necessary.

Did the writer hear a growing cascade of pitiful wails and crys of anguish? Yes by George they come in loud in clear. Obviously politicaly nothing of the sort sketched above has a snowball's chance in our once great democracy.

Much more easy and in custom to blame others for our own shortcomings and greed. So we will just rock along merrily and hit the interstates with the pedal to the metal. And then assume our petulant and selfish attitudes when we again fill 'er up paying maybe $6 a gallon or more this time next year.

As in the once wewll known fable taught to every schoolchild, none of us want to assist in producing the succulent loaves of hot bread but all seek to gain a share as a gift from the little red hen. Her response was in the negative. Pay me, quoth she. And the barnyard folk thought her exceedingly greedy and sefish--but they either paid or went away muttering and hungry.

Many people making comments here seem to assume that "the dollar" is a fixed unit -- like equal markings on a ruler, one two three four -- against which the price of oil rises or, very occasionally, falls.

It isn't. Dollars, like any other currency including gold and wampum, are worth what you can buy with them. This in turn depends on whether or not the seller thinks they're a good deal, that they really do represent a definite value that can easily be drawn on for future transactions.

Foreign sellers (of almost anything, not just oil) are a bit leery of the dollar these days. They worry about the huge swamp or quicksand of U.S. debt, both the fiscal deficit and the debt incurred from importing lots of "gear" or "stuff". It cannot be paid off quickly. The fact that it's been getting higher and higher for about eight years makes foreigners cast a cold, practical eye on the dollar and entertain a few doubts about all that "full faith and credit". (And remember, they have no reason to wear U.S. flag-pins, made in China, on their lapels.)

If oil-sellers believe they can get more value in return for their oil if they receive euros or renminbi instead of dollars, then they need a bribe to get them to agree to accept dollars. This bribe usually takes the form of extra dollars -- although a few sellers, like Saudi Arabia, can apparently be bribed with fancy killing-machines.

We can nibble round the edges of the single problem of the high price of oil with an extra barrel here or there, but the underlying debt-problem will take a decade or two or three to solve. Spending years (and billions of dollars that we'll have to borrow) on new wells, for a measly few million barrels of oil after ten years of effort, won't help. Beating up other countries with those fancy killing-machines that we're already in debt for, won't help.

Real, strong efforts to take oil out of the picture, or at least minimize its role, seem to me to be the most sensible solution both in the short term and the longer term.

Jimmy Carter, please may I borrow the knitting-pattern for your cardigan?

If the U.S. government is really serious in pulling down the price of oil, it should put a price ceiling even just for a moment like 1 month.

Legislate that the oil commodity CANNOT BE TRADED HIGHER THAN IT WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE.

That would scare off the speculators and the ones left will be the true oil traders.

See if it won't slide like a falling star in just 1 week or 1 even 1 day.

If the U.S. government is really serious in pulling down the price of oil, it should put a price ceiling even just for a moment like 1 month.

Legislate that the oil commodity CANNOT BE TRADED HIGHER THAN IT WAS SOLD THE DAY BEFORE.

That would scare off the speculators and the ones left will be the true oil traders.

See if it won't slide like a falling star in just 1 week or 1 even 1 day.

Just recently, Mr. Dingel (the Filipino water car inventor) announced that he is now open to accepting foreign investors who would want to buy his technology.

The video shown here was recorded years earlier where no investor can meet his demands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVhXrvCCILw&feature=related

I believe this water car is about to take off soon. Nobody can't stop it anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBQGbJ1v6zM

One type of fuel that has been ignored is water. Two technologies merge to drive a car on water.

1)Hydrogen generation from water, in use for many years in industry when huge tanks of hydrogen are not needed. Hydrogen is generated when needed through cell membrane technology or batteries. Since hydrogen is not stored in a tank the chances of an explosion are small, almost non-existent.

