Summer's here and the time is right for the manipulation of oil prices. Despite the fact that crude oil inventories are at a 20-year high, the price of oil is once again going up. A veritable glut of petroleum is currently available on the market, yet the retail price is once again on the rise. In the city in which I reside, gasoline has gone up nearly 40 cents a gallon in the last two weeks.
As regular readers of this column will know, I am not opposed to high gas prices. In fact, I have noted on numerous occasions that high gasoline prices are good for the environment and conservation. However, what I object to is the blatant manipulation of prices for profit. The reason I advocate high oil prices is to discourage use and raise revenues for alternative fuels to help wean ourselves from our addiction to oil. The high prices I'm seeing are only to enrich the pushers of the petrol drug which are then used to prevent and lobby against the development of sustainable energy.
This summer, let's stick it to the pusher man. Walk, carpool, coordinate trips. Drive as little as possible, let those tankers sit off-shore loaded with the world's greatest addiction. Make it cost them more to store it than they can sell it for.
Showing posts with label oil prices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil prices. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Gas Selling for Ten Dollars a Gallon
Gas selling for $10 a gallon is what we need. I'm serious. It seems that the only thing that gets us concerned about wasting energy and slowly boiling the planet is when the price of gasoline gets uncomfortably high. When gasoline hit over $4,50 a gallon last summer, talk of a green revolution was everywhere. Despite an administration that was deeply in the pockets of Big Oil and had no interest in environmental concerns, public debate turned towards electric cars, solar, wind and hydro power. Now that gas is about half the price of last summer, there seems to be a lessening of focus on the need to go green. This, despite an administration that is demonstrably more open to alternative energy.
If the only thing that truly gets our attention is high fuel costs, then let them skyrocket. The crisis facing us is too dire to continue to dither. The whole notion that shifting to green energy will cost slightly more is completely off point (and debatable). The issue is not whether we can afford to shift from a petroleum based economy, the issue is that we cannot afford to continue to exist under the yolk of the transnational petrochemical companies.
The growing industrialization of China and India clearly defines the magnitude of the problem. China has surpassed the U.S. as the largest emitter of CO2, and both nations, due to sheer population numbers, are on a path to add exponentially to the problem. The U.S. remains the largest offender, by far, on a per capita basis.
Rather than seeking low prices for petroleum as a means to drive the economy, the exact opposite should occur. There needs to be a floor price, below which the price is not allowed to drop, established for gasoline and other petroleum products. All revenue above costs should immediately be funneled into the development of alternative energy. By establishing a floor price consumption is discouraged and alternatives are encouraged. Yes, this costs more. Pay now or pay much, much more later.
Oil is over! Accept this fact. It is not in our interest that oil be cheap. It is only to our demise. We must immediately begin to wean ourselves before the rude awakening of withdrawal occurs as we reach the end of the supply. At that point, $10 will be a bargain.
For an excellent treatise on the future of oil, please refer to the book "Hibbert's Peak," for which the full reference can be found at the bottom of this page in the "Oil is Over," resources.
I visit many of the themes above in my last novel, The Dirt People, on Blue Throat Press (follow link on this page).
If the only thing that truly gets our attention is high fuel costs, then let them skyrocket. The crisis facing us is too dire to continue to dither. The whole notion that shifting to green energy will cost slightly more is completely off point (and debatable). The issue is not whether we can afford to shift from a petroleum based economy, the issue is that we cannot afford to continue to exist under the yolk of the transnational petrochemical companies.
The growing industrialization of China and India clearly defines the magnitude of the problem. China has surpassed the U.S. as the largest emitter of CO2, and both nations, due to sheer population numbers, are on a path to add exponentially to the problem. The U.S. remains the largest offender, by far, on a per capita basis.
Rather than seeking low prices for petroleum as a means to drive the economy, the exact opposite should occur. There needs to be a floor price, below which the price is not allowed to drop, established for gasoline and other petroleum products. All revenue above costs should immediately be funneled into the development of alternative energy. By establishing a floor price consumption is discouraged and alternatives are encouraged. Yes, this costs more. Pay now or pay much, much more later.
Oil is over! Accept this fact. It is not in our interest that oil be cheap. It is only to our demise. We must immediately begin to wean ourselves before the rude awakening of withdrawal occurs as we reach the end of the supply. At that point, $10 will be a bargain.
For an excellent treatise on the future of oil, please refer to the book "Hibbert's Peak," for which the full reference can be found at the bottom of this page in the "Oil is Over," resources.
I visit many of the themes above in my last novel, The Dirt People, on Blue Throat Press (follow link on this page).
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Oil is STILL Over
Everyone seems to have quit panicking and returned to the roads. The price of gasoline has now dropped below $2 a gallon and hovers around the $55 a barrel price. Concern for the future of our energy supplies has plummeted with the price of oil.
Hear this:
OIL IS STILL OVER!
Just because the price has momentarily dropped does not mean that the problem is solved. The problem has just become a little worse. Every action, including a drop in price, that leads to greater consumption only serves to make the problem worse.
As a commodity, oil is done. There are the problems of declining supply (see Hibbert's Peak) and increasing demand (all the new drivers in China and India, just to start). Couple these with a realization that the burning of petroleum is complicating another major problem, global warming, and it is clear that the oil based economy must cease.
The solution to two problems, energy and environment, must occur simultaneously. Both problems require solutions that take the other into consideration. Sustainability must become the new focus, not cheap exploitation of resources and profit margins.
To stop seeking alternatives only due to momentary price shifts is the same folly that we have engaged in for the last 30 years. Time to change. Change the oil, it's over.
Hear this:
OIL IS STILL OVER!
Just because the price has momentarily dropped does not mean that the problem is solved. The problem has just become a little worse. Every action, including a drop in price, that leads to greater consumption only serves to make the problem worse.
As a commodity, oil is done. There are the problems of declining supply (see Hibbert's Peak) and increasing demand (all the new drivers in China and India, just to start). Couple these with a realization that the burning of petroleum is complicating another major problem, global warming, and it is clear that the oil based economy must cease.
The solution to two problems, energy and environment, must occur simultaneously. Both problems require solutions that take the other into consideration. Sustainability must become the new focus, not cheap exploitation of resources and profit margins.
To stop seeking alternatives only due to momentary price shifts is the same folly that we have engaged in for the last 30 years. Time to change. Change the oil, it's over.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Myth of Energy Independence
For the past several months politicians and pundits of all stripes have talked of the need for energy independence. Discussions center on the need to make the U.S. free of the control of its energy supply by foreign, often hostile, governments. The rationale, as the discussion usually goes, is that if we could just free ourselves of these entanglements then we would have no energy concerns.
This discussion, and the whole idea of energy independence, ignores reality and is dependent on many faulty assumptions. The first of these faulty assumptions is the idea that if foreign governments were out of the picture then there would be no problems. All that happens in this scenario is that instead of being beholden to Saudi Arabia we are beholden to Exxon-Mobil. For all practical purposes what difference does it make if the price is being inflated for geopolitical reasons or for profit. All that will happen is that one master is traded for another.
Independence generally implies being free of something. How would we be free of the need for energy if every single ounce of oil consumed in this country were produced in the U.S. as long as its production, refinement and sale were controlled by a transnational corporation that is larger than many countries.
Therein lies the real state of affairs that makes energy independence a myth. We are already beyond the point where nations are really affecting the price, and more importantly, the supply of oil. Oil is controlled by entities that are based on the premise that we are all addicted to their product.
Energy independence would move us away from dependence on petroleum, natural gas, etc. and their producers/suppliers. That, however, is not part of the debate. EVERY discussion of the energy crisis centers around increasing our production and supply. Ethanol, switch grass, and other biofuels still create a dependence.
Relabeling where the energy originates will not eliminate our dependence. The debate must change and we must recognize the enormity of the problem. If you think we are anywhere near energy independence, try to unplug everything in your own home for just one day. True energy independence is eliminating our need for it.
Here's the reality. When politicians (and their accomplices in the media who refuse to call them on their distortions) talk of energy independence all they are really talking about is making it easier for the large transnational petroleum companies to do business abroad. The recent oil deals signed in Iraq attest to the realities of the global energy business. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, just rebranded.
The above blog entry is part of a larger article on the energy crisis currently in preparation.
This discussion, and the whole idea of energy independence, ignores reality and is dependent on many faulty assumptions. The first of these faulty assumptions is the idea that if foreign governments were out of the picture then there would be no problems. All that happens in this scenario is that instead of being beholden to Saudi Arabia we are beholden to Exxon-Mobil. For all practical purposes what difference does it make if the price is being inflated for geopolitical reasons or for profit. All that will happen is that one master is traded for another.
Independence generally implies being free of something. How would we be free of the need for energy if every single ounce of oil consumed in this country were produced in the U.S. as long as its production, refinement and sale were controlled by a transnational corporation that is larger than many countries.
Therein lies the real state of affairs that makes energy independence a myth. We are already beyond the point where nations are really affecting the price, and more importantly, the supply of oil. Oil is controlled by entities that are based on the premise that we are all addicted to their product.
Energy independence would move us away from dependence on petroleum, natural gas, etc. and their producers/suppliers. That, however, is not part of the debate. EVERY discussion of the energy crisis centers around increasing our production and supply. Ethanol, switch grass, and other biofuels still create a dependence.
Relabeling where the energy originates will not eliminate our dependence. The debate must change and we must recognize the enormity of the problem. If you think we are anywhere near energy independence, try to unplug everything in your own home for just one day. True energy independence is eliminating our need for it.
Here's the reality. When politicians (and their accomplices in the media who refuse to call them on their distortions) talk of energy independence all they are really talking about is making it easier for the large transnational petroleum companies to do business abroad. The recent oil deals signed in Iraq attest to the realities of the global energy business. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, just rebranded.
The above blog entry is part of a larger article on the energy crisis currently in preparation.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Manipulation of Energy Prices, Oh My!
Today, May 29th, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it has been investigating the possible manipulation of oil prices by speculators. The price of oil then proceeded to fall approximately four dollars a barrel in very short order.
The investigation apparently began sometime in December 2007 when oil was around $96 a barrel. By some estimates the price of oil may be inflated as much as one-third by this manipulation.
But why the surprise? Isn't the price of oil mostly manipulation? That is the capitalist way. Squeeze every cent of profit possible. The invisible hand of the market has no ears to hear cries of suffering.
The real surprise is that the oil producers let this occur. The price of oil seems to have jump started discussions of alternative energy. Perhaps if the price were to get even higher, say in line with European prices, we might actually begin to develop an energy policy in this country. If we start thinking about our addiction to cheap oil we might begin to look for another way.
In many ways the availability of cheap oil has stifled our efforts to develop alternative sources of energy. Increasing fuel standards and hybrid cars may make us feel like we're doing something but the fact remains that even these modest solutions (the only kind we're offered) are nothing more than a continuation of the use of an outdated technology.
Since January of this year, I have heard more discussions of alternative energy than ever before. A simple search for the term will reveal a rising interest in developing new approaches to the energy conundrum. Maybe the speculators have done us all a favor. By manipulating the price to such levels maybe we are starting to pay attention.
If it would cause this country to develop an energy policy maybe we should all hope for $10 a gallon gas. Of course, it doesn't matter if we hope for it or not, it will be here soon enough. And that is the real twist to the price of oil. Cheap oil is over, but if we realize it too soon, we might do something about it. If we keep thinking oil is the only way, and burning more and more petrol is the only way to power our civilization then we'll still be paying for it when it reaches $100 a gallon.
Can't happen? Yeah, you're right, big business would never put profits ahead of the good of society. That's why we have such a wonderful national health care system.
The investigation apparently began sometime in December 2007 when oil was around $96 a barrel. By some estimates the price of oil may be inflated as much as one-third by this manipulation.
But why the surprise? Isn't the price of oil mostly manipulation? That is the capitalist way. Squeeze every cent of profit possible. The invisible hand of the market has no ears to hear cries of suffering.
The real surprise is that the oil producers let this occur. The price of oil seems to have jump started discussions of alternative energy. Perhaps if the price were to get even higher, say in line with European prices, we might actually begin to develop an energy policy in this country. If we start thinking about our addiction to cheap oil we might begin to look for another way.
In many ways the availability of cheap oil has stifled our efforts to develop alternative sources of energy. Increasing fuel standards and hybrid cars may make us feel like we're doing something but the fact remains that even these modest solutions (the only kind we're offered) are nothing more than a continuation of the use of an outdated technology.
Since January of this year, I have heard more discussions of alternative energy than ever before. A simple search for the term will reveal a rising interest in developing new approaches to the energy conundrum. Maybe the speculators have done us all a favor. By manipulating the price to such levels maybe we are starting to pay attention.
If it would cause this country to develop an energy policy maybe we should all hope for $10 a gallon gas. Of course, it doesn't matter if we hope for it or not, it will be here soon enough. And that is the real twist to the price of oil. Cheap oil is over, but if we realize it too soon, we might do something about it. If we keep thinking oil is the only way, and burning more and more petrol is the only way to power our civilization then we'll still be paying for it when it reaches $100 a gallon.
Can't happen? Yeah, you're right, big business would never put profits ahead of the good of society. That's why we have such a wonderful national health care system.
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