Comment by Deniz Yeter

Absolutely it is here, and it will not go away. Within 50 years it will cost so much to extract the crude, nobody will be able to afford it.

Comment by Tom — September 12, 2007 @ 6:44 pm”

We heard all that 50 years ago. When gasoline was 45 cents a gallon, everyone said when gas hit a buck, no one would be able to afford it. Gas hit a buck, and everyone could afford it.

When gas was constantly in the $1-$1.50 range, everyone said if it hit $2, no one would be able to afford it.

It hit $2 plus, and no one quit driving.

Now, at around $3 a gallon, there are just as many SUV’s and Motorhomes on the road as ever. Summer and weekend travel goes on unabated. The theories of gloom and doom have, as usual, gone unfulfilled.

My business involves driving. I make two to three 350 mile round trips every month to pick up frozen food products, and then drive around 20-30 miles a day delivering them around the area.

I don’t like the high gas prices anymore than anyone else. A trip that used to cost me $20 now costs me closer to $60. But there’s been no economic disaster by any means. The economy has expanded at a record pace. Unemployment is at historical lows, and would be lower still if more people moved to my town, where everyone has a “help wanted” sign out, and more business is moving in every day. My business went from nothing 5 years ago to a comfortable income today, and continues to grow.

Your Democrats have been in power for 9 months now, partly on a promise to reduce gasoline prices. What have they done to alleviate the situation? Nothing.

You “peak oil” people: There is still plenty of oil out there. The environmentalists have been successful with Democrats in locking up the reserves through ridiculous laws restricting the extraction of petroleum from the ground.

ANWR has tremendous reserves, and the local Inuit want oil production to begin, since it will be a boon to their local economy. Yet politicians from outside Alaska have successfully stopped their chances for economic expansion and self-sufficiency.

New refineries? When is the Democrat congress going to relax restrictions on refineries? Now is their chance.

There are two abandoned and inoperable refineries within 10 miles of my home. Neither can be profitably run as they are, due to environmental restrictions. They would have to be practically rebuilt from the ground up.

During the Clinton era, the U.S. oil industry was allowed to consolidate from dozens of companies into a mere handful, setting up the current market stranglehold, yet you want to “blame Bush” for a process which was begun years before, when there was no thought of him ever being President.

The worldwide market for oil has increased dramatically over the last decade. The United States is no longer the only buyer. China, India, and other developing nations have become lucrative markets for oil, and they are willing to pay the higher price to get it.

Bottom line is this: As long as the United States keeps artificial limits on our production of oil, thus keeping U.S. reserves low and forcing us to purchase our oil from overseas, we will be paying higher gasoline and diesel prices.

After consuming mountains of chips, fried meat and baked goods all washed down with corn-sweetened soft drinks, overweight Americans then worry which best-selling diet book will help them see their toes again. It turns out that higher petrol prices can slim down more than the wallets of the overweight.

The ever-rising cost of filling up their cars is prompting millions of Americans to pack their own lunch and walk to the bus.

The statistics are dramatic: they show that when petrol prices have risen in the US, obesity has shown a corresponding fall of as much as 10 per cent according to a new study, A Silver Lining? The Connection between Gas Prices and Obesity.

The study’s author, Charles Courtemanche, from the University of Washington, St Louis, said his inspiration came when he was filling up his car: “I was pumping gas one day, thinking with gas prices so high I may have to take the Metro,” he said.

After figuring out that he would get an extra 30 minutes of exercise per day by walking to and from the Metro, he correlated statistics for obesity and petrol prices in America.

American obesity rates began to rise sharply in the early 1980s. Part of this has been blamed on an overworked population demanding convenience foods – prepared, packaged products and restaurant meals that contain more calories than home-cooked meals.

According to Marion Nestle, of New York University, the arrival of the Reagan administration in 1980 brought government subsidies for farmers who grew more food. Fast-food companies reacted by serving larger portions and inventing snacks. The calories available per capita nearly doubled to 3,900 a day and a crisis was born.

But, to his shock, Mr Courtemanche found that 13 per cent of the rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 could be attributed to the falling price of petrol. “First, if a person uses public transportation, such as subways, buses, trolleys or rail services, the need to move to and from the public transit stops is likely to result in additional walking, again decreasing weight,” he said.

