Who the fuck is responsible?!

[ThatsMyBarack]

Food is too expensive.

Airlines slap on surcharges for everything.

Gas will soon be $7.00 a gallon.

It's too expensive to stay warm in the winter, and cool in the summer.

Why?

It's the OIL, stupid. I know, but I'm so confused. Who the fuck is responsible for THAT?! :grr:

[Eric J in MN]

1. The oil companies are making record profits...

...so it's not that they're paying more while only charging the minimum to maintain their old profits.

[Angleae]

7. Just how much profit do you think is in a gallon of gas?

[Eric J in MN]

10. I don't know. NT

NT

[gateley]

13. Enough that all those gallons add up to BILLIONS of dollars in the profit column. nt

[defendandprotect]

14. Last year ExxonMobil $40 BILLION, year before $36 Billion . . .

Can't remember the total oil industry figure --- quite substantial!!

[Bandit]

42. Over One Hundred and Ten Million Dollars every single day

For just one oil company nExxon. And I am talking Net Profit after all expenses have been paid. In the pocket money.... Over One Hundred and Ten Million Dollars every single day, day in and day out week after week, month after month, year after year...How is that for a little Profit? What could your community do with One Hundred Million Dollars?

[Bush_MUST_Go]

2. Greedy politicians who never have enough money OR power.

This has been decades in the making. I really do think we're spinning towards WW III

[defendandprotect]

15. It's a paranoid need for power over others --- they're sadistic people ---

[DJ13]

3. God Bless America

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. Look where that has gotten us?

:puke:

[Rex]

4. PNAC & the GOP, mostly.

I would like to put ALL the blame on those two groups...but I can't. MOST of it is GEORGE BUSH and DICK CHENEYS Fault. Republicans are to blame for about 90% of the problems in America.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Money Looking For A Bubble

The Predator Class simply has too much money. They were putting it in real estate, but that's not working out. So now it's going into oil - more people want to buy oil futures than before, but they ain't increasing production, so the price goes up.

It'll pop soon.

[krabigirl]

55. bingo

[Andy823]

6. Every damn

Politician that is taking money from the oil lobbyists to vote the way the oil companies want them to vote, and that goes for both parties! It starts at the top with the president and goes on down through congress. We need to be represented by people who will do what is good for the country and the citizens that live here, not what is good for big corporations that make billions in profits while the citizens can barely make it from month to month!

It's been been going on for a long time now, and we are paying dearly for it. We need to vote those who aren't working for "the people" out of office!

[Adsos Letter]

8. The oil companies are out to make as much as they can...

PLUS:
corruption in politics,

out-of-control population growth,

rapid industrialization in China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc.

refusal to move rapidly towards a sustainable energy/environmental policy (in America, China, etc...)

short-sightedness,

greed,

American citizens, for not getting out into the streets and demanding change, including at the ballot-box,

Did I mention corruption in politics?

[ThatsMyBarack]

9. Thanks for replying so nicely. Seriously.

Last November, I read this book called How I Live Now, a science-fiction story about how the moon crashed into the sun. There were earthquakes and tsunamis everywhere, gas was ten bucks a gallon,, and food was always running out. :(

[Adsos Letter]

11. And yet, the moon crashing into the sun isn't something we could do anything about...

what gets me is that the things which can be accomplished aren't. Very, very frustrating...especially the thought that there are people, as we speak, who suffer simply because there is no "profit" to be gained from helping out others.

I know, Pollyanna...but still...

[hfojvt]

36. the moon crashing into the Sun?

:wtf: It would mess up the tides on Earth, but other than that I am not sure it would have much of an impact. It wouldn't phaze the Sun at all.

As far as helping others. That would either be volunteer work or government programs and there is a huge amount of that going on, but there are also others that suffer because there is profit to be made from their suffering.

[Adsos Letter]

40. the moon crashing into the sun...

I was replying to the poster above me...

[defendandprotect]

12. We've all gotten used to air conditioning...

coincidentally right after they began dropping atomic bombs ---

things heated up ---

businesses began to bring in air conditioning ---

By the 1960's . . . you had to have it at home ---


For a while I tried to drive without my air on but it makes me car sick!

I think if people couldn't afford air conditioning there would be riots!

ExxonMobil has been lying to you for decades ---

Nationalize the oil industry ---

get Electric Cars on our roads ----

See the movie: "Who Killed The Electric Car?" ----

[SmileyRose]

16. It's all MY fault

what can I say, I have a weakness for soft margerine in those little plastic bowls.

