Free Republic

Price of gas got you crying at the pump? Is it eating into your household budget? Well, get used to it. That's the word on the streets as the price of a gallon of gasoline soars to record highs. With regional differentials pushing the price much higher in some places, drivers and small-business owners are finding it hard to cope. But which states' motorists get the best deal, and in which states do drivers pay the most to fill-up? Here come the numbers Alaska has the highest gas prices in the nation, with a gallon of regular gasoline at $4.623,...

Drivers could see gasoline prices below $4 by Labor Day, and even a nickel decline within days, after oil prices fell again Friday. In the last four days, oil prices have dropped more than $16 a barrel, as the market looked optimistically at calm weather, U.S.-Iran negotiations, failing bank rescues and lower demand for gasoline. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A week before, it hit its trading record of more than $147. "Perhaps by Labor Day we could see gasoline prices back below...

p> WAFB TV Channel 9, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana pulled out all the stops for this ridiculous report claiming that "some women" in the Pelican State are resorting to working in strip clubs because gasoline is so expensive. To prove it, WAFB found one woman that said so. I'd say that clinches this as "fact," then, wouldn't you? In typical sensationalistic news fashion, WAFB TV assumes that because gas is more expensive, women across the state are throwing away their morals to work as strippers. During these tough economic times, many people are struggling to make ends meet. The city's...

Despite the pessimistic headlines on energy, a beneficial long-term trend is underway called decarbonization. In his 2005 book, The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century, writer James Howard Kunstler declared that when peak oil hits, “We will have to downscale every activity of everyday life, from farming, to schooling, to retail trade….Epidemic disease and faltering agriculture will synergize with energy scarcities to send nations reeling.” Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has said that global warming will likely result in “a string of terrible catastrophes.” And in his Academy Award–winning movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” he implies that...

President George W. Bush recently declared that Congress should permit drilling on the offshore continental shelf. Shortly after his decree the price of oil began dropping and the drop continued today. In our small rural area the price of gasoline dropped from $4.09 on Wednesday to $3.83 on Thursday. Drill here, drill now, drop prices!

Southern California gamblers who regularly drive to Las Vegas have cut back their visits by a third because of record gas prices, and those who still come say they’ve cut their gambling back by 29 percent, a new poll has found. The findings indicate that gas prices are having a greater impact on tourism than can be gleaned from statistics generated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. They compile key figures such as the number of visitors who drive or fly to Las Vegas, hotel occupancy and room rates, but don’t try to quantify how gas prices affect...

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said calls by Republicans to drill for more oil “is not the answer America needs.” “Making gasoline more affordable would be the exact opposite of what we need to do,” Pelosi asserted. “We need to wean the country off of its dependence on fossil fuels. We can only do this if we discourage Americans’ love affair with their cars and put an end to the frenzy of excessive and senseless driving.” In support of her contention that Americans’ driving habits are “excessive” and “senseless,” the Speaker pointed to a recent study showing that...

i just watched the 2 new girly men on F&F agree that new drilling for oil would have no effect on the price of gasoline at the pump. Somebody needs to tell these two metrosexuals to keep their uninformed opinions to themselves.

While all American oil users' eyes are focused on the supply/demand distortion nationally, as well as worldwide, it may be surprising to learn that California, until recently, has been the fourth-largest energy-producing U.S. state, trailing only Louisiana, Texas and Alaska. In the not-so-distant past, California's production of more than one million barrels a day was a mainstay of America's energy independence, along with the better-known oilfields of the Southwestern United States. Despite the severe attrition of the past decade, record prices, eclipsing the $140 per barrel mark, have resulted in many previously used-up wells being brought back into production, according...

We've got plenty of energy in America. What we don’t have are statesmen willing to let the free market here capture it, process it and sell it. Instead of wisely utilizing our abundant energy, America has been strangled by various federal government bureaucracies, untold reams of burdensome government regulations and counterproductive policies, corrupt environmental special interest groups, and professional politicians who will bend whichever way the prevailing political winds blow. These are the reasons America hasn't built a new oil refinery or new nuclear reactor in thirty or so years. Instead, as billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens accurately stated the...

A Baytown businessman could hold the solution to the nation's energy crisis. The joke around the office at Sustainable Power Corp. these days is what Chairman John Rivera likes to call the, "Liars Club." Why? "Anyone you tell about this will call you a liar," he said. In an economy that has been held hostage by oil prices rapidly approaching the stratosphere, this Baytown-based alternate energy company has found a way to make substantial amounts of crude oil from farm waste. Now Rivera must convince potential investors that his trade secret - 21 years and $31 million dollars in the...

