Comments on: Gas prices rise above $4 in Chicago and Long Island.

By: Alejandro

Alejandro — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:38:32 +0000

I just paid $4.15 for regular in DC.

By: DigDug

DigDug — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:48:31 +0000

Zed Lefflin Says:
——————————————————————————–

I just love it when prices go up, doesn’t bother me a bit. I cant wait for $8.00 per gallon gas….neighbor will be stealing from neighbor, BHO will in the white house and could not care less, gangs will be into the illegal fuel business just like drugs because of the profits to be had. Finally, the big chicken will come home to roost. The “greens” will be beaten in the streets by Progressives…..oh man….I cant wait. And on and on and on…………..

Britain already has $8.00 per gallon gas. Only effect I’ve seen is they drive smaller cars.

Sorry to burst your dystopian fantasy.

By: Shayne

Shayne — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:01:28 +0000

Yeah you’re a typical “compassionate conservative” Zed. You people wear flag pins and think that’s all that’s required to be a good American. You pigs disgust me.

By: singe_101

singe_101 — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:30:53 +0000

This is a crock but where’s the coverage of diesel, food, and healthcare?

How many gallons of gas are most people using here?

It’s the tuition that gets me. A $1000 increase is nothing, $1000 more for gas in a car is a ton.

By: singe_101

singe_101 — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:20:44 +0000

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90041682

Oh and I do agree there is some bias against reporting Bay Area gas prices, but I do see those a lot as the first to X, and don’t most things have very high prices there?

By: Badger

Badger — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:13:43 +0000

According to Tracy Lundberg on NPR this morning, the highest gas is in Chicago (where Barack Obama coincidentally comes from) and Long Island (where Hillary Clinton coincidentally comes from) and LOWEST in…you guessed it…Arizona.

By: Shayne

Shayne — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:04:41 +0000

OK you Californians chill out. It’s been that high in Chicago for a month now too. I could be wrong but isn’t gasoline formulated specially for California because you have higher air quality standards than the rest of the country which is a good thing of course. But if they use your prices than the nutjobs would just dismiss it for that reason, wouldn’t they?

By: dxwoods

dxwoods — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:12:30 +0000

Gas prices in the SF Bay area has been over $4/gal for over a month now, at least. But of course we’re ALL liberal, gay-marrying, Prius drivers up her so the media doesn’t consider us anywhere near typical Americans. If you ever, at any time, want to know what the upper end of gas prices are in the US you just call a gas station from Marin to Mountain View. There are refineries across the bay in Richmond but for some reason gas prices are always the highest in the lower 48 right here in liberal country. Always.

By: JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin

JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:10:17 +0000

Here in NYC, it’s 4 dollars a gallon. But I’m lucky that I have the glorious MTA to shuffle me around NYC. I know many Republicans feel public transportation is one of the most evil kinds of socialism and should be abolished like the estate tax and Social Security, but I enjoy not having a car and dealing with gas prices, maintainance, insurance, parking, and car payments.

Boy, the MSM sure does know how to pick presidents, don’t they? I wonder if David Gergen will apologise for saying “you don’t have to be smart to be president”, or Andrew Sullivan will apologise for saying “this man is amazing” (referring to Bush).

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:54:46 +0000

No one could have predicted $4 a gallon gas under George W. Bush and Dick Cheney’s wise and prudent national guidance!

By: 5th Estate

5th Estate — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:45:20 +0000

Peter C: also remember disbelief at oil topping $60/barrel just a few years ago while today it is hover at ofver $120/barrel. Clearly, DEMAND has not doubled

Great comment! DOUBLED is the key word there.

In March 2000 the US national average pump price hit $1.54
(from a $0.92 low in 1999). In oil-energy dependent countries that drive demand population hasn’t gone-up appreciably and energy-dependent consumerism/consumer products overall hasn’t increased beyond predictions and recent historical norms (I think, anyway).
I reckon pure specualation on the oil supply (due to obvious reasons) accounts for a significant proportion of the global price increase and perhaps especially the local price increase.
For instance the UK average price per litre of unleaded petrol was 92.1p in 2006 versus 95.2p a year later in 2007 (about a 4% increase).

In the US the average price per gallon was almost $2.60 in 2006, in 2007 almost $2.80 about an 8% increase (increase as currency per unit cost). This is just before the nosedive of the US Dollar. US prices per unit rose faster than in the UK.
Now the UK price is 115p per litre, in the US it’s $3.72 per gallon. UK increase 2008 over 2007 about 10%. US increase 2008 over 2007 is about 30%.