2) Hydrogen fuel cell--hydrogen thus produced is passed through a fuel to generate electricity that drives a motor that drives a car. A prototype is already on the road in Japan.

GM is stuck with its volt and has not yet heard about water.

The Saudis will not be able to sabotage the Water car--no mater how hard they try, water will always be cheaper than oil.

The fact is that the U.S. uses about 20% of the world's daily oil production but we have less than 3% of the world's oil. If we drill our own meager oil resources it will 1) make little difference to the world oil supply have have almost no effect on price, 2) leave our nation strategically vulnerable if we fail to shift to renewable energy before our own oil is gone.

It costs us no more to buy imported oil than drilling our own, so first we need to conserve, get to renewables as quickly as possible and realize our oil really IS our savings account. Now is not the time to spend it.

I like the style of the Mufster- he highlights some of the most up to date events and views re. oil while refraining from spouting a personal opinion on it, in fact he humbly admits his own confusion - unlike many journalists who profess such a deep understanding of the situation- they must be making a fortune on their shrewd market plays?

I'm not a journalist so my spout on alternative energy is:

If anyone can build a car that runs on solar/batteries/hemp etc that actually works- we'll all buy one-and they deserve their nobel prize for hippyness - who cares what it runs on?- but any solution must/will stand on it's own feet and pay for itself- in the same way cars & gasoline replaced horses and hay.

In reading the reviews and comments in regard to the high price of oil, what I have not been able to figure out is, how is it that the majority of the America people can see and are in favor of drilling in our own country for oil. To me it is puzzling why we want to save this oil since we need it so much. Since the majority of the people want this,why is it that our elected officials on the hill, both Democrats and Republicans do not get together and do what we want? They are the lowest approval rating that I can remember in my seventy-three years of my life. I think I know the answer, it because on each side they want to add extras in any bill to benefit a few special people in their states. We should vote them out and put people in that are interested in our country above all special interest groups.

You really cant believe everything you read in the press. Last march US drivers drove 11 billions miles less than the year before. Demand is falling off a cliff. No one wants to buy oil, everyone is trying to conserve. Dont tell me its supply and demand if that were the case we would see much lower prices than we see now.
Remember the early 80s they said it would never go down then too.

Oil prices will break big-time before the election but after the summer driving months.

However, we should never forget our fossil fuels dependency and get back into the SUV's and big horsepower vehicles ( like after the 70s crisis). ALL of the recommendations for alternative energy must be followed to the solution once and for all.

Meanwhile, if we're to knock the socks off the oil speculators right away, one announcement will do it :

ALL FEDERAL AND STATE AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS WILL REVERT TO 4/DAY-10/HOUR WORKWEEKS IMMEDIATELY AND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE !!

Utah state workers just did it. If all governments do it, we'd reduce consumption by 20%.

Maybe this makes too much sense.

A nice side benefit is : GOVERNMENT HAS ONE LESS DAY IN THE WEEK TO DREAM UP NEW WAYS TO SCREW US TAXPAYERS !!

Oil prices will break big-time before the election but after the summer driving months.

However, we should never forget our fossil fuels dependency and get back into the SUV's and big horsepower vehicles ( like after the 70s crisis). ALL of the recommendations for alternative energy must be followed to the solution once and for all.

Meanwhile, if we're to knock the socks off the oil speculators right away, one announcement will do it :

ALL FEDERAL AND STATE AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS WILL REVERT TO 4/DAY-10/HOUR WORKWEEKS IMMEDIATELY AND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE !!

Utah state workers just did it. If all governments do it, we'd reduce consumption by 20%.

Maybe this makes too much sense.

A nice side benefit is : GOVERNMENT HAS ONE LESS DAY IN THE WEEK TO DREAM UP NEW WAYS TO SCREW US TAXPAYERS !!

