Who to blame for the price of gas
Posted 4/25/2008 10:13:00 AM
© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.” Walt Kelly, 1952
In 1970 Walt Kelly condensed the quote to, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” I was thinking of that quote while filling up this week. Fuel prices are up dramatically. Americans are staring at the pump prices with alarm and wondering, “Gas should not cost that much. Who can we blame?”
Blame all of us. It was not easy to get oil to $120 per barrel, but with incredible determination and stupidity, we Americans have done our part. What bothers me even more than the gas price is that my fellow Americans have the darn gall to look surprised.
We have spent 50 years doing exactly the wrong things when it comes to energy policy. In fact, an enemy could not have done worse. “We have met the enemy and he is us” is the motto of our country.
We have been fuelish in more ways than I can count. But our individual sins are nothing compared to the policy disasters from our legislators. While we individually have wasted gas with unnecessary trips and fuelish driving habits, Congress flushed our energy independency down the toilet. Then we stand around and look surprised.
This reminds me of someone who has smoked for 50 years and then in declining health asks, “Who can I blame?” He can sue the tobacco companies but the dirty little secret is that he has known all along that his actions would lead to a decline in health.
My father died a painful, smoking-related death 15 years ago. We spent many decades yakking at him about the “coffin nails” he smoked. At least he did not look surprised. I loved him immensely and if I could have done so, I would have convinced him decades earlier to stop. Alas, I could not. Nor could I stop Congress from its orgy of disaster in energy legislation.
An experiment in conservation
I tried an experiment this last week while out on the road. I consult with
This trip I decided to try to increase my mileage with two strategies: driving slower and rolling down the window rather than using the air conditioning. So I went about 55 mph and left the A/C off. Surprise – I got 31 miles per gallon and used six gallons less this week.
Over a year that is more than a thousand dollars of saving. You do not have to conserve, but if you want to lower your energy costs, there are things you can do. And, 300 fewer gallons of gas each year will have an economic effect, but especially if millions of drivers do the same.
Expanding production
However,
Remember, we call those companies every mean thing in the dictionary. We treat them as dirt under our feet and vilify them at every chance. Why would they go out on a limb to lower our prices? Why would they try to increase domestic supplies of gas when they make a fine profit themselves just passing through the refining from another country?
We Americans do not want a refinery in our community; rather, we just want the product inexpensively. And if you want to do even worse, take the profit away from the energy companies and see what effect that has on supplies. Please, do not look surprised.
Politicians have not dealt with our energy needs because they look at the minefield they have set up and say, “It will not be a problem in my lifetime.”
For the politicians of the 70s and 80s, that is correct. But the clock just struck midnight and the ghost of our past has caught up with us.
We have spent 50 years getting here, and the blame game will not help us. Are we ready to take a new look at our own actions? Are we ready to do the hard political things? Are we finally ready to admit that we have met the enemy and he is us?
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.
Labels: Economy, Energy policy, Swickard columns
4 Comments:
A well presented article Mr.Swickard -- I would add a couple more points that deserve being touched upon.
High gas prices are also the direct result of monetary policy that has devalued the almighty dollar to half of what it was a few years prior. which contributed to the doubling of gas pump prices. Plus, the wise legislatures has seen fit to lock-up natural resources and the fanatical greens have demonized anything to do with natural resource extraction. And, least I forget the scaremongering that the world is dying due to using natural resources to have a better standard of living. And, to top it off, cause the entire global warming has been exposed as a complete hoax there has been the so-called scientific claims that the earth is now entering an ice age. Of course, somehow the greens and social managers (politicians) will spout reasons why burning fossil fuels is causing this newest ice disaster.
Those who claim better gas mileage by traveling at 55mph instead of 65 or 70+ mph conveniently forget to mention that it took longer to arrive at the destination. So, when all the facts/data are factored into the real equation the same results apply and better gas mileage becomes a convenient myth, particularly so when examining the shipment of goods across America's "just in time" hwys.
Unlock the natural resources by opening the land to the people. Furthermore, the greens, wilderness and critter lovers need to crawl back into their holes from which they emerged. In fact, it is way past time that these anti-human Eco-Elites be carefully examined to see if their words reflect a balanced mentality. A mere 300+ years ago the same type of radicals burned/killed/imprisoned people for burning coal lumps to stay warm with that they found along the British coastlines.
Gas prices are also a factor of international competition. China and India have economies that grow at 10% per year, and account for 2.5 of the world's 6.5 billion people. Those economies need oil. Oil production, meanwhile, increased by 7/100ths of a percent over last year. That's not 7% - that's 7 hundredths of a percent. And the prospects for future production don't look good. Increased demand plus decreased supply plus declining future supply plus a weak dollar plus instabiity in oil-producing regions. It's a big mess.
The solution for Americans is to embrace alternative energy. It is within our ability to replace our dependence on foreign oil with domestic energy sources such as nuclear power. This will incidentally lower the cost of oil due to lowered demand, but we won't care as much when that happens.
Your swipe at the NIMBY factor in building new refinig capacity is true but without merit in this argument. We have plenty of shuttered refining capacity that is already grandfathered in under old regulations, and only needs updating to reopen. Oil companies do not want additional refining capacity. They prefer the just-in-time operation as it stands today.
Even Reverend Pat Robertson complained about the oil companies stopping his venture in California. Refining capacity indeed.
As noted above the added pressure of emerging economies in other parts of the world are also very important to factor in.
The ONLY long term solution is alternatively powered automobiles. (NOT ETHANOL!). Electric and fuel cell technology look to be the most promising but they are still a few years away from mass production.
"Furthermore, the greens, wilderness and critter lovers need to crawl back into their holes from which they emerged."
Yes, let's get rid of the very people who have been warning us about this our emerging economic and environmental nightmare; let's continue allow big oil companies to destroy our planet's ability to be compatible with life as we know it so they can make obscene profits without investing a penny in making life better for their community or fellow man; and yes, let's continue to allow undemocratic theocracies and socialist dictatorships to continue to dictate our foreign policy.
We need to shove someone into a hole, but it's not the greens, wilderness and critter lovers.
Post a Comment
<< Home
Published comments have been deemed by Heath Haussamen to be in compliance with this site’s comments policy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Heath Haussamen or this site. If you know of a person who is abusing this site’s comments system by impersonating someone else or in other ways, please report it by clicking here.