Posted on 05/17/2008 7:42:43 AM PDT by zeebee
US President George W. Bush said on Saturday that a hike in oil output by Saudi Arabia would not solve American energy problems.
"It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem," Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Bush said he was "pleased" with a Saudi decision taken on May 10 to increase its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in response to customers, but said that he was "also realistic" about what the Americans should do.
"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," he said.
"One interesting thing about American politics these days is those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
love it.
What now, Sir???
Not that anything he says is false, but if you’d ask me 20 years ago if I thought a US President would be in the position to repeatedly beg the Saudis to increase oil production, and would be rebuffed, I wouldn’t have said it was gonna happen.
Absoultely nailed it. Amazing that the same Democrats who can stand there with a straight face and say “We cannot drill our way out of this problem” turn right around in the next breath and demand the Saudis increase production to solve the problem for us.
The countdown to ObamaPelosiReidDaschle whinefest begins.
But man, did he really have to do the hand-holding thing again?
Foreign-borns,doing jobs Americans won’t do.
For well over 100 years the US, one if not THE most technological advanced countries on this planet, has been dependent upon machines that guzzle oil or its byproduct. The major producers of this product is in the hands of unstable dictatorships who don’t like us. Wouldn’t it occur to someone that there’s got to be a better way? Perhaps developing machinery that doesn’t use one drop of this product. Are all of our scientists and companies R&D that slow to react or stupid? The technology is OUT there. Where is it?
Republicans need to keep on hammering about domestic production.
Gas will easily be $5-6 a gallon by the time the impact from a few newly built refineries is felt and drilling off-shore or ANWR, that’s if they started construction today.
The enviro-mental activists have been winning the media propaganda war and in the courts for the past 40 years. Get used to higher fuel prices.
How about shipping the oil from the Alaska pipeline to the lower 48 instead of selling all of it to Japan and China?Maybe an extra million barrels a day of OUR OWN OIL might help a little?
I have been wondering if we haven’t lost our leverage w/Saudi, which, as I understnd it, involves their security.
What would prevent China or Russia from offering security to the Saudis?
Take all the taxes off gas and what is the price??
What we have been dependent on is CHEAP ENERGY, no matter the source.
And the Left has done EVERYTHING it can to destroy those cheap sources, from Nuclear Power, to Hydro-Electric, to coal, and yes, to OIL...
The Infrastructure that America spent so much treasure to build, that created this great economy, is strained and cracking because of the shifts to SOCIAL PROGRAMMING/ VOTE BUYING.
only if President Bush had been aggressive with these appeasers 5 years ago the way he has been this week, we would not be in the minority
Maybe if we quit buying this mindless demagoguery that has been pouring out of the Democrats since 1978, (Windfall profit tax, investigate big oil, increaser CFE standards etc) we might finally realize that WE are the problem here. Not OPEC, not “Big OIl” US with our stupid notions that we could have all the absurd Green policies while never having to pay an economic cost for those polices
And now we have Juan McCain to vote for, who also doesn't want to drill in ANWR...
... and probably won't push his Shamnesty amigo Uncle Ted to have an offshore wind farm in his back yard either.
The transition away from petroleum liquids will take 25 painful years. Oddly, there have already been 30 years of riotous economic growth while the eventual transition was ignored. The transition could have been done by now, no problem. But, the Apollo moon program, the Superconducting Supercollider, and the petroleum liquid transitions were stopped cold all that time and now we have 25 years of pain ahead.
Maybe people should remember all those Democrat lead fillbustered that blocked any changes in our Energy policy.
Maybe instead of fixating on the 5% of the votes for those fillbusters that came from Republicans, the usual suspects MIGHT finally hold the Democrats accountable for THEIR actions?
If we drill ANWR, we an extra 1.5-2 M bbl of oil per day.
It strikes me that Bush is not capable of hammering on anything.
In 1978 the Department of Energy was created specifically to do this. So 30 years and trillion of dollars later we are STILL waiting for all these magical mythical silver bullet solutions you people keep promising.
Maybe it time the usual suspects quit screaming the same nonsense slogans they have been chanting since the 1970s and realize there is no magic technological solution waiting just around the corner.
The problem is not Oil, the problem is our dependence on cheap imported Oil. And everything the usual Green Cons around here are chanting do ONLY one thing, keep us dependent on imported oil.
Instead of fantasing about a magic bullet to slay the "evil" Oil dragon for you, how about you people finally try living in the real world?
