Comments on: House Poised to Act to Open Domestic Energy Production

By: tmosley

tmosley — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:00:43 +0000

You people are so full of it. The market speculators are the cause of high gas prices. No Obama! Opening up Anwar or other offshore drilling sites will not drive down prices. it will have no effect on gas prices.
You people need to do your research and stop watching fox news and ABC news!

By: jason

jason — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:12:33 +0000

Yes simple supply and demand can alleviate the price, ie when price becomes to high, demand will drop, the problem lies in the face that are entire infrasturcture and lives are directly connected to oil and if and when supply declines you cannot replace those infrastructures overnight, such as farming, transportation, air travel, shipping, etc. This is a problem far greater than any we have faced. Pre peak oil we have used innovation to use are energy sources, now we need to innovate a new energy source and that could prove very difficult.

By: Alexander

Alexander — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:41:43 +0000

The idea that increasing US oil production will affect oil prices in any material way is utterly silly. This is a global market and US oil production and reserves are simply too small to make much of a difference. Increase production to increase jobs and taxes, but remember that every barrel of oil produced today is one less barrel to produce tomorrow. Electric cars must be promoted as fast as possible – they are the only solution.

By: green.goddess

green.goddess — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:11:30 +0000

ED | APR 19, 2011 6:43:28 PM posted: “ ‘peak oil’ is very similar to other doomsday scenarios. Supposedly it happened already, in the 50′s and in the 70′s and just now.”
No Ed, it’s not.
I find this to be typical Republican-style thinking. Anything that falls outside their Ayn Rand fantasyland of “all government is bad” should be dismissed. A perfect example is Rep. Ryan’s proposal to destroy Medicare; there appears to be little connection with the real world.
For those who actually make an effort to read a simple wiki summary of the Hirsch Report, it is easy to read the range of predictions from industry petroleum geologists, scientists, and economists. Most forecast Peak Oil will fall within this decade. We have little time to develop a range of alternatives.
The full name of the Hirsch Report is “Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management”. The word “mitigation” means an effort to lessening severity. It is not “a doomsday scenario” to use our government to plan in advance.

By: just keepin It real

just keepin It real — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:31:04 +0000

Who knows where those expensive electric car will get their jui—we’re opening a massive wind farm in mass. how about you?

By: just keepin It real

just keepin It real — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:28:49 +0000

we need to end subsidies on crazy “green”—oh wonderful idea! Let’s make sure we have NO Options, you moron! The chinese are growing their middle class, there are 2 billion people over there getting heat for their houses and cars that will require gas. These prices are NEVER coming down. NEVER. If we tapped EVERY INCH of this country we would NOT come up with 5% of our needs!!!! Do you realize that???? ALL the untapped reserves, right now, are LESS than 5% of our needs. WE NEED ANOTHER SOURCE OF ENERGY and the SAME country that invented the nuclear bomb in five years, developed plastics during a major world war and depression, is the SAME country that can develope a new fuel source!!! And we better, becuase Oil is a FINITE commodity, and there is a HUGE demand out there and we DO NOT HAVE THE RESERVES To meet our needs!!! it is FICTION, PURE FICTION that we do. You either do NOT understand how much we have, or how much we use, but scientific journal after scientific journal over and over say the same thing, right now, we use over 75% of hte world’s oil supply and we have, within our borders, only 5% of our needs. Period. The first things Cons need to do is, FOR ONCE, get the facts straight. Saddam did not attack us on 9/11, Iraq had no WMD, Planned parenthood only does THREE percent of their business as abortions and we have MAYBE 5% of our oil needs within our borders. FACTS!!!!!

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:43:28 +0000

“peak oil” is very similar to other doomsday scenarios. Supposedly it happened already, in the 50′s and in the 70′s and just now. Like the “warming” that was going to result in millions of “global warming refugees”. Or that food production wouldn’t keep pace. Or the “population bomb”. Etc.
There is plenty of oil based on the price. When the price gets too high, people choose something else (LNG, natural gas, electric cars, nukes, wind, etc). If there is a profit available the private sector will exploit it- unless government redtape, regulations, and taxation interfere. One small example, government regulated all kinds of details for cars and trucks. Just a decade ago you could easily convert your truck to run on propane (a normal gasoline engine), harder now due to the complex engines demanded by government bureaucrats. Simply things: like eliminating the government mandated ‘blends’ and ‘clean diesel’ would help prices as is some more control over commodity markets (see I’m not opposed to any regulations).

By: earl

earl — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:41:44 +0000

Last year I went from Texas across this nation on a driving trip and saw thousands of oil well pumps standing idle they are simply not pumping the oil that is available I assume they were waiting for the price to rise.

By: earl

earl — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:36:48 +0000

If the congress would vote to eliminate speculation on oil in the commodities market oil would drop to $40 a barrel.There is in Wyoming enough crude under the ground to supply us at present rates of consumption for a hundred years but there are no pipeline to move it to the refineries.

By: green.goddess

green.goddess — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:57:48 +0000

Ed | Apr 19, 2011 5:25:30 PM posted: “The “solution” to so-called “peak oil” will be solved when the price is too high that people/companies will make decisions.”
Here’s the problem Ed.
According to the Hirsch Report our nation is in for big trouble if we wait for the Libertarian ideologue’s “free market” to step in. As much as Republicans dislike the government, there are times when government is needed for everyone’s best interest.
As the globe enters the time of Peak Oil (estimated by some to happen within the next few years) “Liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented.” Unprecedented.
The report goes on to recommend: “Government intervention will be required. The economic and social implications of oil peaking would otherwise be chaotic. Expediency may require major changes to existing administrative and regulatory procedures.” In other words, we should be doing whatever we can NOW to promote alternatives, not continuing to subsidize oil companies that are enjoying billions in profits.
The Hirsch Report does agree that options exist on both the supply and demand sides – BUT to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a DECADE in advance of peaking. Btw, have you actually read the wiki summary?