...Cheap gas is unfair. Driving creates huge social costs in the form of traffic, health-damaging pollution and global warming that aren't suffered solely by the person buying the gasoline. Governments usually set up idiotic systems to offset such social costs instead of forcing individuals to pay for their own mess by adding a tax to remedy the imbalance. That kind of tax -- the most fair kind, really -- is called a Pigovian tax, and its use is why gas costs $8 to $10 a gallon in Europe, where they have fewer road deaths even though they drive like complete...

JOSEPH PETROWSKI is president of Gulf Oil. His recommendations are as follows: To Democrats: Supply must be increased, and that will require more drilling. We can responsibly drill. The technology to find, drill and recover oil has evolved tremendously. Careless drillers fear tort lawyers more than government. ators. The claim that the oil companies are sitting on leases and not drilling defies all logic. With oil at $135 per barrel and drilling rigs renting at $300,000 per day, there are no idle rigs anywhere. Furthermore, economic decline – and war induced by basic resource struggles – are greater threats to...

Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) suggested that Congress consider banning unnecessary automobile travel in order to help save gasoline. “In 1974, when we faced oil prices of $12 per barrel, Congress set a national 55 mph speed limit,” Warner remembered. “Studies showed that this saved 167,000 barrels of oil per day and reduced highway fatalities by an estimated 4,000 per year. Now, with oil prices more than ten-times higher we need more drastic action.” Under Warner’s proposal all non-essential automobile travel would be banned. A “Bureau of Travel Permits” would be established within the Department of Transportation and charged with determining...

“The Democratic leaders in Congress will not allow us to explore for oil and gas in parts of Alaska, offshore America, and now is the time for them to change their mind,” President Bush said at the conclusion of the G-8 summit in Japan on Wednesday. Bush, in his concluding statement on the summit, said he firmly believes that oil exploration can be done in “environmentally friendly ways.” High energy prices were among the major topics of discussion at the summit of the world’s leading industrialized nations. According to President Bush, the G-8 leaders agreed that to bring oil prices...

YouTube -- the instant internet video service -- has played an odd role in the 2008 campaign. First -- thanks to CNN -- it provided cheesy snowmen to question Republicans in one primary debate. Now, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), YouTube has become a news service. Last week, the dour Reid faced a Fox News camera and said, “The one thing we fail to talk about is those costs that you don't see on the bottom line. Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It's global warming. It's ruining our country. It's ruining our world. We've...

If this is a repeat post, my apologies but I did an extensive search and did not find that it had appeared on FR before. And if anyone can find the sources of this -- an email to me from a trusted friend -- please add that info. Thanks ******** SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW OIL: MAYBE NOT By: John David Powell I hang around educated and talented people. Each individual has at least one university degree. Most read, watch, or listen to more than one news source every day. They span generations with ages ranging from the 20s to...

Funny how quickly $4-a-gallon gas can smoke out hypocrites - as last week's Pew Research poll, citing a dramatic spike in the share of Americans demanding more energy sources and less environmental protection, shows. The nation, it seems, now favors developing new sources over "saving the planet" by a hefty 3-2 margin. And get this: The biggest shift came among - yep! - liberals. Seems sanctimonious tree-huggers and caribou-coddlers have their price: $4 gas. The percentage of those on the left who see energy expansion as the bigger priority more than doubled, from 22 to 45 percent, in just the...

UH-OH: Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis. Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body. . . . "Political leaders seem intent on suppressing and ignoring the strong evidence that biofuels are a major factor in recent food price rises," said Robert Bailey, policy adviser at Oxfam. Perhaps they...

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide. No more. Record crude oil prices are fueling support for oil and natural gas exploration off the nation's shores. In Florida, movement was underway even before President Bush called on Congress last month to lift a federal moratorium that's barred new offshore drilling since 1981. The early activity here stems from a 2006 Congressional compromise that allows drilling on 8.3 million acres more than 125 miles off the Panhandle _ an...

You would think that this story is right out of science fiction. But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline. The Democrats’ base -- wealthy white “limousine liberals”, and very poor people -- won’t be harmed, but the families who live in suburbia will be devastated. The multi-millionaires like billionaire Senators John Kerry & Jay Rockefeller, financial speculator George Soros, filmmaker Michael Moore, and actors George Clooney & Meg Ryan can easily pay for their auto and private jet fuel. Poor people are forced to...

