Can Obama and the Government Stop Rising Gas Prices?

Here it is 2012 and this article is as relevant as it was when I wrote it 18 months ago. However, there is a quick update, the pipeline in the Midwest controversy that President Obama refuses to approve. The FACT is that it could lower our dependence on foreign oil by 8 percent and that would decrease the amount of power of OPEC to dictate our oil prices. Canada is one of our most friendly alliances and why we would not accept their offer to pipe oil to the US is just dumbfounding.

The argument for the preservation of nature doesn't hold up, the survey's have been completed and millions of dollars have been spent to ensure that natural environments will not be disturbed no more than necessary to complete construct. The companies involved have also promised to replant or refurbish the area once construction is completed in the area affected.

The other benefit of the pipeline would be the jobs created, estimated to be about 20 thousand, even more if you count related increases to local economy's where the pipeline workers would spend their money. I don't get why the people are not calling the white house demanding approval of this pipeline everyday, as gas prices continue to go up again. We have to get ourselves off the OPEC and middle east merry go round of dependency.

Claims that there isn't much a president can do to stop the rising prices at the pump is misleading, to say the best about it. Maybe, there are ways that a U.S. President can affect what the American pays for a gallon of gas at the pump. Though, they don’t get covered by the main stream media and the right questions are not ever asked. That doesn't mean that the Obama administration ever intends on doing something about it, knowing all the while that it can be done.

Ok, the fastest way for Obama to lose support of the left part of the Democrat party, would be to go back on his promise to peruse wind, solar and alternate sources of power other oil. Most everyone agrees that renewable energy is the way of the future, but so far he has failed miserably make any of the above mentioned sources of power affordable to anyone. Renewable energy will come, but it will be many years down the road and the American public is facing a economic problems now. He can stand and make speeches at the Chevy Volt plant but until it a viable option it doesn't make a difference.

Fact: The true cost of producing and delivering electricity from wind and not on the price paid when a utility buys electricity from a "wind farm." This latter number will often have the true cost because of the extensive subsidies available to “wind farm” developers and owners. In fact, in the early years of a “wind farm’s” operation the value of tax breaks and subsidies generally will exceed substantially the income that a “wind farm” owner will receive from the sale of electricity! This quote comes from the cost analysis wrote back in 2003 with projection into 2006. The cost has only changed in comparison with high gas prices in 2011. But further discussion on this subject becomes more and more about saving the planet other than the cost involved and how it will be paid for. Also, the environmental impact of these wind farms are never exposed, hundreds of birds are killed daily due to the giant blades. There is also the land use and construction issues, however the environmentalist won't fight to save as many lizards and snails as long as they agree with what is being built.

Fact: The total electriccar era is at least fifteen to twenty years down the road for just the automobile portion of the traveling public. The installation of the charging stations alone across the country will take that long or longer. Converting the driving public to driving small electric cars will take longer and until they can accommodate the rural driver that can often spend up to two hours on the road one way just to get to work, it may take even longer. The farming and construction industries, which utilizes the light duty trucks to heavy equipment gas and diesel equipment, will take much longer to convert, some say they will never be able to covert most equipment used with the technology that we have now. No one has answered this question?

Fact: There are oil wells sitting idle right now in all regions of the US, the Gulf of Mexicoand many other places valued for their reserve. It estimated that there is enough reserve just in one region that could supply the US with a two year oil supply, that is even if we did not purchase a single drop of foreign oil from anyone. Which we will never completely purchasing foreign oil, because our relationships with partners in these regions depend on trade and many don't have any other exportable products, unless you need sand for a beech.

Fact: The state and federal gas taxesmake up 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. The state tax on a gallon of fuel varies by state, but the state of Georgia, where I reside, the tax on a gallon of gas is 7.5 and is due to increase by 3 percent because of Georgia’s formula to determine when and how much the tax increases is based on a complicated matrix that requires an upward adjustment when the price of gas rises more than 25 percent. The combined tax in Georgia; which is one of the lowest taxed states 31.4 gallon of gas and 37.3 on diesel fuels, California has one of the highest at 64.5 gasoline, 68.9 diesels.

So the next times you hear there is nothing that their no “silver bullet,” per Obama, then maybe you will remember this article and ask why not? When they bring up the environmental concerns about fossil fuels, ask? “So while we are waiting on conversion, is the American public to be deprived in cheaper fuel prices and related economic inflation?”

If state and federal government; would suspend all taxes for three months while they opened up new resources they could save the average American 30 to 70 cents a gallon automatically. I don’t know about you, but 30 to 70 cents a gallon would help just about everyone.

The next step to reduce gas prices would open exploration to all oil companies in the American mid west and Alaska. The Bakken Oil shale that extend from Canada to North Dakota and Montana, this find alone could yield close to 4 billion barrels of oil. This find is second to the over 10 billion gallons of oil that could be in ANWAR Alaska. Why we haven't open ANWAR to drilling is one the biggest question marks in exploration. The area they are talking about drilling is so small in relationship to the region, that it is like a dime in the corner of rug in a 10x10 foot room.

The deep water gulf and coastal exploration could be opened to tap into the billions of gallons of oil off each cost. Off the Atlantic cost alone there is over 7 billions of conventionally recoverable oil.When the government spokes person tells you about long it would take to access the oil, remember this, and ask yourself, “If they had started two years ago, what would be happening now?” Also, the government is blaming speculators for driving the price of oil up; and to that point they are correct. But, instead of doing anything to drive speculation down the other direction by releasing more oil, they launch investigations into price rigging and manipulation.

The unrest in the Middle East is supposed to influence our gas and oil prices? Why do we put up with it? If OPEC were done away with what do you think would happen? Right now the countries that are members of OPEC virtually control the American economy; the US is not a member of OPEC but is at their mercy. Member countries include: a consortium of 13 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Does some of the names on the list sound familiar? How about Libya, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, do you think that Iran would do something to financially harm America? Why must we protect countries from harm without repayment considerations? When did it become the job of the American tax payer to protect these countries from each other and from their own populations? How many times do you see these countries send people to the US when a natural disaster happens to help us?

If we were to start building refineries within ten miles of both coast of the United States and we were to start opening up all drilling areas, the speculators would drive the cost down. We could actually have gas prices below $1.25 a gallon by fall and OPEC would be forced to lower prices to compete. . Production levels would increase automatically in the mid east, just to keep up with production from the well the US has that are uncapped and put into service within 60 days. In 24 months we could have oil flowing that make up 90 percent of the needs of oil in the US. Do you think it can't be done? Remember we have been here before, we were at $4.00 dollars a gallon in 2008, we opened oil leases and gas was at $1.65 a gallon when Obama took office. Remember?

When the government tells you there is nothing they can do; what they mean is they can’t do anything because the environmentalist have control over what they do. It really comes down to the fact, can they do anything or do they want too?

So, the next time you fill your tank up, take a moment and thank all the mice and crickets you saved because we didn't drill for oil on land where they lived. Oh, you can't hear the thank you can you?