Interesting.

By: Shayne

Shayne — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:38:06 +0000

John McCain is in Chicago today and nobody cares. Perhaps that’s because he doesn’t have a word to say about oil prices. Economics aren’t his “thing”, he’s more into bomb, bomb, bombing.

By: kmtahir

kmtahir — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:29:44 +0000

Sorry to mention it, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area gas has been around $4.50/gallon for weeks now…It’ll only go higher…Price spike is due to market speculation…Demand actually is flat and production has remained at about 80% of capacity for awhile…Investors are betting the market will go up and up…

By: Al Da God

Al Da God — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:02:58 +0000

Evil Spaniard,
Some on the Right are not all on the Right. There is a big split now between the Corporatist/Globalist Right and the Populist/Anti-Corporate Right. Just l;ike on how on the Left there’s a split between the Clintonian-Corporatist Left and the Progressive/Anti-Corporate Left. It’s all nuance as there are differnt factions on both sides.
That’s why the Populist Right and Progressive Left should ally on common interests and take on the Leftists and Rightwing Corporatists.
Although we’ll still have our difference like on Islam and Guns, we do have some common enemies we can unite against.

By: Evil Spaniard

Evil Spaniard — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:58:09 +0000

Al Da God Says:

Evil Spaniard,
Great article. Instead of complaing about higher ouil prices, we need solutions that move away from Oil. That is something the Right and Left can agree and work on.

May 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse

Too bad the right is in bed with the oil industry…

By: NonHardWorkingNonWhiteAmerican (ThinkOutsideTheBush)

NonHardWorkingNonWhiteAmerican (ThinkOutsideTheBush) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:57:56 +0000

I don’t think getting rid of the federal/state taxes will help reduce the price for the consumer. Oil companies will keep prices where they are and keep the savings for themselves. If I’m paying an extra quarter to somebody, I’d rather it went back into our tax pool than into Exxon’s pockets. There needs to be a cap on the amount of money the oil companies can make.

We haven’t really come all that far from the days when a few lords grew richer and fatter from squeezing as much money as they could get from the serfs and peasants like us.

By: Al Da God

Al Da God — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:55:32 +0000

Evil Spaniard,
Great article. Instead of complaing about higher ouil prices, we need solutions that move away from Oil. That is something the Right and Left can agree and work on.

By: Al Da God

Al Da God — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:53:41 +0000

Dr. Hussein Matt,
Nice try but it has nothing to do with Bush. Look not everything in the world has to do with Bush, he’s not God, I am! LOL!
Seriously it’s the speculators who have to put no money down on their bids that are causing this. It’s Global Specaluator greed. If Traders are forced to put up real money many can’t. That would cause a price drop.
We need to get away from Oil anyway so higher prices are forcing the automakers to move away from Oil. This needs to encourage. As a Leftist don’t you think it’s a good idea to move away from oil?

By: impeachcheneythenbush

impeachcheneythenbush — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:53:34 +0000

Mary – The reasons you gave for high oil prices are certainly real, except for the issue of shortage of refineries. We have the refineries necessary, the problem is that big oil is only operating them at about 83% capacity. Intentionally.

Zimzone – I heard yesterday that Saudi Arabia is selling gasoline for $.64 per gallon. We basically are paying 84% more per gallon here. State and federal taxes on gasoline haven’t increased nationally that I am aware of, so this cost reflects that per barrel increase for sure.

In 2001, oil was $25/bbl. Interesting history and commentary on this website; article date in Jan. 2008. Prices, of course, have risen even higher since then.

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/politics/Hundred-Dollar-Oil.html

By: Evil Spaniard

Evil Spaniard — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:51:44 +0000

Wales looks toward green future

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080514/britain_green_wales.html?.v=1

By 2025, Wales wants to generate all its electricity from renewable sources and even become a net exporter of power.

Wales is betting that two huge projects — a US$30 billion tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary and the largest biomass plant in the world in Port Talbot — will produce most of the electricity needed to reach its 2025 target.

For the rest, the local government is hoping that its natural winds, streamlined bureaucracy, access to skilled labor, proximity to universities and state funding will prove enticing to companies in both the renewables and clean technology sectors.

Going green could make or break Wales following the death of the mining industry in the 1980s. While Cardiff has blossomed from a provincial city into a significant capital in recent years under a retail- and services-led boom, rural Wales has limped along on tourism and agriculture.