Gore gas problem plan

If you follow any news, you’ve seen former Vice President Al Gore speak about Energy Independence with some specific ideas about it. Gore’s plan includes investments in solar, wind, and geothermal power. He calls for a promise to all coal and oil workers that they will have guaranteed jobs out in the sun and fresh air.His stand is one that why waste time and money on energy that will not ever decrease in price. Gore has chosen an opportune time to bring his proposals into the media spotlight.
The public is growing weary of all of the political posturing over the price of gas, but seeing zero substantial action coming from Capitol Hill. The most recent proposal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would almost be humorous if it wasn’t such an obvious political stunt for the cameras. Releasing 10% of the reserves equates to about 70 million barrels.Many would love to see us use less fossil fuel for energy supply in our country. According to some expert, right now solar, wind and geothermal power are not reliable enough to supply enough power for our country.

What do you think??

Here’s a video of Al Gore speaking about his energy approach:

Bush says drill drill!

Should we drill more offshore or not? Some environmentalists say “no”. An increasing number of impoverished drivers say “yes! yes!” Bush recently responded to the “drill drill” movement. He’s increasing pressure on Congress to expand offshore oil exploration.

“The only thing now standing between the American people and the vast oil resources of the Outer Continental Shelf is action from the United States Congress,” he said. The case is being made that the that oil companies should drill in about 68 million acres of federal land they have already leased for such use — a move the Democrats say would nearly double U.S. production.

Other folks want Bush to to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a stockpile set aside for emergencies — and work with Democrats to crack down on Wall Street traders who are driving up oil prices by buying huge quantities of oil just to resell at a higher price.

Personally, I think we shouldn’t put limits on commodity trading. If demand goes down, that will take care of the market! I’m a believer in the fact that eventually our free enterprise system will self-correct any situation instead of counting on our government “to fix everything.” What do you think?

For the whole Bush story, click here.

Watch Boone Pickens Plan

If you haven’t heard billionaire T Boone Pickens has taken out advertisements to promote a plan for energy independence. Here are some videos of Pickens:

Here’s a video of the Pickens plan:

Here’s a longer version of the plan:

Here’s Pickens on CNBC:

Billionaire Pickens High Gas Price Solution

clipped from www.reuters.com Tue Jul 8, 2008 3:16pm EDT By Timothy Gardner NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Texas energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens on Tuesday called for a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel and a boost in wind power in a plan aimed at reducing U.S. foreign oil dependence by a more than a third. The Pickens Plan, which includes exploiting domestic natural gas supplies in new areas like East Texas and Appalachia, could replace 38 percent of U.S. oil imports, he said. “U.S. natural gas can replace foreign oil. It’s the only natural resource we have that can do that,” Pickens said during a press event for his energy plan. The 10-year plan would reduce the annual U.S. oil import bill of $700 billion, at oil prices of $140 a barrel, by hundreds of billions of dollars, he said. The country imports about 70 percent of its crude. Click here for the whole story

Detroit working on fuler efficient cars

 

 

clipped from www.freep.com Detroit 3 race to build fun, fuel-frugal cars Aim is to develop vehicles more efficient than those of ’70s and ’80s In secure conference rooms, engineering centers and design studios across metro Detroit, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are working to create a new generation of fuel-efficient vehicles without repeating the mistakes that crippled them when oil prices and emissions regulations shook their world in the 1970s and ’80s. They are honing new technologies, refining designs and scouring the Earth for fun, fuel-efficient cars they can build or sell in North America. From Chevrolet Corvettes and Ford F-150s to small cars engineered in Europe and Asia, every vehicle is being rethought as fuel prices skyrocket and new fuel-economy rules loom. Haunting their efforts is the ghost of failures past. Detroit’s automakers reduced emissions and fuel consumption in the ’70s and ’80s, but at the cost of style, performance, quality and reliability — the things that make a car desirable.

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Gas prices versus demand

What is the impact of lower demand for gasoline on gas prices? You would think that lower demand means lower prices but is that always the case?

Here’s a summary of an article about this from USA today:

- WASHINGTON — A decline in Americans’ demand for gasoline is keeping record prices from skyrocketing even further, a USA TODAY analysis of gas and oil prices shows. If crude oil prices come down, refiners and retailers say they will seek to recoup their losses, and the price at the pump is likely to remain high.