Petroleum and its byproducts are abundant and cheap when the free market works and gasoline and diesel engines are very efficient. There has been no need to find an alternative until the left became determined to destroy this country through crippling our economy using environmentalism as the method. We can generated abundant electricity with nuclear power and coal.
This country can be self-sufficient with the present technology. New technology will be developed by entrepreneurs as needed. Always has been, always will be if the market is allowed to work.
Pure BS, because the usual suspects would still be gutlessly whining about Bush instead of finally holding the Democrats accountable for their actions.
95% of the votes for the repeated fillibusters of the Bush Energy plan came from Democrats but instead of holding them accountable for their votes, here we are, listening to the same whining about Bush
They don't have to win the "media propaganda wars". The media is on their side.
The MSM is clearly America's biggest enemy.
I suppose we would ship that oil to Japan too.
Mission Not Accomplished.
Could it be our politicians are also dependent on the Saudis (and others in that part of the world) to grease the wheels of their re-election war chests? Just asking. It doesn’t make sense that we aren’t drilling in Teddy Kennedy’s private offshore “sailing” haven and a few others, and also in the little area of ANWR that could make all the difference.
I thought they were building nuclear power plants as far back as in the 1970’s. I remember the hippies lying down in front of the bulldozers at some of the proposed construction sites, but I think they were arrested. - My husband’s cousin worked as a public relations representative for the nuclear industry at that time. In all fairness, she was barely past the teeny bopper stage, admittedly nice to look at, but people at that time were asking for some explanation of what they planned to do with the nuclear waste - and those of us who asked were mostly talked down to and told “well, they don’t know right now what they’re going to do with it, but when it’s time, I’m sure they’ll find a storage area”.
I think whenever the nuclear industry goes at it again, they need to respect the intelligence of people and send out scientists ready to fully explain and address the legitimate questions people have instead of taking the tack of sending out sexy young chicks barely out of high school who’ve memorized their lines and alienate half their audience (the wives of the half they charm) with put-downs and sarcasm.
25 years of pain ahead. Should have been done with this already. 30 years ago the problem was recognized and the DoE begun, and it ended there, right along with the Apollo moon program. The party’s over.
Solar and wind energy can be useful for electricity, but unless they plan to put solar cells on every roof in America and turbines on every pole, they won't make enough electricity for everyone in America to have an electric car. Electricity has to come from somewhere, and if you rule out nuclear energy, that means burning some kind of polluting fuel in large amounts, or hydroelectric dams. There aren't enough places to put functional dams, so there you go, we end up burning tons of fuels in a less efficient process to make electricity so people can plug in their cars. Hmm.
But what about ethanol? Supposedly it requires more energy to make ethanol than it delivers, so again there is a fantasy busted. And we have laws that make it unlikely to use sugar cane for ethanol. Busted.
Hydrogen. Yeah, let me know when there is a hydrogen station on every block. Also let me know how much energy it takes to make a gallon of liquid hydrogen. Busted.
People have to drive and trucks have to run. That basically leaves oil for quite some time. All we can really do is to conserve as much as possible with more efficient vehicles, explore and drill for our own oil, and beef up our refining capacity. If we could do those things, the next 25 years would not be so painful.
We should, of course, continue researching alternative energy sources, but they aren't going to happen quickly, at least not for transportation.
W should have slammed the Dems for their fantasies and for their obstructionism a LONG time ago.
It is long time we overturn this government, install a proper constitutional one the founders established, and hang those we throw out of this one.
Its our right and our duty to do this.
Spent black liquor gasification. Not he whole answer, but part of it.
Slam the Dems. Definitely do that and nobody deserves it more. But the Republicans and every other politician and bureaucrat has also participated in this 30 years of blindness. We have 25 years of pain ahead no matter what. It could have been done painlessly and been over with while we were floating in cash.
We haven't shipped Alaska crude to Japan since 2001.
Alaska doesn't export its crude oil - it all goes to US refineries, where most of the gas is used internally (some is sold to Canada and Mexico as partial payment for the amount of crude we buy from those countries).
True, the Pubs need to be slammed as well. We needed “change” in Washington a long time ago, and not the Obama variety. We just needed to get things done, important things for the country.
About $3.10 in upstate NY.
Two things:
Oil is not begin shipped from the North Slope fields to Asia.
Pipeline flow is nowhere near a million barrels
Also, a million extra barrels would make not the slightest difference since we are down twelve million.
