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Spread this message with Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, or Stumbleupon, and subscribe to the RSS Feed to track articles Drivers Shell Out More on Gas Than CarsE-mail - editor@economyincisis.org |
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For the first time in 26 years, consumers spent more on gasoline than vehicles and parts in May and June, according to Bloomberg. As pump prices swelled to $4.09 a gallon in June, consumers spent an astounding 4.4 percent on gasoline and only 3.9 percent on autos and motor parts. The last time gasoline accounted for such an extensive portion of personal spending was in September 1982 during an energy crisis prompted by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer. Auto sales suffered as they plummeted to their lowest since 1993 in July, resulting in General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp posting declines on lower demand for gas-guzzling SUV's and trucks. Consumers are being forced to spend more money on running a commodity than on the actual product itself. America’s oil addiction and dependence on Middle Eastern nations is radically thwarting our economy. While analysts predict crude oil prices will fall to $99 a barrel in six months time, resulting in gas prices descending to $3 per gallon, America needs to address alternative energy sources so we can finally break free from our servitude to OPEC. Source Bloomberg:
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guest says "What Alternatives?" on 08/16/08
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guest says "What Alternatives?" on 08/16/08
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Why can't I post my comment?
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What do you suggest? Too many Americans blindly follow the no drill crowd. There are no alternatives that are viable YET. We need more safe domestic oil right now so we can survive long enough to make alternatives viable. What do we have? Windmills, not!
People will fight giant eyesore, bird gauntlets of death tooth and nail, and then you still need to get everyone to agree on the massive amounts of new power lines needed to get that electricty to the grid. See:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1218250522129010.xml&coll=7
AND
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-01-04-windmills-usat_x.htm
Solar? Still way too expensive. Hydrogen? Hydrogen takes massive amounts of energy to be produced. The only viable solution for hydrogen is Very High Temp Nuke Reactors (VHTR). If you think people fight perfectly safe oil drilling just wait till you see the fight people put up to block new Nuke plants.
Electric cars need electricity, our electric grid is already so overloaded we need rolling black-outs to get thru a summer. Where are we going to get more electricity? Coal plants (big protests) Nuke plants (bigger protests)?????
Natural gas in cars? There is a reason busses have giant natural gas tanks on the ROOF. Compressed natural gas is very, very explosive.
Will you have the economy crater even further holding out for alternatives that just are not ready? Drilling for more oil can reduce the $700 billion we send overseas buying oil and redirect those funds to alternatives. You do agree theses alternatives need funding don't you? Where do you imagine this money coming from when state and Federal Governments are running huge deficits? Jobs are looking really bad. Did you know allowing drilling in a tiny, tiny desolate portion of ANWR will creat hundreds of thousands of badly needed jobs AND increase income taxes which can fund alternatives. Opening ANWR will also extend the usefull life of the very expensive Alaskan Pipeline by 20 years. Oil seeps up out of the ground naturally in ANWR.
Every form of energy has drawbacks, and all have people who will fight them, that's a fact and thats life. We all know oil, we see oil rigs pumping up and down decade after decade without oil spills, explosions or anything to be affraid of. Offshore oil drilling has a 99.9% safety record. Natural oil seeps pump 1000 barrels of oil into CA water each WEEK! All offshore pumping in CA waters since the 1969 has resulted in just 58 barrels spilled TOTAL (versus 1000 each week naturally). Drilling more offshore CA will reduce pressure on natural seeps and REDUCE oil in CA waters.
All anyone has to do is stop following Nutty Nancy Pelosi and do a little research for themselves. There is a perfectly good energy Bill that has already passed the Senate and is languishing in the House thanks to Nancy. S.2958 is everything we need right now but she won't allow a vote, so she can squeek in her own plan that includes windmills so she can cash in on her stock holdings:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=72225
The pain average Americans are feeling is severe. Yet Pelosi refuses to allow a vote on S.2958 and instead wants a new energy plan to include windmills so she can become even more distgustingly rich. Obama say's he'll "consider" offshore drilling. Everything in our society is tied to oil, everything is going up because of oil and we have super rich ego freaks ignoring killer inflation! This winter poor and elderly people are going to die because of $4 heating oil. When that first newspaper reports poor people freezing to death the Dems will see a monumental backlash. Nancy is supposed to do the will of the people; instead she is going to be personally responsible for the deaths of poor and feeble. Is that a new Democrat value? I think not. 2004 we had super rich ego freak Kerry and now we have Nutty Nancy blocking any hope of a quick energy plan and Obama telling the people he will "consider" helping us out. America is fed up with super rich elitist ego maniacs and the Democrat party has somehow become infected with them and mindless lemmings who follow them without thought