And 13 Gallon tall kitchen bags. Those are nice too. Much less time spend scrubbing out the trash cans.

And Ziploks - what on earth would I do without zippies?

And I have to tell you, when the treehuggers told me frozen veggies and chicken parts packaged in plastic bags and plastic wrapped foam trays rather than paper and cardboard. I fell for that hook line and sinker.

I'm pretty fond of my plastic shampoo bottles, and vinyl flooring, and olefin carpet, and rubbermaid, and what WOULD I do without those folding lawn chairs in the little baggy made entirely of metal and plastic.

And god help me, but IV's are so much easier and safer with plastic instead of those old glass bottle and rubber tubes.

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. All recently new products?

:eyes:

[SmileyRose]

41. The thing is

between the cars, the homes, and all the STUFF in this world, we humans use a lot of oil. As the developing world, well, developes, they also are using more packaging, more convenience, in short, more plastic - in EVERYTHING. It isn't just the cars - and concentrating only on better CAFE will only conquer so much. The demand for oil keeps steadily going up worldwide.

In my humble opinion, the run up in prices is simply because big oil has wanted the profits higher for decades and they finally have friends in the right places to get away with it. -- Obama has made it clear he's not bothered by $4 gas at all. Only that he wishes it hadn't run up so fast and shocked everyone. McCain is just another big oil beeeatch so they know they can count on him.

Between ever increasing demand and big oils desire for higher profits and politians favorable to such, we aren't going to see significantly lower prices ever.


And none of this would be an issue of any sort if incomes were keeping up with the cost of living.

[bluevoter4life]

17. Oil companies, Speculators, Politicians

The list goes on and on. Couple that with our increasing greed for oil and gasoline and no interest in alternative energy and it is going to get even worse before it gets better. We need a windfall profits tax NOW.

[lligrd]

18. We Are For Allowing The Corporations (With The Help Of

this administration) rob us blind.

[Echo In Light]

51. Yep

[Subdivisions]

Maybe geology? As in:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4172#more">Peak Oil Overview - June 2008 - The Oil Drum

Also, this is what is going to happen to the top 5 oil-exporting nations.

http://graphoilogy.blogspot.com/2008/01/quantitative-assessment-of-future-net.html">A Quantitative Assessment of Future Net Oil Exports by the Top Five Net Oil Exporters

-snip-

Our middle case forecast is that the top five net oil exporting countries, accounting for about half of world net oil exports, will approach zero net oil exports around 2031—going from peak net exports to zero in about 26 years, versus seven years and eight years respectively for the UK and Indonesia. In our opinion, the only real difference between the top five and the UK and Indonesia is that the top five net exporters in 2005 had a lower rate of consumption relative to production.

-snip-

Declining net oil exports will inevitably result, absent a severe decline in demand in importing countries, in continued rapid increases in oil prices, as oil importing countries furiously bid against each other for declining oil exports.

In simplest terms, we are concerned that the very lifeblood of the world industrial economy—net oil export capacity—is draining away in front of our very eyes, and we believe that it is imperative that major oil importing countries like the United States launch an emergency Electrification of Transportation program--electric light rail and streetcars--combined with a crash wind power program.

-snip-

[Strelnikov_]

19. We are

Just as Jimmy Carter said in 1976.

But blaming speculators or collusion or . . . is easier.

++++++

Following is a post by 'Petrodollar' in the following thread at peakoil.com. This poster seems to know what he is talking about (has written a book), and what I have previously read about the situation 'plots' with his summary.

I am reproducing the post here because it provides excellent factual information for the coming attacks (when TSHTF next year) on why the Clinton Administration did nothing regarding energy independence.

http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic21121-0-asc-60.html

On the one hand I can understand your desire to "blame" Gore for not publicly discussing Peak Oil until recently, but you must put history in context before you draw condemnations. Indeed, a lot more is known today than what was known just 8 to 10 years ago.

The first "authoritative" and analytical report on global peak oil that I am aware of was Petroconsultant's 1995 report “The World’s Oil Supply (1930–2050)” - which predicted that peak oil production would occur in the decade following 2000. (written in part by Dr. Colin Campbell). It is rumored the CIA is or was the largest client of Petroconsultants (now IHS Energy), but it is unknown if this report was well received as far as the veracity of the data - but it is a good question for historians....