Here’s some related stories on this issue…what do you think?

Gas prices

So we have two competing theories of how to bring down the cost of oil, increased supply or decreased demand (the decreased demand is the European solution of high taxes on gas). The increase in supply is straightforward, although some …

The world in general.

Do I like paying higher prices? NO but I do understand supply v. demand as well as what is a need and a want. We as Americans are truly spoiled and want to live extravagant lifestyles as long as we do not have to pay the piper.

gas prices / offshore drilling

Now, price must drop until demand increases enough to match demand with supply, and again, it takes a big price change to make a small demand change. So expanding our supply of oil by a little bit can have a big impact on prices at the …

Soaring Gas Price Will Push Millions Off the Road, Says CIBC Report

“With half of the world’s population never having to pay world oil prices, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that $130 per barrel crude prices have yet to quash world demand. And the only supply response to date has been yet another …

High Gas Prices and Your Future

It’s the way of things, the writer added: “When supply and demand go through their natural fall and gas seems cheap again, people will buy big cars.” Today’s oil troubles are unlikely to fade away like the 1970s Arab oil embargo. …

What Exactly is an Oil Speculator?

That was the supply side, what about demand? The key talking point here is leverage. Leverage allows any investor to supplement their investment by borrowing to invest more. If I wanted to buy a contract for a barrel of oil at $100 I …

News: Federal Reserve Expects Gas and Food Prices to Drop Soon

“In those countries where strong commodity demands are associated with rapid growth in aggregate demand that outstrips potential supply, actions to contain inflation by restraining aggregate demand would contribute to global price …

Pay attention! The real deal on gas prices

The law of supply and demand applies to oil prices, but it also applies to oil futures. Futures markets operate on commitments to buy so much of a commodity on a certain date at a certain price. By way of example, soy is a futures …

John Sharp: Let Marketplace Govern Energy Industry

With these tax policies, American free markets will amaze the world with our energy production, including all forms of alternative energy, and the laws of supply and demand will bring adequate energy at a fair price.

Amtrak demand high

Several years ago my wife and I did something unusual- we decided to take the Amtrak train to New Orleans for some training for a new business we wanted to start. And I have to tell you the trip was one of the most relaxing, pleasant experiences we’ve had in long time. The pace was a lot slower than the hustle and bustle of taking the plane- or the wear and tear of driving to get there.

At the time we wondered why more folks didn’t take vacations by train. As we reflected on the state of the railroad business at the time, we talked about how the train business had dwindled down to a shadow of its former self. Why? Planes were faster, people liked the personal nature of driving in their own cars, and running a railroad was expensive for the operators since most trains never ran at capacity.

But the world has changed and demand for rail travel has expanded quickly because of gas prices. I predict the same for shipping. Shipping by rail I speculate is alot more energy efficient than by trucks.

Amtrak set records in May, both for the number of passengers it carried and for ticket revenues — all the more remarkable because May is not usually a strong travel month.

Here’s a recent news story about the railroad business, specifically Amtrak– With fuel prices going up, and consumers feeling the squeeze at the pump and at the airport, ridership for Amtrak is on the rise. That’s the good news. The bad news is that years of Republican attempts to drown Amtrak in the bathtub have resulted in it having difficulty to meet the growing demand.

But the railroad, and its suppliers, have shrunk so much, largely because of financial constraints, that they would have difficulty growing quickly to meet the demand.Many of the long-distance trains are already sold out for some days this summer. Want to take Amtrak’s daily Crescent train from New York to New Orleans? It is sold out on July 5, 6, 7 and 8. Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 5? The train is sold out, but Amtrak will sell you a bus ticket.

“We’re starting to bump up against our own capacity constraints,” said R. Clifford Black, a spokesman for Amtrak.The first point that needs to be made is that rail is a viable option. This is a lesson Europeans learned a long time ago. Portland has light rail, the Max, and Sound Transit is working to bring a viable light rail system to the Puget Sound Region. Both should be expanded. I’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco and in every city I didn’t use a car, I used rail. Los Angeles even started putting in light rail before I moved here 6 years ago. If you want to be a “major-league” city, get yourself a light rail system.