You would think that this story is right out of science fiction. But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline. The Democrats’ base -- wealthy white “limousine liberals”, and very poor people -- won’t be harmed, but the families who live in suburbia will be devastated. The multi-millionaires like billionaire Senators John Kerry & Jay Rockefeller, financial speculator George Soros, filmmaker Michael Moore, and actors George Clooney & Meg Ryan can easily pay for their auto and private jet fuel. Poor people are forced to...

Americans are worried. Americans are angry. Soaring gas prices are seriously crippling our economy and hitting us where it hurts the most -- in our pockets. We have a right to be angry, but anger is no longer enough. It’s time for rage -- good, old American rage aimed at those elitist Democrats who prefer to see the folks beggared by soaring fuel prices rather than take the action this very real economic crisis demands. Drill. We know that the law of supply and demand is what’s causing gas prices to soar, but merely knowing the ultimate cause of the...

NAPOLEON, Ohio - Doug Pelmear has lots of secrets beneath the hood of his black 1987 Ford Mustang on which the only outward hint of individuality is a series of stickers. But looks can be deceiving. Mr. Pelmear's 21-year-old pony car has enough technological innovation to quadruple the classic Mustang's original gas mileage while almost doubling its available horsepower. That's 80 miles per gallon and 400 horsepower, folks. And the 48-year-old electronics engineer and master mechanic is not done yet. The third-generation automotive tinkerer hopes that next year his Mustang - more specifically its engine - will help him win...

What's the cause of $4 for a gallon of gasoline? To listen to Democrats in Congress and on the campaign trail -- and also some Republicans -- the answer is "price gouging," "speculation," "oil companies" or "the failed policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney." Everything is getting blamed except the well-documented obvious: the law of supply and demand. The history of U.S. energy policy is that Democrats have refused to increase supply and Republicans have refused to curtail demand. They are both to blame for $4 gasoline -- and they'd better get together to keep Americans from paying $200...

Engineer Gets 110 MPG Out Of '87 Mustang Ohio Man Competing For $10M Prize POSTED: 10:21 am EDT July 2, 2008 UPDATED: 11:07 am EDT July 2, 2008 Doug Pelmear said he isn't toying with the engine of 1987 Ford Mustang for the money. The engineer's tinkering, however, could earn him $10 million and save him plenty more in gas money. Pelmear, who lives in Napoleon, Ohio, has tweaked his Mustang to get 110 mpg, making the engine nearly five times as efficient as a traditional gas engine, he told the Toledo Blade newspaper. "We redesigned a lot of different...

Gasoline would be cheaper if countries ended their oil subsidies and let markets rule. In China, the government caps gas prices. Drivers there pay about half of what Americans pay. In many countries, oil prices are held artificially low, either by fiat or subsidy. The result? Consumption keeps rising, boosting global prices. About half of humanity, from India to Chile, now benefits from cut-rate petroleum prices. In 2008, these countries will account for all the growth in world oil demand, or an additional one million barrels a day, according to Deutsche Bank. Their consumption will be the highest in eight...

"Can you believe these gas prices?"

WEBSITE Overview What is a Vanpool? With gas prices rising, traffic congestion increasing, and energy resources dwindling, smart long-distance commuters are seizing the opportunity to turn an often costly and frustrating daily commute into a more pleasant experience. It’s called vanpooling. Vanpools are similar to carpools, except they generally involve more people. A vanpool is a group of 5 to 15 people who regularly travel together to work 30 miles or more (roundtrip) in a comfortable van. Typically, riders pay a monthly fare and maintenance fee, while drivers ride at a discounted rate in exchange for driving and maintaining...

Getting the U.S.Postal Service to deliver mail efficiently is hard enough. Getting it to deliver it fuel-efficiently is apparently even harder. Bloomberg reports on the latest unintended consequence of the U.S. government’s obligation to outfit many of its vehicle fleets with cars and trucks that run on alternative fuels. That 1992 mandate almost never translates into really alternative-fuel vehicles, like ones that run on natural gas or even electricity. Instead, about 99% of government purchases are “flex-fuel” vehicles that can burn ethanol, but usually don’t.

On the eve of the 4th of July, 2008, Americans are arguably as angry about being taxed without representation as at any time since they declared their independence from Great Britain. At the moment, they are furious about having no say over what amounts to a “tax” levied in the form of extortionate fuel prices driven by the supply-manipulating OPEC oil cartel. As was true 232 years ago, we must channel that anger into action. This will require not just declaring independence from the Saudi-led oil monopoly, but taking the steps necessary to secure our freedom. OPEC is able to...