Anyhow, the one big caveat in that report I suspect were all the estimates from the mid-1990s until late 2001 that the Caspian Sea region could have up to 200 billion barrels of untapped oil, making it the “oil find of the century" - and push back Peak Oil for 12 to 15 years. I think Enron was "banking" on cheap natural gas from the Caspian and a trans-Afghanistan pipeline to save their company re their huge investment in India...

{For that famous quote about the "oil find of the century" see: Stephen Kinzer, “Pipe Dreams: A Perilous New Contest for the Next Oil Prize,” New York Times, September 24, 1997, IV-1}

Indeed, from 1997-1998 the US government and Taliban were negotiating over a trans-Afghanistan pipeline, but these talks were interrupted when two US Embassies in East Africa were bombed during August 1998. These terrorists’ attacks were attributed to Osama bin Laden, who was a “guest” of the Taliban regime. Former president Clinton subsequently launched a cruise missile attack against targets associated with bin Laden, ordered the negotiations with the Taliban called off, and imposed sanctions against the “rogue regime.” Any exploration and worthwhile extraction of the Caspian oil would have to wait until the landscape in central Asia become more conducive to oil pipelines, etc.

{FYI: According to Jean Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie in the French book, The Forbidden Truth, the Bush administration ignored the UN sanctions that had been imposed upon the Taliban and entered into secret negotiations with this supposedly rogue regime from February 2, 2001, to August 6, 2001. The Taliban were not cooperative, according to the statements of Mr. Naik, Pakistan’s former ambassador. He reported that the US threatened a military option if the Taliban did not acquiesce to Washington’s demands about a proposed pipeline route that had to traverse Afghanistan. But I digress...}

I suspect in the late 1990s and perhaps even as the Bush administration entered office in 2001 that the US government may have deducted that the "vast and untapped" Caspian oil would push Peak Oil somewhat into the future. Here's a sampling of the euphoria that surrounded the Caspian in the late 1990s...

Quote:
I cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian.

— Former CEO of Halliburton, Dick Cheney, 1998

However, in December 2001, just after US troops took over the capital of Afghanistan, British Petroleum (BP) announced disappointing Caspian drilling results. According to Dale Allen Pfeiffer, an oil industry analyst and former researcher for Michael Ruppert’s www.fromthewilderness.com website, after three exploratory wells were analyzed, it was reported that the Caspian region contains much less oil than originally reported, although there are vast amounts of natural gas. Also, it was discovered that Caspian oil is of poor quality, with up to 20 percent sulfur content, which makes it expensive to refine and creates huge volumes of environmentally damaging waste products.

In 2002 the consulting group PetroStrategies published a study estimating that the Caspian Basin contained only 8 to 39.4 bb of oil. Shortly after this report was discussed in the petroleum news sources, BP and other Western oil companies began reducing their investment plans in the region...and at that point I think the reality of Peak Oil began to creep into consciousness...

Despite exaggerated claims of the “oil find of the century” and predictions of a 'new Saudi Arabia' outside the Middle East, the State Department announced in November 2002 that “Caspian oil represents 4% of world reserves. It will never dominate the world’s markets.”

Unfortunately, this unexpected realization about the Caspian Sea region had serious implications for the US, India, China, Asia, and Europe, since the estimated amount of available hydrocarbons for industrialized and developing nations was now significantly decreased - by 20% in fact if you believed the 200 b/bl estimate. For me, the arguments regarding PO became more valid and convincing after that point, but it was only 4 years ago that the "Caspian myth" was essentially de-bunked

Bottomline: I seem to recall a much more optimistic assessment of global energy supplies (both oil & gas) up thru 2000 when Clinton & Gore left office. Oil was only $10 a barrel in 1998, and talk of Peak Oil would have labeled Gore or whomever an "alarmist" at the very least, and certainly not helped in any future election based on what happened in 1980. (more on that in a moment)

Did the data in the mid to late 1990s support that Peak Oil was imminent? It's hard to tell until relevant CIA and/or DOE documents are released - at which point you will likely be in your 30s or 40s - assuming such documents will ever be released.

The only US President to really address the issue was Jimmy Carter - and every US politician believes that he lost his re-election bid to Reagan in part due to his "pessimistic" (honest) views on global energy supplies, along with that embarrassing incident re American hostages in Tehran during 1979 and the disastrous/failed rescue mission in 1980 didn't help either. Indeed, 30 years ago Carter stated something that no US politician has dared stated until March 2005 when Rep Roscoe Bartlett began his PO crusade in Congress.