The other point that needs to be made is that our Democratic-controlled Congress should expand funding for commuter rail because with the cost of oil not coming down anytime soon, the airlines are going to continue nickel and diming passengers until only the rich can fly. With additional fees for checked baggage and United Airlines’ recent announcement that it will require minimum stays, David Goldstein probably has it right:Better carry a shitload of quarters with you the next time you fly folks, just in case the plane loses cabin pressure and you have to feed the goddamn coin slot on the oxygen mask.

Can pay toilets on airliners be far off? And if people are paying to use the toilet, don’t you think they’ll feel entitled to smoke in the lavatories? Who really wants to travel that way?

With the state of our fossil-fuel based economy the way it is, it’s time to start thinking about other transit options, including building and/or expanding commuter rail. As we do that, perhaps Amtrak should be reconsidered as well.

And while we’re at it, can Sound Transit please have the Sounder stop at the Olympia station for all those commuters in Thurston County who work in Seattle?

————————-

So Americans will probably spend more time on trains going to work or taking a vacation. What do you think?

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Gas demand down

Demand for gasoline is down–In large part because gasoline prices are over $4 a gallon. This drop in demand is the first time in 17 years. China is raising prices for gasoline and diesel — a move that might ultimately lower demand. And, on Sunday, there were signs supply might increase as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister indicated that the country would increase production through the end of the year if needed. On Friday, the energy markets were digesting news of an attack on a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform in Nigeria that shut down over 200,000 barrels of oil per day in production. According to the EIA, in the first quarter of the year, demand for gasoline fell about 100,000 barrels per day, or about 1.3 percent of daily consumption.

Read the whole story. . .

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Oil falls as crude supply holds, gas demand drops - NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices slid Wednesday after the Energy Department said crude oil supplies fell less than expected last week while demand for gasoline dropped nearly 2 percent. The national average for a gallon of regular…

Oil falls as crude supply holds, gas demand drops (AP) - Forum: Commodities and futures - news and analysis (RSS feeds) Posted By: Yahoo! Finance Post Time: 06-18-2008 at 12:20 PM.

 

Gas prices and consumer behavior

A new study, “IRI Times & Trends Special Report: Competing in a Transforming Economy,” found 53 percent of consumers report that they are cooking from scratch more now than they were six months ago and about 59 percent say they are buying fewer single-serving products, and 55 percent say they are buying fewer prepared meals, indicating bargains are more important than convenience and health, according to MediaPost.

Isn’t that what you might expect? Heck, with gas prices as high as they are, consumers have to do something? Let me ask you a question- how has your behavior and attitude changed because of high gas prices? Also, what other changes do you think we can expect as gas prices go higher.

Click here for the complete IRI story from Media Post Marketing Daily

Irrational about gas?

I stopped by a nearb outdoor sporting goods supplier’s store yesterday to get my car outfitted to carry my sailboat and I began to speak with the owner. He pointed out that some folks are now towing their boats with a motorcycle instead of a van to save money. In fact companies are making boat trailers exactly for the reason of allowing motorcycle towing.

This same store owner at the store called Helisport added something he was doing about the high price of gas. He told me he had adapted his car engine to give him 60 miles a gallon. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to get the details but his approach about the gas price got me to thinking about how other folks are dealing with the gas crisis.

I  learned today from CNN Money that folks in California were driving to Mexico to get cheaper gas even though if one considers lost time and the wear and tear on the car it didn’t make sense. Another story was told about how people are trading in their SUVs less than three years old even though SUV resale value is extremely low- another irrational gas decision.

On the CNN Money show today, CNN’s guest Daniele Arriele, behavioral ecomomist, spoke about irrational behavior on the part of consumers as it relates to money. He recently published a book called “Predictably Irrational“. (By the way, you can find an interview with Arriele from Amazon, by clicking here.

In thinking about how you are reacting about gas prices and how your friends have been acting, share some stories and tell me if you think the stories are rational or not.

See a related story from the Fayetteville NC observer where Arriele is interviewed about gas prices. In this article, Arrelle says he doesn’t see comsumers making major changes because of gas prices.

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