Fri 6-27-08

When I was in MS I noticed one of those specialty car tags, you know the kind you pay for to donate to breast cancer research or to fix cats and dogs or even your alma mater, whatever; I saw a Freemason one. And here I was thinking they were supposed to be a secret society.

Happy Friday, everyone.

So, you guys doing anything for the 4th next weekend?

I am so bored today. It would be a nice day for all of you to pop in and say hello, talk about the weather or the death penalty for child rapists or allowing handguns in DC or drilling offshore.

My contribution: The Daily Show should shy away from musical guests. Just not the right format.

I wish I was on vacation again so I could be here for you...........

We're officially in a "Bear" market.....stock market down 20% from it's high of 14100 and something..........I'm so overjoyed....it means I can delay my retirement.

Crude oil closes at 140.21 a barrel.........hooray for the non-drilling proponents.

Drilling offshore now won't benefit us until 2030 and will by most accounts cost us even more in the short term because the oil companies will pass on the immediate search and new drilling rig costs to us. Not to mention there are not enough oil ships to handle the current production of oil.

In addition, estimates indicate all the oil in the Gulf will last us less than 2 years at our current consumption rate and ALL domestic drilling less than 10 years.

By 2030 we should be on our way out from under the dependency we have on oil. That's what McCain was saying as recently as May...altho now he is changing his tune. Another politician selling his soul to get elected.

If we want to be free of the middle east we have to use alternative energy sources, including nuclear.

And let's not forget China is putting 25,000 cars on the road A DAY. We've got big competition for the current oil supply.

I disagree with every statement except the one about China and Mccain. You've got bad info.

Now Imma halfa get you links.

From AP:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gAUt9B-Iv7ht325UmRf3ITrFpu7gD91IKQVG1

Quote :

Government energy analysts have said opening offshore waters that now are under drilling moratoria would not likely have a significant impact on oil supplies or prices before 2030.

Even if that were true, it would still alleviate the speculation that is driving up prices. I've seen estimates of 27 billion barrels available just in the Gulf of Mexico. We currently use 1.3 billion barrels a year. This doesn't include the other sites that we could drill.....Pacific Coast, Atlantic Coast, Anwar....and if the drilling ban were lifted, it won't take 22 years to start getting oil from any new wells.

nytimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/26offshore.html?hp

Quote :

And oil companies, amid a global drilling frenzy, are stretched so thin they will be hard-pressed to take on big new projects anytime soon. More than 400 major drilling and production projects are competing for engineers, rigs, seismic equipment and steel to build platforms, and the costs of doing the work have skyrocketed.

Yes I read the same article......read past that paragraph. saying we can't drill ourselves out of this mess is like saying You can't eat yourself out of starvation. You can't drink yourself out of dehydration. You can't water yourself out of drought. You can't sleep yourself out of tiredness. You can't educate yourself out of poverty. you can't work yourself out of debt. Every democrat that goes on tv says the same old tired party line. And it's not true......the market will make it come true. Where there's demand, there will be a way to fill the supply.....unless it's artificially manipulated.

You gotta give links, too.

baldar77 wrote:

Yes I read the same article......read past that paragraph. saying we can't drill ourselves out of this mess is like saying You can't eat yourself out of starvation. You can't drink yourself out of dehydration. You can't water yourself out of drought. You can't sleep yourself out of tiredness. You can't educate yourself out of poverty. you can't work yourself out of debt. Every democrat that goes on tv says the same old tired party line. And it's not true......the market will make it come true. Where there's demand, there will be a way to fill the supply.....unless it's artificially manipulated.

But the supply is a limited, unrenewable resource.

I tried, damn it. I'm having trouble copying and pasting. I'm a computer dummy.

it's limited by our government......there's plenty out there to drill.....we just can't, because of drilling moratoriums. And yes.....it's finite and limited.....but now for several centuries. The sun is finite.....let's quit using sunlight.

Sass.....the problem is not having a supply......we have that. The problem is, we are letting a select group of countries limit our supply, because we won't drill ourselves. They know this, and thus have no incentive to be competitive. They literally have us over a barrel.....and we let them put us there.

I reread the nytimes article and if you take all the "repulicans say" and "democrats say" with a grain of salt and digest the rest it does not say we have the supply.

This additional areas they want are "limited" amounts and the oil is estimated to be less in the new areas they want to explore as in the unexplored areas they already have access to.

The is another example of big oil exploiting the political situation while people are upset over prices at the pump. Forget the whole environmental argument - I have yet to see any persuading information that giving in to big oil on this new drilling will help us out measurably either in the short or long term.

That combined with the appearance that Bush and many of the oil business Republicans in power have prospered in shady dealings with the oil cartels during the past 7 years....it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

But I'm open to more information, so convince me.

Finally....I did it. This is an interesting read.

another one http://www.americasdebate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16972

More http://www.chinamining.org/News/2008-05-27/1211874463d14174.html

Quote :

Rahall to Big Oil: Use It or Lose It
Washington, D.C. - In an effort to compel oil and gas companies to produce on the 68 million acres of federal lands, both onshore and offshore, that are leased but sitting idle, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) today introduced legislation that gives Big Oil one option - either "use it or lose it."

"Big Oil, as many Americans already suspect, are perfectly fine with high gasoline prices at the pump while they hold back domestic production on federal leases and enjoy world record profits. I am calling them on the carpet. I am calling their bluff. We are not going to continue to allow them to speculate and profiteer with public resources to the detriment of the American people," Rahall said.

The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008 (H.R. 6251) is a direct response to the facts outlined in the recent House Natural Resources Committee Majority Staff report, "The Truth About America's Energy: Big Oil Stockpiles Supplies and Pockets Profits", that illustrate how energy companies are not using the federal lands and waters that are already open to drilling. The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), and John Yarmuth (D-KY).

The 68 million acres of leased but inactive federal land have the potential to produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. This would nearly double total U.S. oil production, and increase natural gas production by 75 percent. It would also cut U.S. oil imports by more than one-third, reducing America's dependency on foreign oil.

The Rahall bill would force oil and gas companies to either produce or give up federal onshore and offshore leases they are stockpiling by barring the companies from obtaining any more leases unless they can demonstrate that they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold, during the initial term of the leases.

Coal companies, which are issued leases for 20-year terms, are required, as a result of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 to show that they are diligently developing their leases during the initial lease term. The law was enacted in an effort to end rampant speculation on federal coal as a result of the energy crises of the 1970's.

Oil and gas companies, however, are not required to demonstrate diligent development. Because of this, oil and gas companies have been allowed to stockpile leases in a non-producing status, while leaving millions of acres of leased land untouched. The Rahall legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to define what constitutes diligent development for oil and gas leases.

Companies could avoid this new lease prohibition by relinquishing their non-producing leases, thus creating an opportunity for another company to explore for and perhaps produce oil and gas.

"As long as oil companies hold oil hostage, they will continue to get away with charging high prices and demanding a greater share of the public's land. This bill forces their hand by compelling them to produce or hand the over their idle leases for someone who will," Rahall said.

You can see the pattern here.......