In an attempt at a bipartisan solution to high gas prices, Senate Republicans Thursday unveiled The Gas Price Reduction Act (GPRA) of 2008, which would simultaneously open the way for production of more domestic oil and reduce energy consumption overall. As gas prices creep toward $5/gallon in most states, Democrats have nixed tapping into America’s domestic oil reserves via offshore drilling and other accessible methods. The GPRA considers environmental concerns by excluding the option to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) -- also opposed by Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain -- and instead proposes what Senate Minority...

TALLAHASSEE -- Fed up with watching your gas tank consume cash? The Florida Lottery has tapped into your fuel fetish with its new game, ``Gas for Life.'' Over eight weeks of weekly drawings, the Lottery will hand out five ''Gas for Life'' prizes of $52,000 in cash and 50 ''Gas for a Year'' gas cards -- $100 each to arrive at the winner's home every two weeks for 26 weeks. They are just some of the 448 prizes pegged to the ''Summer Cash'' drawing, which will run weekly from June 30 through Aug. 26. Participants will pay $5 per ticket...

By some estimates, oil prices could hit 200-dollars a barrel. If you do the math, that translates to $6.64 a gallon for gas! Meanwhile, Congress can't agree on a course of action. Democrats are looking at new regulations on speculators, while others -- like Woodlands Republican Kevin Brady -- want to increase drilling: "...And while Congress is eager to place the blame elsewhere, whether it's OPEC or Big Oil or Big Autos, the fact of the matter is we ought to take a square look in the mirror. We need more American-made energy, and this Congress has resisted it." Oil...

We have become a nation of second-guessing Hamlets. Shakespeare warned us about the dangers of "thinking too precisely." His poor Danish prince lost "the name of action," as he dithered and sighed that "conscience does make cowards of us all." With gas over $4 a gallon, the public is finally waking up to the fact that for decades the United States has not been developing known petroleum reserves in Alaska, in our coastal waters or off the continental shelf. Jittery Hamlets apparently forgot that gas comes from oil -- and that before you can fill your tank, you must take...

As we enter the second half of the campaign year, facts are undermining the Democratic narrative that has dominated our politics since about the time Hurricane Katrina rolled into the Gulf coast — most importantly, the facts about Iraq. During the Democratic primary season, all the party's candidates veered hardly a jot or title from the narrative that helped the Democrats sweep the November 2006 elections. Iraq is spiraling into civil war, we invaded unwisely and have botched things ever since, no good outcome is possible, and it is time to get out of there as fast as we can......

Limiting speculation would push prices to fundamental level, lawmakers told WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The price of retail gasoline could fall by half, to around $2 a gallon, within 30 days of passage of a law to limit speculation in energy-futures markets, four energy analysts told Congress on Monday. Testifying to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management said that the price of oil would quickly drop closer to its marginal cost of around $65 to $75 a barrel, about half the current $135. Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co., Edward Krapels of Energy Security Analysis...

It's easy enough for us flatlanders to favor offshore drilling to increase oil supplies and bring down gasoline prices. But what if the "offshore" we're talking about is drilling in Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes? Picture drilling rigs in the lake within sight of Chicago and North Shore towns. Imagine oil spills and near-dead, crude-oil-soaked birds flopping about on Oak Street Beach. Imagine the disappearance of smelt and salmon. Imagine poisoned water supplies. Imagine the end of the world. Well, at least that's the kind of exaggerated rhetoric we'll hear from the East, West and Gulf Coasts in...

So 62% of Americans say, "DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW!" When you pay $5 a gallon for gas it's easy to understand why. Every item of food you now eat has become much more expensive to consume (unless you grew it in your own backyard.) Coupled with that dilemma is the reality that nobody believes the environmental whack jobs anymore. Al Gore the love guru of the greenies has been shown to not only be the biggest hypocrite/liar/inventor of new imaginations related to global warming (every claim of his movie now being discredited by more than 41,000 meteorologists, climatologists, and earth...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain this week reversed his position and drew environmentalists' wrath when he came out in favor of lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Mr. McCain apparently realizes he needs motorists' votes more than environmentalists' endorsements. Better late than never. Rising gasoline prices have focused voters' attention. A poll last October in the San Francisco Bay Area found 69 percent willing to pay an additional 10-cent gasoline tax to "fight global warming." This week only 37 percent liked the idea. The federal government imposing costly greenhouse-gas restrictions was the latest Capitol Hill fad until rising...

