Original art by Mark Valentine
Here we go again…
AAA just announced that gas prices nationwide have spiked. What’s more, they’re higher even than last year at this time. No surprise. It’s just part of a “new normal” that’s left us all numb. Like finally old gas has been replaced by new higher priced gas.
Let’s do a little math.
Gas prices six years ago were $1.85 – nearly $2.00 a gallon lower than today. The average American drives more than 12,000 miles per year and averages about 25 miles per gallon. And most Americans have more than two cars and two drivers per household, meaning households have paid more than $11,000 extra to get nothing extra.
A lot of what’s wrong with our economy doesn’t weigh as heavily on us as the cost of energy. It factors into higher grocery prices as well as most consumer items. Is that a big deal? Consumer spending is 70% of the GDP. What else would you do with your family’s extra $11,000?
Energy is complicated.
How was it produced? How was it delivered? What did they add to it? How much and who exactly is taxing it?
Energy is power with Global implications.
Look how Vladimir Putin struck fear in Europeans by controlling the natural gas they need that’s exported from Russia.
Energy is political. It makes the other guys appear “evil” to those on the opposite side. So now that we’re effectively divided, who’s ready to be conquered?
If the price of energy goes up anymore, the phrase “crude oil” should be changed to “obscene oil.”
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a billionaire businessman and nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, said the production of shale oil and natural gas in the United States and other countries, primarily done through fracking, is a real competitive threat to “any oil-producing country in the world,” adding that Saudi Arabia must address the issue because it is a “matter of survival.”
No one in the street, at Quick Trip really knows who to beleive. This article from Mark Ruffalo (For Chris’s sakes…), while heavy on the “Climate Change” trope so popular in Hollywood, does, accuse Big Oil of T Rexxxin our buttholes yet again.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-ruffalo/fracking-natural-gas-exports_b_5078853.html
“Ever since the crisis in Ukraine erupted, the oil and gas industry and its friends in Congress have been pushing exports of gas. While many justifications have been offered to explain this push for LNG exports, in reality, this has nothing to do with lofty foreign policy objectives and everything to do with the oil and gas industry using a crisis to ram its agenda through Congress — shock doctrine style. It calls to mind the Bush Administration’s use of the tragedies of September 11 to justify invading Iraq, and the Obama administration’s use of the mortgage crisis to bail out the financial sector.
But let’s be clear about three things.
First, this push for exports has nothing to do with the crisis in Ukraine. Even if LNG exports approvals are fast tracked, there is currently no infrastructure to export the gas until at least 2016. This push reflects an industry agenda that existed before the crisis erupted in Ukraine, and under no circumstances can LNG exports help alleviate it.
Second, once the infrastructure is built, U.S. LNG exports will likely go to Asia, where industry can fetch the highest price, not to Europe. The legislation under discussion would deem all exports in the public interest if the gas is sent to a member nation of the WTO. This includes most countries in the world, including China, India, Japan, Brazil and, ironically, Russia. The oil and gas industry wants these export approvals to drive up their profit margins by selling gas overseas, which ultimately will increase the price of gas for U.S. consumers. ”
The 41 years since the Arab Oil Embargo have been an involuntary roller coaster ride for the American consumer. “Peak Oil”, “Our reserves will last 20 years”, no “50 Years” no, New Technology will give us “1,000” years, no, “Fracking causes Earthquakes”, no, but it will “warm/cool” the planet, no, “your a liar, no, your a liar…”
One thing is for sure, Valentine is right, we are out more cash, a lot more cash, for the same thing we paid for a short time ago.
If I was Prince Alwaleed I wouldn’t worry about it. Fracking wells have a short life.
http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-10/u-dot-s-dot-shale-oil-boom-may-not-last-as-fracking-wells-lack-staying-power
Hmmmm…
Interesting.
“oil rigged”. ’nuff said.
He who controls the access to energy runs the board, period.
Do you think the oil companies could go just one quarter without record profits?
Just one quarter?
And here is one of the many problems with corporations once they have the keys to controlling supply and demand and the government.
and that’s the rub there dude, lib… my understanding is that part of their profit windfall (aside from the oil trading that sees the price of a barrel of oil shoot up 15% just on rumor alone or some minor skirmish in Venezuela that “may” disrupt supply) is that Big Oil refuses to improve supply with building new refineries. quite a game here. they won’t build new ones (even one) and so when the old ones shut down for maintenance (seemingly often), the price of oil and gas shoots up again.
yep, wish I had a racket like that.