Gas prices down

1. 59

   Doug Hughesposted 12 years ago

   When gas prices were going up, Wingnuts were tripping over each other in a rush to blame the president.  Even though he had nothing to do with it.
   
   President Obama ordered a release of strategic reserves. Prices have dropped over 50 cents per gallon in Florida.
   
   What do we hear now?

   replyreport
   1. 81

      earnestshubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Chirp.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      chirp

      replyreport
   2. 68

      Jed Fisherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The Stragegic Petrolium Reserve is the greatest Oil trader ever! When the Oil Bubble popped in 2008, the SPR had been selling into it at such a rate, it was below 80% capacity. Then after the 2008 oil price crash, the SPR began re-filling its tanks and pumping crude back into the ground as well. The SPR is now filled beyond capacity, at nearly 110%, and selling oil for three times what it paid less than three years ago. All hail the SPR, greatest oil trader ever!

      replyreport
      1. 60

         uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Seriously?  If they are selling oil at a profit it may be the first time ever Barry made a profit, as sinful and hateful a thing as that is.  All Hail Profit!  If it is 110% above capacity and most of that was bought on the cheap then by all means sell off the 10% and "bank" the profits for the next price drop and let it ride.

         replyreport
   3. 60

      American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Doug,
      
      What will you hear now? The facts, the truth. You were not even close with that self serving left statement. I wrote several weeks ago O-man was going to try and take credit for what was already happening. I was proven correct and it looks like some have either bought into it, or are just pushing the Dems talking points. So let’s go back to what O-man said in early March, 2011
      In March, Obama said his administration was not tapping the reserve because there was no supply shock and other countries would fill the production gap.
      "Right now, what we're seeing is not a shortage of supply," Obama said, before adding that, "even if Libyan oil production was suspended for a significant period of time because of the unrest there, we'd be able to fill that gap."
      Obama makes these remarks in March, Crude prices were steady at there all time highs and were poising to come down, Then in June he decides we need to release oil reserves blaming Libya, the same countries production loss if it were to occur we could cover. Once more Obama doing the double talk. And let’s be clear here (I know I stole an Obama line there), 30 million barrels only cover 1 ½ days usage. The US consumes 20 million barrels per day (Source Department of Energy) That will have no effect on oil or gas prices, Every economist agrees with that.
      So did they go down because of the STR release? No. In fact, oil and gas prices have been falling for the past several months. The price of a gallon of gas was over $4 and in some parts of the country like California, it was over $5 back in May. Gas prices were selling at $3.61 a gallon Wednesday, according to motorist group AAA. Most experts attribute the price declines to expectations of weaker demand as the economic recovery continues to slow.
      Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a grim assessment.
      "Bernanke's statement about the 'slowing pace of recovery as well as a drop in demand' was the key to this downward move," said Dan Dicker, a former oil trader and author of "Oil's Endless Bid: Taming the Unreliable Price of Oil to Secure Our Economy."
      “Oil prices have been falling for the past two months. The futility of yesterday’s release( 6-23-2011) of 60 million barrels (The US will only release 30 million barrels) over one month from the strategic oil reserve is thus exposed as a measure mainly designed to shore up the weakening re-election prospects of President Barack Obama and is not necessary to lower oil prices.”(An economist)
      But if the demand has fallen so much you do have to wonder why the price is so high if the supply is still there. And yes it is, Saudi Arabia has more than compensated for lost Libyan oil whatever the other Opec members have or have not done. Answer is simple, the greed of the big oil companies. They want those $10 billion or more quarterly profits. Here is one of the few things I agree with O-man on. Stop the tax breaks and raise the taxes on the oil companies, They can obviously afford it!!!
      So here are the Factual numbers that bear this out:
      Thursday, June 30, 2011: NYMEX West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil closed up $0.65 at $95.42 per barrel.
      In April, crude futures were at around $114 per barrel, by the beginning of June they dropped to around $91 per barrel. Since the Obama announcement, the price of crude has risen to $95.42 at closing bell 6-30-2011. (Source-NYMEX Exchange) So the price has gone UP since the release, not down.
      In case you are not sure the prices were going down In May, I posted a few headlines I found online. Just Google and you will find pages of articles devoted to that subject. I even found one from Pembroke Pines, Fla, down your way.
      