I find it hard to believe that oil is not in a bubble now. The price of oil has increased by 400% over the past five years. During that time the amount of money from Wall Street invested in oil futures has increased by over 1,000%. Yes slightly falling production has been matched by increasing demand. A rise in oil prices was inevitable. The initial and entirely justifiable increase of financial inflows into the oil futures market started a massive influx of capital. It appears that we know have huge dollars from institutional funds and mutual funds chasing those returns. That has raised the price further encouraging still more chasing of gains. Compensating for the expected increase in demand while ignoring the likely decrease in demand as alternatives become economically viable options, there is still plenty of oil for at least the next half century. I just cannot believe that the 400% run up we have seen is at all supported by reality. People with pensions and 401(k)s should be warned. The people running your pension funds and the managers running your mutual funds might be letting their egos and/or greed lead them into an overweighted position in an asset that may well be in for a precipitous decline.

The defeaning noise demanding "stop to speculation" has begun!

Never mind that the oil production is at a plateau, unable to rise, which it MUST DO to meet increasing world-wide demand.

Never mind the rapid depletion for world's major mature oil fields, which must be offset in larger and larger numbers by new oil finds, often in very difficult geography.

It's all speculators! Stop the robber barons! Burst the bubble!

I have advice for the anti-speculation crowd. Just stop using the oil at prices above, say, $100 a barrel. The speculators have no place to store the stuff, their futures bets will collapse and the oil will dive nicely!

What's that you say? Can't stop uisng it? Will buy it at pretty much any price? Gotta have it, even at $150?

Then stop whining!

This is a bubble from speculation much like the housing bubble was. Yes there are other factors in both. With housing there was also irresponsible lending and low rates. Oil has a devalued dollar.

Pop It Will.

We saw the bubble lose its footing two days in a row. Prop itself up again by bargain suckers i mean bargain hunters. The slide down will continue shortly after the media has beaten the latest mantra on oil and the sheeple fall in line. The mantra being BUBBLE, DEMAND IS DOWN, SUPPLY IS UP. There is not panic shortage the conspiracy sites and theorists preach about.

Sentiment will sway just like it has with other bubbles. Just like it did with housing. It's just a matter of time and not much time at that.

Its not the war, its not global warming, its not population growth, its baby boomers retiring and want to take the bank home with them. Yes, its the greedy buch like bush and dick, and his buddies that are jacking up the prices.

Stop whining Mr. Grahm? You are in washington aren't you? Why didn't you do something about it earlier instead of telling us you the elites there are whining. Stop whining and fix the crap you guys threw on the working people of this country.

A country that relies on fear and greed to achieve almost anything gets more of the same, until the people fight back. But that has not happened in America since the last monarchy was kicked out over two hundred and thirty years ago. A reading of the Declaration of Independence shows conditions earily similar to today; if one replaces King George III with the present charlie in the palace on Pennsylvania Ave.

Oil is presently our major source of energy. It underpins everything we do. To allow it to be under-regulated provides plenty of room for the manipulation of fear and greed.

"I would also like to see a massive increase in supply to punish these guys. It's long overdue to drill both in Alaska and offshore."
**************
Any affect on price domestic oil might have will be offset by OPEC tightening production. That's a tiny amount of oil anyway- at peak production it might knock $0.41 off the price of a barrel.

I am no expert on this but United's comments appear to be a bit far-fetched!!! The comment "A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab" seems a bit ludicrous! Do things that are traded always go up in price? How often is IBM, Coke, GE traded in a day? Do their share prices go up with every trade?

We all need to stop blaming others for our energy issues and start pointing the finger at ourselves!!!!!

I cannot beleive the prices, I use to fill my Pontiac G6 for about $38 bucks.....today I filled it for $62, and I had a quarter of a tank left....Do you see the problem? How could the government not do anything about this?

I cannot beleive the prices, I use to fill my Pontiac G6 for about $38 bucks.....today I filled it for $62, and I had a quarter of a tank left....Do you see the problem? How could the government not do anything about this?