Oil: the most powerful substance in the world. It heats our homes, powers our cars and turns our smartest citizens into blithering idiots. Please tell me I wasn’t the only person shaking my head in open-mouthed astonishment as Democrats in Congress literally screamed their objections to offshore drilling. Guys, I don’t know if your limo drivers have mentioned this to you, but we’re paying more than $4 a gallon for gas right now. Heating oil is nudging up toward $5 this fall. And thanks to a huge jump in natural gas prices, some Bay State businesses will see their electric...

With its controlled energy-pricing system under the strain of oil at $130-plus a barrel, China's government said it will increase retail prices for gasoline, diesel and electricity. The moves will pass on some of the gains in global energy prices to Chinese consumers, as many international industry and government officials had urged China to do, at a time when inflation is a rising concern. Those higher rates will in turn push up costs for businesses, potentially pushing up prices for the goods China supplies to the world. But the changes fall short of the wholesale revamping of price controls that...

HOUSTON — As the price of gasoline quadrupled over the last decade, American drivers seemed to defy the laws of economics by pumping more into their vehicles year after year. But this is the year American drivers appear to be finally succumbing to price shock at the pump, according to a new report by Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a consulting firm affiliated with IHS Inc. It says the slowdown in the economy and soaring gasoline prices have finally persuaded Americans to drive fewer miles in fewer gas-guzzling vehicles. "U.S. gasoline demand will likely decline in 2008 for the first time...

Will $4 Gasoline Trump a 27-Year-Old Ban?SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published June 19, 2008 WASHINGTON — One was an oilman from Texas, the other a high-paid energy executive. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, for seven years George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been unable to persuade Congress and the public that domestic oil drilling is an answer to America’s energy needs. With the clock running down on his presidency, Mr. Bush made one last push Wednesday by calling on Congress to end the 27-year moratorium on most offshore drilling. With oil at more than $130 a barrel, gasoline...

A great many confuse hybrid cars with electric cars plugged in to the wall. Hybrids are a completely different animal. Confusing hybrids with electric cars, many raise objections that apply only to electric cars. Hybrids do not use any electricity from the power grid. They run exclusively on gasoline. Many people apparently think that “hybrid” means that a hybrid car is simultaneously a purely electric car and also a traditional car, requiring all the mechanisms of both. Comments reflect the incorrect idea that a hybrid switches between running like a normal car to running like an electric. Comments then suggest...

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I want to thank Secretary Kempthorne and Secretary Bodman for joining me. For many Americans, there is no more pressing concern than the price of gasoline. Truckers and farmers and small business owners have been hit especially hard. Every American who drives to work, purchases food, or ships a product has felt the effect. And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response. High oil prices are at the root of high gasoline prices. And behind those prices is the basic law of supply and demand. In recent years, the world's demand for...

The United States has as much as 8 times as much oil in the form of "shale oil" as all of Saudi Arabia's oil. America could end all imports of foreign oil if these shale oil resources were developed. The Wall Street Journal editorial page then picked up the theme of accessing America's shale oil resources, shortly after publication in the New Media Journal. America's vast supplies of shale oil has not been tapped because it was too expensive when oil was trading at $19 per barrel. And no one has taken action now that oil has exceeded $137 per...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) thinks with some new legislation and focus on increasing our energy production drivers could be paying $2 a gallon for gasoline in the future. Bachman said Congress could make that happen. She said legislation aimed at reducing gas prices and opening up the nation's known petroleum and natural gas reserves could help lower gas prices. Bachmann said it is a question of supply and demand and said now that gas has reached $4.00 per gallon it is time for Congress to act. Rep. Bachman said that if the U.S. were to open up reserves it would...

SAN DIEGO - If there's pain at the pump in the U.S., Mexico may just have a remedy. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in San Diego retails for an average price of $4.61 a gallon. A few miles south, in Tijuana, it's about $2.54 — even less if you pay in pesos. More and more people appear to be taking advantage of the lower price. "I used to buy exclusively in the U.S. before gas started really going up," said Patrick Garcia, a drama teacher at an elementary school in San Diego who lives in Tijuana. "Since then, I've...

John Coleman's Comments Before the San Diego Chamber of Commerce Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas by John Coleman You may want to give credit where credit is due to Al Gore and his global warming campaign the next time you fill your car with gasoline, because there is a direct connection between Global Warming and four dollar a gallon gas. It is shocking, but true, to learn that the entire Global Warming frenzy is based on the environmentalist’s attack on fossil fuels, particularly gasoline. All this big time science, international meetings, thick research papers, dire...