      Gas Prices Are Going Down
      AAA Mid-Atlantic reports gas prices have fallen just before the Memorial Day holiday
      By Monique Hayes
      | Tuesday, May 24, 2011 | Updated 5:46 PM EDT
      
      Gas Prices Continue Going Down
      CREATED May. 8, 2011
      MADISON - Gas prices have been coming down since all-time highs across Wisconsin last week.
      Gas prices start to head down
      Gas prices have fallen four days in a row and in every state, according to AAA. Analysts expect gas prices to keep dropping slowly.
      In this May 5, 2011 photo, a motorist fills her car at a Mobil gas station in Pembroke Pines, Fla., where the price of regular gas is near $4 a gallon. After their big run-up, gas prices are starting to come down, according to the AAA fuel survey.
      J Pat Carter/AP
      NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Washington's most powerful business lobby panned the Obama administration's decision to tap the nation's strategic oil reserve Thursday, calling the move "ill-advised."
      "Our reserve is intended to address true emergencies, not politically inconvenient high prices," Karen Harbert, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Energy Institute, said in a statement.
      The U.S. Department of Energy said it would release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

      replyreport
   4. 61

      logic,commonsenseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, I'm just deliriously joyful over having to pay more than 3.40 a gallon!  Think I'll go out and celebrate!  Too bad my unemployed friends and neighbors can't go with me.

      replyreport
      1. 60

         uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Short and too the point, well said.  I am sure the fifty cents a gallon I am " saving" at the pump will help buy the more expensive groceries.

         replyreport
         1. 77

            lovemychrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Which is exactly what happens when they "cut taxes". More fees, fines, higher cost of living.
            Only thing cutting taxes has done is re-distribute the wealth....upwards.
            
            Obama gave a 400 dollar break to low incomes.
            First in my lifetime.
            
            How many tax cuts have the upper incomes garnered?????
            
            Meanwhile, food, gas, rent, heat, electricity, fees, fines, bank costs, etc etc etc rises.
            
            It's a ponzi scheme allright.Pretending the burden is on the wealthy.
            Far from it.

            replyreport
            1. 60

               uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I am sure your local library has in its inventory several books on basic economics and they are available free of charge.  Perhaps you can read one.
               
               Wait until your precious communist ideologues finally have control.  Things will be free and unavailable.  It is so great to want everything handed to you but how long will the supply last if it is free? 
               
               See you in the potato line, comrade.

               replyreport
   5. 60

      uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The price of gasoline and the release of oil from the strategic reserve are only marginally related.  If you check the per barrel price of oil it reflects the release of the reserve oil - blip that has come and gone.  Gas prices are more a function of dollar inflation with the Eurozone still in trouble and China showing cracks in its economy the dollar is still a good bet.  As the dollar gains against the Euro it is reflected in international commodities such as gasoline and gold.
      
      Oil, because of OPECs influence, doesn't readily reflect those changes.  The 6 million barrels released from the strategic reserve represent less than a weeks consumption of oil in the US.  The price of things is far more complicated than what you or Barry believe. 
      
      Gasoline is still up over 80% since Barry was sworn in.  Grocery prices are up significantly and the CBO just released a report stating that growth in wages, jobs and the over all economy will remain extremely weak for the foreseeable future.  Gas isn't cheap enough to off set all that stellar news.
      
      Oh and where are all the liberals moaning and weeping over the innocent blood spilled by Barry over oil in Libya?  That is a silence so crushing that it is obvious there is no anti-war movement in America just an Anti-Bush movement(even in the ress)

      replyreport
2. 59

   Stump Parrishposted 12 years ago

   The same thing we heard when the auto bail out funds were repayed ahead of schedule. The same thing we will hear about every success Obama has had and will continue to have. Absolutely nothing. They are too busy thinking up the next thing they can blame on him. Come to think of it, I wonder why we haven't heard that the dropping prices is actually the result of Reaganomics?

   replyreport
   1. 60

      American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Casting an upbeat message on a day when gloomy job growth figures loomed, President Obamatouted the recovery of the Big Three automakers at a Chryslerplant in Toledo, Ohio, on June 3, 2011, saying it couldn't have happened without his 2009 bailouts. A quote from the speech (source-Transcript of speech) “I'm proud to announce the government has been completely repaid for the investments we made under my watch by Chrysler because of the outstanding work that you guys did. (Applause.) Because of you. (Applause.) Chrysler has repaid every dime and more of what it owes the American taxpayer from the investment we made during my watch. And by the way, you guys repaid it six years ahead of schedule. (Applause.)”
      
