I am unable post as much as I normally do because I have a full teaching schedule today (yes, as a substitute teacher). Right now I happen to have a few minutes free and just noticed another spike in the price of oil (2:00 p.m. CST, Friday, March 4, 2011).
I have no idea what the pundits on CNBC are saying that explains this most recent spike, but I'm sure it has to do with the weak dollar and the continuing violence in the Mideast.
But it's not that; the dollar can't possibly be that much weaker today than it was yesterday that would cause such a spike in the price of oil, especially considering the "good" jobs report this morning. And it certainly cannot be the violence in the Mideast. After all, less than a "millionpointfive" barrels of oil per day have been taken off the global market due to Libya and Saudi Arabia can easily make up the difference (they say). [I don't agree that Saudi Arabia can easily make up the difference, but that's another story for another day.]
No, the reason for the spike in the price of oil is that there is no Plan B.
The administration's Plan A for energy independence was wind and solar power. There was no Plan B for a "perfect storm" causing a spike to $1XX/bbl, or, heaven forbid, $2XX/bbl.
This administration's policy is never let a crisis go to waste, and its energy policy has now become a game of chicken.
[When we were teenagers, we would play "chicken" on our bicycles. Two males on bicycles would set up about a city block from each other, and then on "start" would race madly toward each other. It was the "chicken" who would turn first to avoid collision, to avoid disaster.]
The administration is playing "chicken" with the American consumer.
The administration is seeing how high the price of oil goes before the consumer says "enough is enough." As noted before, there is no shortage of oil in this country. The tanks are brimming at Cushing, Oklahoma. The "perfect storm" is caused by the perception that there will be a shortage of oil going forward, six months from now. (The Steven Chu effect.)
There are things this administration could do right now to reassure the Americans that there is plenty of oil. Remember: the Cushing tanks are more than full, and no one has even hinted that there is a need to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
But never let a crisis go to waste. See how far we can push this and Americans will demand more wind energy, more solar energy, and more electric vehicles. That's Plan A. Unfortuntely there is no Plan B.
Thanks for keeping up the great posts! At what point do the American people demand a liquid natural gas infrastructure not only stations along the interstate corridor but more vehicles that run off of NG. I think its crazy that we are falling for the coal powered vehicles and are completely ignorant on the abundance of natural gas in this country.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason oil prices are heading up is because no one wants to take a chance of being out of oil over the weekend when anything could happen in the Middle East. I doubt the global economy could handle oil being too much higher than it is today without heading into another recession and reducing the demand for oil.
ReplyDeleteLove your views on energy, spot on.
ReplyDeleteBut I say forget plan 'B' I wish they'd scrap plan 'A' and get the heck out of the way. Let the consumers and private industries solve the problem on their own. Google UPS, they are already running alternative fuel vehicles as well as a fleet of compressed natural gas trucks. Don't get me started on ethanol, ridiculous, my older vehicle hardly runs on the 10% blend and the drop in gas mileage is noticeable. Then of course I'm stuck here in traffic (wasting gas)in Liberal-ville (Portland Oregon) watching the slackers buzz by on the millions of dollars worth of bike lanes, money that could have been spent on our roads!!! thanks for letting me vent.
We are all "preaching to the choir." Thank you all for your support. I will talk about this again over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe natural gas corridor between Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City by UPS was outstanding. Too bad the current administration did not establish a plan for these natural gas corridors across the country rather than these ridiculous "high-speed rail" schemes.
Remember: the economic czar is the GE/CEO, and GE would be building the locomotives for any "high-speed rail."
Is a NG powered car any more dangerous in a crash that ruptures the gas tank than a gasoline powered car?
ReplyDeletei have personally believed in the pickens plan, using NG as a trasportation fuel.. i even have owned stocks on several occasions..
ReplyDeletethere are millions of fleet trucks/cars.. USPS, UPS,local and county goverment vechiles..the forest service, and on and on.. put one localized credit card type of a LNG/cng system in the county seat in rural america.. this town also would house the local school system.. this i a rather simple solution that could be implemented in only 2 years or less.. the manufactures already make vechiles that use this clean,plentiful fuel.. The best part is the money for the fuel will stay in the staes and not go abroad.. don
I have no idea, but that's an excellent point. There must be something on the internet about that; we'll have to look that up. I'll let you know if I find anything.
ReplyDeleteWhere's Ralph Nader when you really need him? Maybe he's waiting for that first natural gas vehicle accident to write his next book.
Comments/replies show up out of order, but I'm sure folks can figure out what goes with what.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to Don's comment, that UPS natural gas corridor between LA, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City could be a game changer. Obviously, UPS will let anyone use the stations. Wouldn't it be ironic if UPS became an energy company? There's no reason they couldn't put in natural gas corridors along major interstates in the north east (Boston-NYC-Washington), the southeast (Florida-Georgia-North Carolina), Texas (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio) and the list goes on and on.
It might not even cost that much money: UPS might franchise out those service stations.
remember gasoline does not burn in the engine, it explodes ,ask anyone who has tried to use gasoline as lighter fluid on a warm day . natural gas of course would be very volatile ,but would disperse quickly because it is much lighter than air . neither would you want to be around with a match .jj
ReplyDeleteYeah,I probably won't do any more research on that. After the first accident involving a natural gas UPS truck, mainstream media will educate us on more than we ever needed to know about the risks of natural gas engines. The lawyers will pay for the research.
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