Quote:
We are grossly wasting our energy resources … as though their supply was infinite. We must even face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned and rational way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.

— Jimmy Carter, 1976

[tabasco]

21. The supply has not been cut in half in the last eight years.

But the price has more than doubled.

Yes, Virginia, we are being fucked, despite our wastefulness.

[Strelnikov_]

22. Price elasticity of demand

But if you want to believe that such disparate players as the Saudis, Nigerians, Russians, Venezuelans, Norwegians, Iranians, Kuwaitis, Mexicans and other more minor exporters are colluding, roll with it.

[tabasco]

26. LOL. Ever heard of Enron?

I suppose you think that situation was caused by low supply.

[Strelnikov_]

27. LOL. Believe what you want.

Again.

Do you believe that such disparate players as the Saudis, Nigerians, Russians, Venezuelans, Norwegians, Iranians, Kuwaitis, Mexicans and other more minor exporters are colluding.

[tabasco]

32. Do you think the suppliers are the ones who establish the market price?

Thanks for playing.

[Strelnikov_]

35. Playing? Playing what?

Most of the worlds oil is traded through fixed contract. The 'market price' that is quoted daily reflects that small portion that is traded on the open market. Unfortunately, it is the price for this small portion that drives the finished product price, regardless of how the feedstock was purchased.

So, that said, why are the Saudis, Nigerians, Russians, Venezuelans, Norwegians, Iranians, Kuwaitis, Mexicans and other more minor exporters not taking the opportunity to increase production at these high prices and place said increases on the open market, thus lowering the market price, but more than likely establishing a new equilibrium price well above their production costs?

Do you believe that such disparate players as the Saudis, Nigerians, Russians, Venezuelans, Norwegians, Iranians, Kuwaitis, Mexicans and other more minor exporters are colluding? For myself, I do not.


The reason they can speculate is production has peaked and is declining. The way a commodities market system maintains a supply and demand balance is through price. Establish a subsidized price, such as in China, then you have shortages.

Rationing by price or rationing by quantity. I have been calling for the latter for a number of years now.


Following is an Op-Ed by Paul Krugman from yesterday that covers his view on the speculation angle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=4&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

You see, iron ore isn’t traded on a global exchange; its price is set in direct deals between producers and consumers. So there’s no easy way to speculate on ore prices. Yet the price of iron ore, like that of oil, has surged over the past year. In particular, the price Chinese steel makers pay to Australian mines has just jumped 96 percent. This suggests that growing demand from emerging economies, not speculation, is the real story behind rising prices of raw materials, oil included.

In any case, one thing is clear: the hyperventilation over oil-market speculation is distracting us from the real issues.

Regulating futures markets more tightly isn’t a bad idea, but it won’t bring back the days of cheap oil. Nothing will. Oil prices will fluctuate in the coming years — I wouldn’t be surprised if they slip for a while as consumers drive less, switch to more fuel-efficient cars, and so on — but the long-term trend is surely up.

[tabasco]

37. The "production cost" of a barrel of oil is about five dollars.

The supply of oil might be declining, that is not what we are talking about.

We are talking about where the rest of the money goes.

There is no need for multinational collusion to rip us off on gas prices. That only requires the collusion of oil corporations and a corrupt government, like we have here in the USA. In case you missed it, the USA put it's army on top of the world's #2 (#1 by some estimates) oil reserves. This is single biggest factor on oil prices in the last eight years.

The oil companies want you to believe it is all based on supply & demand but that is rubbish. The oil companies are run by the same kind of assholes that ran Enron and they have friends running the USA.

[Strelnikov_]

38. Are you saying that the 'oil companies' are rigging the price worldwide?

Are you saying that the remains of the 'seven sisters' (Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP, etc.) are colluding with the national oil companies of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Mexico etc. to restrict supply?

After decades where OPEC could not even get it's act together to restrict supply when oil was was $20/bbl, they are all now working together in a world of $140/bbl oil?

It is all based on supply and demand. It is all about declining supply.

If there were excess resources to be placed on line, it would be by one of the players and the market price would decline. So, where are these supplies?

If there were remaining resources, the neocons would not have invaded Iraq and be preparing to attack Iran to place these resources in the hands of their cronys.


It's called rationing by price. The alternative is rationing by quantity. These are our only two choices.

What do you suggest? Limiting what can be charged? And what happens when Venezuela and the Nigerians and the Canadians simply sell to China instead?