      Here are the facts: So far, the federal government has invested roughly $80 billion in Chrysler and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), HALF of which has been returned so far, White House economic adviser Ron Bloom explained earlier in the week. Maybe Obama should have checked with Bloom before he made that speech.  The other U.S. automaker, Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), did not receive federal assistance. Obama also claimed that GM has rehired all employees that were laid off. Obama was not shy bragging how it was all him that saved the auto industry. The quotes straight from the speech (source-Transcript of speech) “So we decided to do more than just rescue the industry from crisis. We decided to retool it for a new age”. Retool it, really? Mr. President, did you go to the board meetings? Did you redesign the cars? Did you write the ad campaigns? Not at all. So if you saved the auto industry, what is your answer about Ford? Ford took no money, not one dime, and is doing well despite recession.
      
      So would the auto industry have collapsed if there were no bailouts? While we will never know the true answer, here is what we know. Ford was willing to purchase GM and assume all of its debt. Under that plan, cost to taxpayers, zero. Chrysler wanted to go into bankruptcy protection. They had a plan to implement a successful recovery and to emerge from bankruptcy. Knowing what we know now, that would have worked perfectly. Cost to taxpayers, zero.

      replyreport
3. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   We have the same wingnuts here, and our prices are set in Singapore!

   replyreport
4. 77

   lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

   Let's take a guess:
   
   "Obama is hurting the small business gas station owners, by making them charge less for gas."
   
   or:
   
   "Obama is only doing it to get re-elected."
   
   or;
   
   "Obama is only doing it because the Republicans in the House told him to."

   replyreport
   1. 60

      American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You got 2 out of 3 right. Repubs told him not to do it. Just to clearify. Actually, so did a lot of Dems

      replyreport
      1. 77

         lovemychrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         So, he thinks for himself...good to know. Just to clarify.

         replyreport
5. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   Or how about all three? That would make as much sense as usual.

   replyreport
6. 70

   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   Gas prices are just one of many problems. Big deal it went down $.50 per gallon.
   
   People act like this was an accomplishment. What a joke.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      And they act as if it was Barry's accomplishment rather than accept that prices reflect thousands of decisions rather than just one.  6 million barrels is not much oil, in the grand scheme of things.

      replyreport
7. 59

   Stump Parrishposted 12 years ago

   What do you mean Cag, two fill ups and I can retire. The flip side of this is that when they go up $.50 it's a big deal. You dont seriously expect them to drop $2.00 all at once do you. Granted they will find a way to get this $.50 back real soon and there is no reason to get excited.

   replyreport
   1. 70

      Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Why doesn't this statement surprise me.
      Apparently it is always a big deal either way to at least some people. I guess it would be more the liking of the gullible and willfully stupid.
      I don't expect them to drop even $.50, without it already being accounted for in some other aspect.
      Like I said, it's already been accounted for in some other manner.

      replyreport
   2. 60

      American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree Stump we could. So much for those dollar per gallon days. And we complained about iy then. Sure would be good to pay dollar for a gallon of gas today, bet noone would complain about that

      replyreport
8. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   Gold took a dive along with oil, but I am pretty sure they will both recover. We are paying huge petrol prices in Australia too.

   replyreport
9. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   Australia is gearing up to sell LPG. To America.
   
   Evidently gas is going to be a stop gap position between fuel technologies.
   All ICE's can be run on LPG or converted to run on LPG

   replyreport
   1. 59

      Doug Hughesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Big Oil is out to tap LPG in the US with a process called 'fracking'. Fluids at enormous pressure are pumped into a well, which fractures the geological structure allowing LP gas to be extracted.
      
      Sounds good. However, the oil companies keep the formulas of the carp they are pumping a 'trade secret'. Some of the ingredients are known carcinogens which can enter the water table.
      
      There is no way to extract dangerous chemicals from that deep underground. A small farm owner near a  fracking well showed he could 'burn' the vapors from his water.

      replyreport
      1. 81

         earnestshubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Fracking sounds pretty bad from that description. I wonder if others are mining gas this way?

         replyreport
      2. 60

         American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Doug
         I thought some facts on this were appropriate.  First, LPG stand for Liquid Propane Gas. Natural gas is totally different. Fracking is used for extraction of oil and natural gas deposits. (Source-Wikipedia, Department of Energy). Also the incident about the water is not 100% correct. It’s true that a rancher’s water did ignite, but a test of the water found this:
         “The film also makes a case for explosive gases entering private potable water wells, causing "flammable water". However, a laboratory test concluded that in one case the flammable water well contained biogenic methane, a combustible gas that occurs naturally in underground coal beds”.(Source-Wikipedia, "NOW on PBS)
         Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking, fracing[a] or hydrofracking, is the process of initiating and subsequently propagating a fracture in a rock layer, employing the pressure of a fluid as the source of energy.[1] The fracturing, known as a frack job (or frac job),[2][3] is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations, in order to increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of oil and natural gas.
         Hydraulic fractures may be natural or man-made and are extended by internal fluid pressure which opens the fracture and causes it to extend through the rock. Natural hydraulic fractures include volcanic dikes, sills and fracturing by ice as in frost weathering. Man-made fluid-driven fractures are formed at depth in a borehole and extend into targeted formations. The fracture width is typically maintained after the injection by introducing a proppant into the injected fluid. Proppant is a material, such as grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped.
         Considerable controversy surrounds the current implementation of hydraulic fracturing technology in the United States. Environmental safety and health concerns have emerged and are being debated at the state and national levels
         Hydraulic fracturing for stimulation of oil and natural gas wells was first used in the United States in 1947.[5][6] It was first used commercially by Halliburton in 1949,[5] and because of its success in increasing production from oil wells was quickly adopted, and is now used worldwide in tens of thousands of oil and natural gas wells annually. The first industrial use of hydraulic fracturing was as early as 1903, according to T.L. Watson.[7] Before that date, hydraulic fracturing was used at Mt. Airy Quarry, near Mt Airy, North Carolina where it was (and still is) used to separate granite blocks from bedrock.
         Volcanic dikes and sills are examples of natural hydraulic fractures. Hydraulic fracturing incorporates results from the disciplines of fracture mechanics, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and porous medium flow.
         Extensive exploration of tight shale formations in the United States for oil were underway in 2011
         Environmental and human health concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing include the contamination of ground water, risks to air quality, the migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, and the potential mishandling of waste.[20] The potential costs associated with possible environmental clean-up processes, loss of land value and human and animal health concerns are undetermined. A 2010 EPA study discovered contaminants in drinking water including: arsenic, copper, vanadium, and adamantanes adjacent to drilling operations; however, the EPA stated a broad range of sources including drilling or agricultural activity too could be responsible.[21] EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, recently told Congress that there have been no "proven cases where the fracking process itself has affected water." [22] New technological advances and appropriate state regulations are working to study and safely implement the process.[23]
         Arguments against hydraulic fracturing center around the extent to which fracturing fluid used far below the earth's surface might pollute fresh water zones, contaminate surface or near-surface water supplies, impact rock shelf causing seismic events or lead to surface subsidence. However, well casing failures and failures of the well grouting systems may have been responsible for gas migration into drinking water aquifers in Dimock, Pennsylvania.[24] The transport, handling, storage and use of chemicals and chemical-laden water can also cause accidents that release materials into the environment, though this does not occur during the hydraulic fracturing process itself.
         It has been reported that the hydraulic fracturing industry has refused to publicly disclose, due to intellectual property concerns, the specific formulation of the fluids employed in the fracturing process. A "NOW on PBS" episode aired in March 2010 introduces the documentary film Gasland. The filmmaker claims that the chemicals include toxins, known carcinogens and heavy metals which may have polluted the ground water near well sites in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Colorado. The film also makes a case for explosive gases entering private potable water wells, causing "flammable water". However, a laboratory test concluded that in one case the flammable water well contained biogenic methane, a combustible gas that occurs naturally in underground coal beds.[25]
         The EPA announced June 23, 2011 that it will examine claims of water pollution related to hydraulic fracturing in Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Louisiana.

         replyreport
10. 76

    DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years ago

    I remember when I was a little, little girl, I used to go to the gas station with my father.  He kept a beat-up leather notebook in his glove compartment in his car. Every time we stopped for gas, he would write in it.  When I got old enough to write numbers, he let me write the numbers in the book.  He dictated the numbers and I wrote numbers like 35.9...36.9. It was only years later that I realized what I was writing.
    
    Now those were REAL gas prices!

    replyreport
    1. 60

       uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I still wait for the halcyon days of $1.80 per gallon gasoline.  Who was president then?

       replyreport
11. 75

    Reality Bytesposted 12 years ago

    Check out this tish.
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQMA0zwMM4
    
    Unbelievable if there were not so many.

    replyreport
    1. 60

       American Viewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       What a fake setup that was. Notice the water never ignited, but when the water stopped coming out then the flame happened. This video was dicredited in a PBS documentary on Flacking. They showed how some evviormentalists were cutting the water off and diverted LPG gas into the plumbing. They use the BBQ tanks to supply the gas.
       
