It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”
Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.
As of close of business today, the average price of petrol (95 octane unleaded gasoline) in the UK was $8.40 per U.S. gallon, while the average price of diesel fuel was $9.27/gallon.
Seems to me this is a pretty good incentive for banning the production of all gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles and the mandatory production of hydrogen fuel-cell powered motor vehicles all over the world…..and ensuring that they’re affordable.
I won’t mind telling OPEC to take a hike and drink their oil!
Two words on CNBC:
NASDAQ 10,000. (Circa 1999)
Y’know, I have a real problem with money-hungry investors who can afford the high price of gasoline……a high price that THEY are helping to cause, by the way! And the average American driver……who doesn’t have a penny to spare for investment in an oil company, by the way, has to struggle to make ends meet while pouring his hard-earned cash into his gas tank!
And I also have a real problem with the European Union’s driving down the value of our dollar versus the Euro while at the same time forgetting who pulled their fat out of the fire twice during the last century! “Strictly business……nothing personal?” Yeah, RIGHT! Am I anti-big business? Only when they take advantage of the little guy! Which is all of the time!
I would like to ask the oil company executives the following questions:
What do you personally intend to do about enabling the average American to buy gasoline without having to face the probability of further exorbitantly high price increases at the pump?
When will you build those new refineries that you’ve wanted to build but couldn’t convince the environmentalists that they needed to be built?
When will you forfeit half of your yearly corporate earnings back to the consumer in the form of much lower prices at the pump…..let’s say an average of $1 less per gallon, and what will you do to help stabilize the U.S. Dollar versus the Euro?
I believe we need to ease government restrictions on building new refineries and on domestic and offshore drilling. The best way to raise the value of the dollar is to ease our importing. What better way than to have our owin oil by tapping the huge reserves off California and the Gulf of Mexico and in parts of Alaska tourists never visit.
Starting with the Alaka National Wildlife Refuge.
I meant “Alaska.”
And I think those restrictions need to be lifted completely. We have a National Emergency, for God’s sake!
Calling for a ban on gasoline/diesel engines is unrealistic – we don’t have the technology to affordable and reliable alternatives.
Calling on oil execs to cut their salaries and profits is unrealistic — those profits go back into R&D;for new technologies and finding more reserves.
Calling for Congress to ease restrictions on drilling and building refineries IS realistic and the best course of action at this time. They are largely the cause of the current crisis. If
*the Democratic controlled congress under Bill Clinton had approved drilling in ANWR,
*the Democratic controlled congress under W had agreed to more refineries when he proposed it,
* the Republican contolled congress under W had acted like Republicans and enacted his call for drilling and new refineries (on decomissioned Military Bases),
Then we would NOT have this problem, and we COULD tell OPEC and Chavez what to do with their oil.
Right now, the only course is to call on congress to open new exploration and ok drilling and order the Oil Companies to restart production of capped wells.
As to investiment in oil companies, many 401K programs DO have stocks in oil companies — after all, that is a sure bet for a return on investment!
All this call for Congressional hearings (by the way, the one thing they did come up with at the hearings was the ‘revelation’ that “increased supply would mean lower prices”. Gosh, what a surprise!
Sorry, didn’t finish my thought:
All this call for Congressional hearings (by the way, the one thing they did come up with at the hearings was the ‘revelation’ that “increased supply would mean lower pricesâ€. Gosh, what a surprise!) is non-sense and a waste of taxpayer money.
By the way: On a slightly different note, but still relevant, I came across this item on the Internet this morning, and I thought you all might be interested:
“Power Your Car with Paint.” Here’s the website: AutoblogGreen. Some very interesting stuff here!