What do I think? Exxon all time record profits 5 years in a row.

End of story.

So we may get another Great Depression. That will make Bush another Hoover and Obama becomes another FDR.

In the depression years the makeshift tent cities of homeless jobless people were known as Hoovervilles. I guess the new ones that spring up will be called Bushburbs...

It is a Bad government encouraging bad gang to hedge on commodities and if it the gang would fail, then Government uses tax payer’s money to save them.

It started with hedge funds in late 90's with that trillion dollar bet. It slowly crept in to Mortgage, and banks. If Banks would hedge on Oil and for some good reason if the oil would get replaced, Government will use its money (tax payer’s money) to save banks and hedge funds. On the other hand, it shoots up price for other countries. As far I know, out of $140 / Barrel, I don’t think even half of it goes to oil producing countries. Who is playing this game?

In one line, American government is engaged in an International business Fraud. This happened couple of times in Share market, now Government is an active participant. When those banks and hedge funds made Billion's, they never gave it to people. Why now government takes special interest rolling peoples money???

You required only one Powerful Nuclear weapon to dominate. One other super weapon will turn the wheel upside down. It is not a fair game. Armageddon is not that far off.

If we did not go into Iraq and cut off 1 million barrels, used that army to defeat the Taliban and get the Afghan/Pakistan oil pipeline built, reserves larger than Saudi Arabia's could make it to market. The Norway oil should be online in two years. We have a thirty year supply in oil shale, which at $50/bbl production cost is too much for our oil companies. There is plenty of venture capital in the world to exploit this natural resource. If the oil companies that control the market for drilling rig to corner gas station franchise won't develop oil shale, sell the leases to the venture capitalists that will. An enormous amount of money should be spent on alternative energy. Obama does better than McCain, but is still not enough. Anwar and offshore become moot in lieu of Takistan's oil reserves reaching the market. The down side of that is Putin becomes rich and rebuilds his military faster. We must as a nation become energy self sufficient and lead the world in per capita carbon footprint, the exact opposite of where we are today. Nuclear presents the containment problem 10,000 years from now. We are taking down many warheads from Russia and ourselves. The only way to safely dispose of them is to water them down as fuel for reactors. We should build enough to take care of the warheads and go full tilt into solar, wind, geothermal, geomagnetic, biodiesel and biomass energy sources. An example would be a tax credit spread out over the life of a loan for solar panels on new and existing housing. Wind on our mountain passes, skyscrapers, sounds and lakes have not been exploited. Geothermal around Yellowstone has not been exploited. Solar in the South has not been exploited. We must change or go bankrupt as a country with our unsustainable balance of trade worsened by oil quadrupling since Dubya took office.

Might I simply point out how completely insane and riddiculous some of these comments are?

I will be the first to admit, I am not an economist, or economic analyst (and neither are most of us - I'm actually an engineering student). However, some of the thoughts concerning this issue are nuts, at best. No one reason can be fingered for causing this oil crisis. A number of different factors, from supply and demand, to speculation, to Iran and Israel, to yes, even the increase in inflation and decline of the USD are to blame for our precarious financial position. It's all a case of unfortunate timing, and we, as a nation, are begin hit with one big blast of reality.

Attempting to blame the crisis on any one group is unreasonable. What has made this country great in the past is our ability to see a problem, identify the cause, and find a way to rectify it. We all need to understand that many of us are at fault, and for everyone to find a solution to the problem. Does this involve alternate energy resources? Yes. Should we regulate the way that commodities futures are handled? Yes. Do we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Of course. Most of all, do we need to figure out the larger, long-term solution, instead of just one, placebo solution? YES.

I apologize to anyone who was taking this comment board seriously. This post was directed at those who want to do nothing more than complain nonsensically about things they know very little about.

P.S. Please, please, check the spelling. If you can't spell the word, don't use it.