[Freddie Stubbs]

49. Has the demand stayed constant? Or has it increased?

:shrug:

[Sewsojm]

28. This Jerk!

[Leopolds Ghost]

48. Well, Duh! They've got what Americans crave. So obviously they're to blame.

It's not like any OTHER corporations are evil, right?

If I were one of those smarty pants types I'd point out that the entire 1990s economic bubble was based on a lie about long-term Caspian oil reserves that the US expected to harvested and somehow export it exclusively from the center of Asia to us after the collapse of the Soviet Union. All a lie, of course, like Greenspan's "no inflation" lie that people still believe. They don't mind it when their house 30 miles out on the highway goes up 300,000 dollars. That's not inflation, that's APPRECIATION!

[OwnedByFerrets]

20. The answer to your question is in your question itself....

we as humans FUCK too much. Well, the fucking part isn't the problem, but rather the conceiving and birthing part is the problem. Too many humans, too few resources. No one likes the answer to THAT problem either.:crazy:

[alittlelark]

25. We can F*ck all we want w/ BIRTH CONTROL

The problem seems to be that those on the R take issue w/ BIRTH CONTROL.... Blocking all $$$$ to countries who will discuss BIRTH CONTROL.... It seems as though they want to tell us that our natural biological urges are dirty or evil...........Funny That.



Uh, how many closeted or prostitute seeking R's have we seen over the last 3-4 years........hmmmmmm.

[conspirator]

33. Birth control. How the fuck are the corporations gonna pay low salaries if

no poor babies are born?
:sarcasm:

[alittlelark]

23. Start w/ Reagans policies.....

They were the foundation for the foul world we are now enduring.



I have no tolerance for those that espouse him as a deity.....


He (OK he had Alzheimers w/in 3 years of his first term..........) and his 'peeps' built the foundation this idiotic house of cards is built upon.

:evilfrown: :mad: :eyes: :wtf: :scared: :banghead:

[Strelnikov_]

24. Absolutely. This nations demise began with those behind Reagans policies

Can't really blame Reagan personally though, because like the Chimp, he was just a cut-out.

[Forkboy]

31. "Thatcher!"

[Uncle Joe]

34. The corporate media, they failed to do their job, and enabled corrupt incompetence to power.

This is the result of them promoting applicants for the most powerful job in the land as if it were the corporate media's American Idol contest.

[moondust]

39. Reagan was the turning point.

Smart, visionary energy policy was in its infancy when Ronald Reagan took office and killed it. The Bushes just made it worse.

Thom Hartmann: "Ronald Reagan's first official acts of office included removing Jimmy Carter's solar panels from the roof of the White House, and reversing most of Carter's conservation and alternative energy policies."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0503-22.htm

[Blarch]

43. The people of this country are responsible.

We allow our leaders to act this way. The fault is ours.

[alittlelark]

44. Buy a news network and tell us about it!

Pour gasoline on yourself and light a match on national news. Get together w/ 4-5 friends and blow up all the TV station towers................


We are living in a MATRIX of propaganda/lies/disinformation.


The ONLY Americans I will blame for this are those that were exposed to the truth and ignored it due to greed or other psychological problems. The sad thing is that most are still feeding the MATRIX.


We are waking up too slowly - that is a fact...... But I will not blame those who do not yet understand.

[bdamomma]

54. maybe we should take things into our own hands.

[Leopolds Ghost]

45. The oil companies are responsible. They've got what Americans crave. They've got electrolytes.

And everyone knows Americans need electrolytes, see?



Don't try to tell me walking to the store will lower the price of gas I
need to drive 2 blocks to the store with. Next you'll be telling me to
water my plants with TOILET water! Stuff keeps breaking down, like that
nuclear reactor. It's a big FREAKIN' conspiracy!

[Leopolds Ghost]

47. I don't wanna sound smart, but maybe we're beginning to run out of oil.

[spanone]

46. you can bet no one in the white house is responsible

[jeepnstein]

50. Look in the mirror.

Who is buying all this oil? Yeah, you and I are responsible for the mess. We, as Americans, allowed our nation to slide into the position and we're going to be the ones to dig ourselves out, Lord willing.

It's easier to stand around and point fingers but that don't pay the gas bill.

J.

[bdamomma]

52. this regime we have should be kicked to the curb.

they do not give a crap about the American people, and call and tell your Reps too. they need to hear it.

[Romulox]

53. The Glutton asks, "Who is responsible for my heart attack???"

As he continues to shovel fistful after fistful or cake into his gob...

:puke: