$8-a-gallon gas (And why it would be good for us)

[mini]

$8-a-gallon gas
Commentary: Eight reasons higher prices will do us a world of good
By Chris Pummer
Last update: 7:30 p.m. EDT May 28, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For one of the nastiest substances on earth, crude oil has an amazing grip on the globe. We all know the stuff's poison, yet we're as dependent on it as our air and water supplies -- which, of course, is what oil is poisoning.

Shouldn't we be technologically advanced enough here in the 21st Century to quit siphoning off the pus of the Earth? Regardless whether you believe global warming is threatening the planet's future, you must admit crude is passé.

Americans should be celebrating rather than shuddering over the arrival of $4-a-gallon gasoline. We lived on cheap gas too long, failed to innovate and now face the consequences of competing for a finite resource amid fast-expanding global demand.

A further price rise as in Europe to $8 a gallon -- or $200 and more to fill a large SUV's tank -- would be a catalyst for economic, political and social change of profound national and global impact. We could face an economic squeeze, but it would be the pain before the gain.

The U.S. economy absorbed a tripling in gas prices in the last six years without falling into recession, at least through March. Ravenous demand from China and India could see prices further double in the next few years -- and jumpstart the overdue process of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels.
Consider the world of good that would come of pricing crude oil and gasoline at levels that would strain our finances as much as they're straining international relations and the planet's long-term health:

1. RIP for the internal-combustion engine

They may contain computer chips, but the power source for today's cars is little different than that which drove the first Model T 100 years ago. That we're still harnessed to this antiquated technology is testament to Big Oil's influence in Washington and success in squelching advances in fuel efficiency and alternative energy.

Given our achievement in getting a giant mainframe's computing power into a handheld device in just a few decades, we should be able to do likewise with these dirty, little rolling power plants that served us well but are overdue for the scrap heap of history.

2. Economic stimulus

Necessity being the mother of invention, $8 gas would trigger all manner of investment sure to lead to groundbreaking advances. Job creation wouldn't be limited to research labs; it would rapidly spill over into lucrative manufacturing jobs that could help restore America's industrial base and make us a world leader in a critical realm.

The most groundbreaking discoveries might still be 25 or more years off, but we won't see massive public and corporate funding of research initiatives until escalating oil costs threaten our national security and global stability -- a time that's fast approaching.

3. Wither the Middle East's clout

This region that's contributed little to modern civilization exercises inordinate sway over the world because of its one significant contribution -- crude extraction. Aside from ensuring Israel's security, the U.S. would have virtually no strategic or business interest in this volatile, desolate region were it not for oil -- and its radical element wouldn't be able to demonize us as the exploiters of its people.

In the near term, breaking our dependence on Middle Eastern oil may well require the acceptance of drilling in the Alaskan wilderness -- with the understanding that costly environmental protections could easily be built into the price of $8 gas.

4. Deflating oil potentates

On a similar note, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently gained a platform on the world stage because of their nations' sudden oil wealth. Without it, they would face the difficult task of building fair and just economies and societies on some other basis.

How far would their message resonate -- and how long would they even stay in power -- if they were unable to buy off the temporary allegiance of their people with vast oil revenues?

5. Mass-transit development

Anyone accustomed to taking mass transit to work knows the joy of a car-free commute. Yet there have been few major additions or improvements to our mass-transit systems in the last 30 years because cheap gas kept us in our cars.

Confronted with $8 gas, millions of Americans would board buses, trains, ferries and bicycles and minimize the pollution, congestion and anxiety spawned by rush-hour traffic jams. More convenient routes and scheduling would accomplish that.

6. An antidote to sprawl

The recent housing boom sparked further development of antiseptic, strip-mall communities in distant outlying areas. Making 100-mile-plus roundtrip commutes costlier will spur construction of more space-efficient housing closer to city centers, including cluster developments to accommodate the millions of baby boomers who will no longer need their big empty-nest suburban homes.

Sure, there's plenty of land left to develop across our fruited plains, but building more housing around city and town centers will enhance the sense of community lacking in cookie-cutter developments slapped up in the hinterlands.

7. Restoration of financial discipline

Far too many Americans live beyond their means and nowhere is that more apparent than with our car payments. Enabled by eager lenders, many middle-income families carry two monthly payments of $400 or more on $20,000-plus vehicles that consume upwards of $15,000 of their annual take-home pay factoring in insurance, maintenance and gas.

The sting of forking over $100 per fill-up would force all of us to look hard at how much of our precious income we blow on a transport vehicle that sits idle most of the time, and spur demand for the less-costly and more fuel-efficient small sedans and hatchbacks that Europeans have been driving for decades.

8. Easing global tensions

Unfortunately, we human beings aren't so far evolved that we won't resort to annihilating each other over energy resources. The existence of weapons of mass destruction aside, the present Iraq War could be the first of many sparked by competition for oil supplies.

Steep prices will not only chill demand in the U.S., they will more importantly slow China and India's headlong rush to make the same mistakes we did in rapidly industrializing -- like selling $2,500 Tata cars to countless millions of Indians with little concern for the environmental consequences. If we succeed in developing viable energy alternatives, they could be a key export in helping us improve our balance of trade with consumer-goods producers.

Additional considerations

Weaning ourselves off crude will hopefully be the crowning achievement that marks the progress of humankind in the 21st Century. With it may come development of oil-free products to replace the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fertilizers and pesticides that now consume 16% of the world's crude-oil output and are likely culprits in fast-rising cancer rates.

By its very definition, oil is crude. It's time we develop more refined energy sources and that will not happen without a cost-driven shift in demand.

Chris Pummer is a former senior editor for MarketWatch and Bloomberg News and a reporter for such papers as the Los Angeles Times and San Jose Mercury News.

LINK

[mini]

On a side note, I'm guessing this guy is a "glass half full" type of person.  LOL

[Sis]

Confronted with $8 gas, millions of Americans would board buses, trains, ferries and bicycles and minimize the pollution, congestion and anxiety spawned by rush-hour traffic jams. More convenient routes and scheduling would accomplish that.

And when you're living in a place with no service like that, we sleep on the street, or use our cars for apartements because we can't afford anything else.

[Niki]

Yep. What she said. It's cars or nothing here.

I do hope though that change will come. I just hope my family doesn't have to file for bankruptcy because we can't afford gas and groceries (among other things) before a change is made. We're doing fine for now (I hardly go anywhere and my husband's company pays for his gas), but if things get too high we won't be doing so fine.

[mesipie]

we pay out 1300+ PER MONTH in fuel...and ive been staying home...alot....hubby has a route...and has to drive alot...its ridiculous

[Niki]

Wow.

I pay about $40-60 a month for gas. My tank rarely goes below half full and I fill it up each week. I think my husband told me that he pays about $400 (diesel, I think) every time he fills up. (His job requires a lot of traveling - he's been in TX now for over 3 weeks.) And that was before gas prices went up to over $3 a gallon. Thank God it's a company truck and they pay for the gas. (Gas card.) Because there's no way we could afford to pay for that ourselves.

[Ashlee]

I drive about 740 or so miles per month.  And that's just to work and back.  That's the bad part about living in a small town with no job opportunities.  Anyway, I get pretty good gas mileage, so I don't think I even spend 100 dollars a month on gas.  I split the cost up between paychecks, so I don't always keep track of it.  Gas is about $3.81 or so here if I remember correctly.

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Wow.

I pay about $40-60 a month for gas. My tank rarely goes below half full and I fill it up each week. I think my husband told me that he pays about $400 (diesel, I think) every time he fills up. (His job requires a lot of traveling - he's been in TX now for over 3 weeks.) And that was before gas prices went up to over $3 a gallon. Thank God it's a company truck and they pay for the gas. (Gas card.) Because there's no way we could afford to pay for that ourselves.

What part of TX is he in?

[Chseeads]

Wow.

I pay about $40-60 a month for gas. My tank rarely goes below half full and I fill it up each week. I think my husband told me that he pays about $400 (diesel, I think) every time he fills up. (His job requires a lot of traveling - he's been in TX now for over 3 weeks.) And that was before gas prices went up to over $3 a gallon. Thank God it's a company truck and they pay for the gas. (Gas card.) Because there's no way we could afford to pay for that ourselves.

What part of TX is he in?

Don't answer her!  She just wants to know so she can go siphon his fuel tank!

[yosemite]

don't be so fooled by tree huggers and our technology is not advanced enuff for the moment to sustain the common man in such a fuel hike!!  it will take to long for advancement of technology or full disclosure of the truth that that plan wont work and millions will starve, which is what one world gov. wants.(illuminoti's plan)

if fuel went to 8.00 a gallon, what are you gonna eat, grass from your lawn?

every thing you touch, comes by way of truck. if trucks cant move( and they wont at 8.00 a gallon) how are you gonna eat, dress, brush teeth, etc., etc.

oh, some say well it'll come by rail. who's gonna get it to the rail? who's gonna take it to the stores from the rail?

did you know fuel is burnt in two ways in transporting food? one by way of transport and the other by cooling or refrigeration. most of the people that transport food and refridgerated produce is owner operators, which are now going out of business because they cant afford prices of current fuel. much less 8.00 a gallon.

we are fixxen to see ruff times- remember you herd it first here.

some may not think so, but trucks are an important role in our economy!! when trucks cant roll, there will be no jobs, food, etc. etc. this will lead to a different pattern than we had in the 70's and 80's. instead of lines at the pumps there wont be anyone at the pumps period. there wont be fuel to pump, no trucks, no fuel.

there have been many truck lines locally that has recently went out of business. most were small furniture companies that ran trucks. this put workers as well as drivers out of a job.  see what i mean, high fuel, less trucks, less trucks, less jobs, less jobs, less food transport. hence we are back to starvation issues.  we definitely don't need 8.00 a gallon and there is no good side to it.  at 8.00 a gallon you will see major uprisings and violence. starvation at a level in which has never been seen.

  you can wish for 8.00 a gallon if you want, but you will wish your country into one world gov..  they are already talking of going to an amero to be on level with the euro. Mexico and Canada are talking of combining with America, then it is just one step from one world gov.. but we cant stop God's plan, or the Illuminati plan either.

sorry, i get carried away sometimes...-yo

[Sis]

A lot of folks can't understand how we came

to have an oil shortage here in our country.

Well, there's a very simple answer.

~~~

Nobody bothered to check the oil.

~~~

We just didn't know we were getting low.

~~~

The reason for that is purely geographical.

~~~

Our OIL is located in

~~~

ALASKA

~~~

California

~~~

Coastal Florida

~~~

Coastal Louisiana

~~~

Kansas

~~~

Oklahoma

~~~

Pennsylvania

and

Texas

~~~

Our

DIPSTICKS

are located in

Washington , DC!!!

Any Questions???

NO? Didn't think So.

[Ashlee]

Good one Sis.  Sadly very true as well

[Niki]

Wow.

I pay about $40-60 a month for gas. My tank rarely goes below half full and I fill it up each week. I think my husband told me that he pays about $400 (diesel, I think) every time he fills up. (His job requires a lot of traveling - he's been in TX now for over 3 weeks.) And that was before gas prices went up to over $3 a gallon. Thank God it's a company truck and they pay for the gas. (Gas card.) Because there's no way we could afford to pay for that ourselves.

What part of TX is he in?

Somewhere in or near Abilene.

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Oh, that's way on the other side of TX from us.  (and no, Seth, I wasn't going to siphon anyone's gas)

[yosemite]

A lot of folks can't understand how we came

to have an oil shortage here in our country.

Well, there's a very simple answer.

~~~

Nobody bothered to check the oil.

~~~

We just didn't know we were getting low.

~~~

The reason for that is purely geographical.

~~~

Our OIL is located in

~~~

ALASKA

~~~

California

~~~

Coastal Florida

~~~

Coastal Louisiana

~~~

Kansas

~~~

Oklahoma

~~~

Pennsylvania

and

Texas

~~~

Our

DIPSTICKS

are located in

Washington , DC!!!

Any Questions???

NO? Didn't think So.

state side oil goes into reserve or sold to other countries. we get the majority of the crude we use from mexico and middle east. this doesnt make sence to me, but it is the way it goes.  we have enuff crude oil to be self reliant for fuel for over 200yrs, why buy from others? this only goes to show yall it is a gov. conspiracy to controll and manipulate the populus.

for those who desire a 8.00 a gallon fuel price, they long for a return to dark ages and starvation. do people understand we use fuel for so many things such as electricity,transport of goods by ship and truck and rail. without fuel thers no power,water, or food.
now we dont want to mention coal and nuclear energy or hydro energy from dams as these restrict water, they tear up our country and polute more than crude ever could!
when fuel gets to 8.00 a gallon you wont afford a water bill or an electric bill.
many wont even have a job then!!

oh, wait a minute- there is a bright side to this hike in fuel, we can turn our bathrooms into another bed room!!  no water, no bathroom, well unless we dig our own well and use a wind mill-but that will not run a toilet or a shower.
an extra bed room may sell your house quicker,cause you dont need it, you aint gonna afford the taxes on it.

yep!!  the dipsticks are in washington dc....-yo

[Chseeads]

Oh, that's way on the other side of TX from us.  (and no, Seth, I wasn't going to siphon anyone's gas)

YOU weren't going to.  You'd have had Chel do it while you watched to make sure no one was coming.

[Sis]

Or you gave her the idea!   

[HolinessPK]

n/a

[Sis]

The nearest bus stop is about 4 miles. You expect us to walk there every day?

Don't forget Rain, snow, over 90 degree weather is also a consideration with walking to a far away bus stop.  I love it when people tell me to get a bike. Yeah, can't get snow tires/chains for them, too easily. I can't get a job because we only have one car and I love it when people tell me to get a bike.

Since it is a proven fact, that public transportation is not easily accessible in the U.S.

New York, Boston, Minneapolis are easy cities to get around without a car, but Canadians don't understand that not every city/town in the USA is NYC!

Now I also go to college in Colorado Springs. It is close to 50 miles one way. 100 miles every monday, tuseday, wednesday, thursday and friday. 500 miles a week for school.

We have to go to another town to go to church, too. There are other churches around but they're even further away. Stevebert works really far away, but like I said, we can't afford to move to rich town just so we don't have to drive. Any apartents/homes near the subway are just as expensive. We're already paying over a thousand for him to be 15 miles from work.

They all think we've got it so easy but many of us don't.

[yosemite]

sis you and Hollinesspk have it down, we cant go on like this. our country was not built for it. it is headed for it though!! its gonna get bad!!

[HolinessPK]

n/a

[HolinessPK]

n/a

[dnr1128]

The article originally posted is so full of nonsense I don't know where to begin. 

1)  "Big oil."  This is a term coined by liberals who are overtly against large corporations who operate profitable businesses.  The first usage that I can remember is "big tobacco," and we all know how the liberal establishment went after them.  The liberals don't want to admit that theres nothing wrong with companies making a healthy profit because they take the risk and put out the cash to get a very valuable product.  People think you can just drill a well and get the oil.  Hardly.  People die drilling wells.  Every time I leave for work to go back to the drilling rig I know I may never come home.  Already this summer one rig has burned down near mine.  I digress.  Anyway, this whole concept of "big oil" is rooted in nothing other than the liberal hatred for successful businesses, as evidenced most recently by Obama's touting hiking corporate taxes, and the attempt in Congress to pass a windfall-profits tax. 

2)  Peak oil.  This concept was put forth a few decades back, and it's never been proven.  The fact is, we have plenty of oil, and we're not running out.  In fact, more and more is being discovered every year.  Just in a last few months Brazil discovered a very large oil pocket in their offshore waters.  In 2007 ten African countries discovered oil they didn't know they had. In 2006 Chevron made a massive discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.  China has found 7.35 billion barrels of oil in Bohai Bay, which should last them for a while.  Don't believe me?  Read http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2006/pi20060907_515138.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_investing

This doesn't even begin to account for the oil that we know about here in the US, but the tree-huggers won't let us drill for, such as in ANWR, offshore Florida, California, the oil shale in the Green River Formation, and many others.  The root problem in the high oil prices isn't "big oil,"  it's big government and the environmentalists they're in bed with.  Of course, there's no problem with Chinese and Cuban rigs drilling into US oil off Florida and taking it for themselves.  We'll just give it to them. 

Connected with the Peak Oil theory is the unproven idea that oil, gas, and coal are "fossil fuels."  If they were, how would scientists explain the fact that Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, has more hydrocarbons than Earth ever had?  Must've been dinos there, too. 

http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/Theory/SustainableOil/
http://www.rense.com/general67/oils.htm
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59991

For those of you who like YouTube, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKgGPclp9E and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrjlVPVwD1I&feature=related

3)  Supply and Demand.  When demand increases, supply must increase or the price will go up.  That's the most basic principle of economics.  Since China and India are trading in their bikes for cars, worldwide demand is skyrocketing, but supply hasn't increased to meet the demand.  Why?  Because the tree-huggers, led by their Messiah Al Gore, are bent on changing the way we live.  They've preached and force-fed to the American populace that we should feel guilty because we're the wealthiest country on the face of the earth.  We should all sacrifice and pay outrageous prices to fill our vehicles to get to work to pay taxes so they can line their pockets, because we're consumers and thats bad. 

Don't get me started in electric cars or ethanol. 

Long live the internal combustion engine!

[bishopnl]

Of course, there's no problem with Chinese and Cuban rigs drilling into US oil off Florida and taking it for themselves.

This really hacks me off as well.  I can't believe that we are willing to let China profit off natural resources that should be ours, right off our coast, and the price of gas continues to rise.  And then Democrats haul oil companies up in front of Congress and act outraged over the price of gas.  It makes my stomach churn.

[dnr1128]

What are the elected officials doing to help the gas prices?  Rejecting a move that would open up more areas of US offshore water for drilling.  According to FNC, the dems blocked a move in committee that would open up more waters for exploration, areas that "...the U.S. Minerals Management Service estimates that 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas can be found along the U.S. outer continental shelf, the area affected by the ban." 

Love this quote:  Sierra Club lands program director Athan Manuel told a House committee Wednesday that drilling has been unsuccessful in driving costs down.

"The disappointing part about some of the energy policies being promoted (is) that it calls for more drilling when drilling really is the problem. And all we've got to show for pretty aggressive (domestic) drilling for the last 35 years is, again, $4 for a gallon of gas," Manuel said, adding "since the first Arab oil shock in the 1970s, the U.S. has produced almost 90 billion barrels of oil since then, so we've tried drilling our way out of the problem and it just hasn't worked."

Agressive drilling?  We only drill in 15% of the continental shelf!!!!  How can you call leaving 85% of the natural resources we have untouched "agressive drilling?"  These idiots would rather import expensive oil from the Saudis and that nutcase in Venzuela than get the stuff we have here.  They'd rather fund terrorism, albeit indirectly, than provide jobs to Americans. 

Our tax dollars at work. 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365627,00.html