It's like the Enron of oil. Energy markets being manipulated by behind the scene players. If anyone in this administration had links to the oil industry, I might think somethings fishy here. But Bush and his buddies are just good ole boys I'd like to have a beer with. They'd never do anything underhanded to make a buck.

I wonder who those oil speculators could be? When I aksed ole "Dub-ya", he said it was terrorists...probably hiding in Tehran...and that bombing Iran would solve the problem. Shucks, I sure believe him.

"Was this the beginning of the end of high oil prices?"

Why do people--including seemingly otherwise intelligent columnists--keep perpetuating the myth that the high oil prices are temporary?

Such babble points out that the government should set a price of oil at, say $200, and apply a floating tax to keep it at the pegged price. Everyone will know what the price is going to be--end of speculation. Plus, the revenue can go toward R&D for alternatives. AND, we can all start making lifestyle changes now to deal with it.

Who's making the money anyway, should oil be going up faster than the dollar is going down, maybe oil shouldn't be tied to the dollar any more, nature will take its course.

GROWING FOREIGN STAKE IN U.S. BANKS AND OUTRAGEOUS OIL PRICES COMPROMISE OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

GOP Republican Wall Street Speculators Selling America To High Bidding Foreign Governments and Billionaires Compromises Our National Security

The nation's biggest financial firms, battered by huge losses in their mortgage businesses, are relying on an enigmatic source for cash: foreign governments in the Middle East and Asia.

Citigroup sold a 7.8 percent stake in the company worth $14.5 billion to a group of investors, including the government of Singapore and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, as it revealed a colossal $10 billion loss. Merrill Lynch reported a massive loss, said that it sold a special class of stock worth $6.6 billion to funds managed by South Korea and Kuwait.

U.S. Banks have sought help from foreign government investment pools, known as sovereign wealth funds.

The worsening credit crunch in the United States has left domestic financial institutions with little choice but to seek help from foreign governments that have been enriched by the surge in the price of oil and the trade gap between the United States and Asia.

Once satisfied with holding safe bonds such as U.S. Treasurys, these countries now are stockpiling some of the largest investment funds in history and are looking for bargains in the ailing U.S. financial sector. Sovereign wealth funds have invested more than $40 billion in Wall Street's biggest names, including UBS, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns.

The rapid rise of these funds represents a fundamental shift in financial power away from the United States. And their growing clout is causing concern on Capitol Hill.

"As investments by sovereign wealth funds in American companies increase and the specter of control and undue influence by government entities looms. "We should be keeping a watchful eye on these investments as they increase in size and scope."

A major issue for lawmakers is the transparency of these funds. Some, like Norway's, which has $350 billion, are upfront about their activities. Others, such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's $875 billion fund, which is the world's largest, are more secretive.

Sovereign wealth funds recently have preferred to make passive investments that do not allow them to have any say in management decisions.

They don't want to worry the markets. "But you have to ask the question: 'What do they really want?' And that's the mystery behind these funds, we don't know who runs them."

Lawmakers reacted strongly against a Dubai firm that wanted to buy U.S. seaports in 2006 and a state-run Chinese firm that tried to take over a U.S. oil company in 2005. But since those incidents, sovereign wealth fund managers have become more savvy in their dealings with Congress by hiring lobbyists and by keeping their stakes low enough that they don't trigger reviews by regulators.

Little furor erupted last summer when Dubai paid $825 million for U.S. clothing retailer Barneys New York in June and followed with a 19.9 percent stake in the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said that while there is potential for political "games to be played" by sovereign wealth funds, the greater concern is the economic weakness that has eroded the power of the U.S. banking system.

"The shift in power does not come from Singapore or Abu Dhabi investing in Wall Street, the shift comes from our economy screwing up," Frank said. "And the way we deal with this is not to say we aren't going to accept foreign investments but to fix what's wrong with our economy."

Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), ranking GOP Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, has asked the Government Accountability Office to study the emergence of s