“Second, since the opportunity cost of eating out at restaurants rises when the price of gas increases, people may substitute eating out to preparing their own meals at home, which tend to be healthier.”

Now petrol prices are on the up again, reaching a record high of $3.22 (£1.60) per gallon in May 2007, and so according to the theory, obesity levels should now be falling. “The recent spike in gas prices may have the ’silver lining’ of reducing obesity in the coming years,” the study said. It calculated that an increase of $1 per gallon in real gasoline prices would reduce US obesity by 15 per cent after five years. That would save 16,000 lives and $17bn a year, according to the research.

Mr Courtemanche said he had already received hate mail for suggesting that high petrol prices are good for Americans. “One person yelled at me: ‘So now I’m supposed to be happy about gas prices!’” he said.

Some 59 million Americans are overweight. Almost 65 per cent are either obese or overweight, 10-30lb over a healthy weight, with greater chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. And it is not just adults. Some obese children in the US knock back two or three bottles of cola a day, equivalent to 1,000 calories.

Most US cities do not have good public transport networks, although they are improving. As more people react to the “sticker shock” of paying more than $3 a gallon by opting to walk, take the bus, or even cycle, planners anticipate pressure for better public transport.

Are you a completely MORON? Do you even know what the term RECESSION MEANS? Because if we were in a Recession during 2000, then we’ve been through SEVERAL during the Bush Administration! You’re a fool!

Now, the US economy is in a record-setting economic expansion at the same time other countries’ economies are growing. Everyone needs the oil.
Supply-demand.
You people are goats.
Comment by muckdog — September 12, 2007 @ 8:48 pm

Record setting economic expansion? Compare to what, the GREAT DEPRESSION? The stock market is worth less than it was in 2000, adjusted for inflation. The value of the currency is almost HALF what it was in 2000. The GDP and economic expansion since the 2001 Recession has been the WORST since the great depression!

You’re CLINICALLY INSANE!

Twenty-two million jobs created under Clinton. Five million under Bush, but they are lousy jobs with low pay and no benefits. Over last six years, the median wage has dropped when adjusted for inflation. First time that has happened since The Great Depression–caused by 12 years of “trickle down”.

Stock Market went up 350% under Clinton and country had greatest sustained economic expansion in country’s history. W inherited it at 10,700 and took it down to 7,500 before it recently came back.

Clinton inherited record deficits and every year was an improvement–ending with record surpluses. W did the reverse.

There is an exact point when a recession starts. It was March 2001 and lasted 8 months.

We wanted to take control of part of the Middle East for oil, but not to make it cheap for the consumer—to make more profits for the big corporations.

You made me laugh until tears were running…

One of the best posts…thanks.

Comment by big papa — September 12, 2007 @ 9:11 pm

I see yer point, big papa. I sit corrected!

…you got muckdog all wrong…

…it’s just a silly l’il bi*ch…

Comment by muckdog — September 12, 2007 @ 8:48 pm

And you’re a disgusting sicko!

Muckdog! Howza Neuticles hangin’?

Care to make any more tasteless comments about “masturbating over soldiers’ deaths”? I got the EXACT post ya made at home on my computer, so don’t try and pretend you never said it, *sshole.

OH… my mistake… you were talking about YOUR sex life!

Comment by muckdog — September 12, 2007 @ 8:48 pm

But not everyone needs to use it in such frivilous ways

And they remember the America of 1999: Rich. confident. At peace.
In the Black.

Go on, guys. Lecture them about supply and demand. Call them names.

Dare ya.

Now, the US economy is in a record-setting economic expansion at the same time other countries’ economies are growing. Everyone needs the oil.

Supply-demand.

You people are goats.

Keep askin’, Hillybilly… sooner or later, SOMEONE will answer yes…

Don’t bet on it…I know if I was the guilty party, I’d keep my mouth shut… ^_^

Comment by Tom #3

…one thing’s for sure…

…we could’ve BOUGHT Iraq…

…without all the bloodshed…

…Now, we’re ALL getting ripped off…

…by the criminal Bushite oil cartel…

Made ‘conservative’ Paris Hilton quite famous.

sub-prime crash and jobs rate lowest in four years

16 year low in housing starts

Heckuva Job!