       Now thats not to say combustable water does not happen, but this video is a fake. Those that have combustable water can fill a glass withthe water, and when they put their lighter over the glass, the water will ignite. I have seen that demonstration several times in that PBS show. Testing showed it was a natural occurance, not man made.

       replyreport
12. 59

    Stump Parrishposted 12 years ago

    Cag, I guess you missed the humor and sarcasm of my comment. I will try harder in the future, lol.
    
    Doug this is a good example of why I think deregulation of the oil companies ain't such a grand idea. There isn't one oil company executive that would live in an area where they are fracking. Pennsylvania is having all kinds of problems with this and I believe Canada has a lot of experience with the problems associated with fracking. Those stories never make it to the news anymore.
    
    But what do I know, as long as the gas companies are making record profits, they will surely not harm the people aroung their wells. Dont believe me, ask any GOP voter, They know that the only way to protect the country is to give the oil compnaies no reason to worry about it.

    replyreport
    1. 70

       Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       It wasn't missed. It was ignored.

       replyreport
13. 82

    TamCorposted 12 years ago

    Just curious here, but our gas prices went up 20 cents yesterday, will they continue to climb again?  I know that gas always goes up during holiday travel times, but not usually THAT much...

    replyreport
14. 60

    uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years ago

    Yes, your gas prices will fluctuate and wildly for the next few years as they have for the previous years.  Until stable governments capable of producing large amounts of oil do so the price will depend on OPEC to set the price as the Middle East burns.  This political instability coupled with the price fixing of the oil cartel will continue to cause price instability.  Until Canada and the United States go full bore into energy production, oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear and even the silly greeny stuff, gas prices will not stabilize.

    replyreport
    1. 82

       TamCorposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       
       
       That's what I figured...thanks. My husband's company finally implemented a gas allowance for all of their techs who travel so much each week, because of these high prices.
       
       The only catch is they will stop it if gas gets below $3.20 a gallon...like THAT is a great price for gas...ugh.

       replyreport
15. 75

    wheelinalloverposted 12 years ago

    Compared to you all I must be ancient. You talk about at the least amount 33 to 35 cents a gallon. I remember clearly paying 10.9 cents a gallon with all taxes included. Most of the places though were at 19.9 cents at the time.
    
    The bad thing about the alternative energy source mentioned earlier is you can't get the mileage you can with gasoline. The same is true of ethanol.
    
    In the end this makes no sense. You will be paying $4 or $5 dollars maybe more for a gallon for something that doesn't move your vehicle as far as it would go on a gallon of gasoline. In the past I personally tested five types of power. Propane, LNG, gasoline/hydrogen mix, alcohol/gasoline and electric. Gasoline/hydrogen was the most cost effective.
    
    I didn't get the chance to test anything that ran on pure hydrogen. Propane and LPG was actually costing more than it would have taken to drive a month paying whatever the current gasoline price was at the time. Propane came in at 11 mpg, LNG 12 mpg. The older electric van I drove took the electric bill into the hundreds for the month I tested it. I don't remember the exact number but it was close to a dollar a per mile. That test only lasted one month.
    
    Propane and LPG ran about 5/6 mpg below what the same size and type of vehicle was getting with gasoline. The same pickup that had the propane conversion went from 11 mpg to 39 mpg when it was taken back to gasoline and had a hybrid gasoline/hydrogen system added. Even factoring in the cost of the materials it took to generate my own hydrogen, also pay for the parts for the conversion, it was still cheaper than any other fuel source and gave the best results. With the hydrogen generating equipment there was also a by product (electricity) which kept the house in power and cut that bill completely off most of the year.
    
    I also had a minivan which would run on E-85 which I drove for about a year. It always got about 25 mpg on the highway on regular gasoline, when you added 10% ethanol it went down to 23 mpg but when you put E-85 it dropped to 13 mpg. The price difference in no way made up for the loss of mileage.

    replyreport
    1. 60

       uncorrectedvisionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       As corn production is being channeled into ethanol production via government subsidies the result is less efficient fuels, increased energy usage - in distillation and distribution of the ethanol - and most importantly, a dramatic increase in food prices world wide .  It is yet another indicator that governments interfering in markets fo little more than distort and destroy.

       replyreport