How about people learn the facts instead of clinging to the lies that have been screamed at them by the Democrat Party demagogues for 30 years? That is a myth that has no base in fact.
US Crude Oil Exports by Destination
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_expc_a_EPC0_EEX_mbblpd_a.htm
U.S. Crude Oil Exports to Japan
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrexja2a.htm
West Coast (PADD 5) Crude Oil Exports
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrexp52m.htm
Alaska Crude Oil Production
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrfpak2m.htm
US Crude Oil Exports by Destination
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_expc_a_EPC0_EEX_mbblpd_a.htm
U.S. Crude Oil Exports to Japan
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrexja2a.htm
Here you can see data from the California Energy Commission. They track the amount of oil brought into California from Alaska.
CALIFORNIA CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2006publications/CEC-600-2006-006/CEC-600-2006-006.PDF
Here you can see from the Washington Government that 74% of the oil used in Washington State refineries comes from Alaska.
Washington State, Petroleum FAQs
http://qa.cted.wa.gov/portal/alias__CTED/lang__en/tabID__847/DesktopDefault.aspx
The facts will shut down the inaccuracy of one liners. LOL
But can we even refine any more oil than we are doing today? Building refineries takes time, and possibly cannot even be done without major strong-arming.
I don't see how drilling in ANWR does us any good, now. If the plans had been put into place 10 years ago, sure.
It’s high time we went back to paper grocery bags- that ought to help- dontcha know?
Yes. Want to buy a refinery? 220,000 barrels a day. Stable market.
"The United States is halting shipments to its strategic oil reserve for the second half of the year after Congress passed a bill calling for the suspension, the Energy Department said Friday.
President George W. Bush, who had resisted lawmakers’ calls for the suspension, will not veto the bill, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told AFP.
“The president has indicated he doesn't believe halting the moderate fill of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will have a meaningful impact on prices,” Stanzel said.
“Congress has indicated this is something they want to try and the president will not veto this legislation.”
Energy Department spokeswoman Megan Burnett told AFP that the US fills its reserve by about 70,000 barrels per day, an amount that “doesn't have an appreciable action on prices" http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJYfGEdfpDmn2e7zKhDiXLR761-w
Oh but that right! Since 1978 the US Govt has deliberately promoted a “Conservation not consumption” Energy policy to appease the trust fund babies in the Green Lobby. SO instead of developing any sort of sane energy policy we cling to this absurd illusion that there is some magic technical fix to Oil waiting right around the corner.
THERE ISN'T ONE. The miracle fix is not going to happen. Learn to live with that reality.
And it is simply basic economics. NOTHING produces as much energy for as little cost as oil. Therefore none of the alternatives can compete economically with Oil. As long as Oil is available there is way for any alternative to be economically feasible.
But just for the sake of argument, let us suppose there you magically discover a fule to replace Oil. It still 50 years or more before it will be the dominate energy source. Why?
Simple.
1st, you have to perfect the Goil technology. Then you have to produce enough of it to make it cost effective for the average consumer. You also have to develop all the technology and infrastructure to support the new Goil tech, covert or use up all existing infrastructure only THEN will you have your brave new Goil based economy.
Oil will be the dominate energy source for the next 50 years minimum. Maybe people being born now will see the brave new Non Oil world come into being, no one else will.
So IF you want these new magic technologies, you should be advocating the world to use up OIL as fast as possible. Holding your breath and stamping your feet and blocking us from developing our own energy resources only keeps us depend on third world thugs for our energy. It does not bring Oil Liberation day even one second closer.
The Green Lobby are the best allies of OPEC. By fighting tooth and nail to prevent any sort of sane US Enrage policy, they keep us wholly deepened on OPEC oil.
Ha! I guess so.
I’m actually surprised someone hasn’t pressed the imperialism of our pushing other countries to pump more oil while we keep our land pristine—and presumably would be if anything more environmentally careful than a lot of other countries.
You are the Peak Oil nut. The fact that the oil discovered in just the last 2 years prove your notions total nonsense doesn't matter.
Bad news for you. Based on existing Oil reserves, the World will be an oil based economy for at least another 50-100 years. The day of jubilee for your Green Cons will NOT be coming in our life time
The 25 years of pain are merely begun. By 2050 the petroleum liquids will no longer dominate. The alternatives are already well-known and listed in almost every thread, but they still have to be developed and brought on line. That will take 25 years. 25 years of ever increasing PAIN.
Doesn’t matter. This is Peak Oil. This is what Peak Oil is like. The next 25 years will be pure pain.
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