Crude oil futures hit $100 a barrel for the first time during trading today. That’s twice as high as at the start of last year. Oil prices are being driven upward by demand in United States, China and elsewhere and by an unstable Middle East. If prices remain high, some analysts predict that gasoline could hit $4 a gallon by next spring. So why haven’t energy issues been a higher priority in the presidential campaign?
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80 Comments
Thank you President George Bush! Oil at $100, Dow closing in on going through 13000, Manufacturing about where it was in 2002, and no 9/11 to blame it on!
Isn’t that what the libs and GW freaks want? Higher prices to discourage use?
Now let’s hear the SUV and pickup truck owners whine and cry.
Boo hoo!
(as I drive off in my 2004 Honda hybrid 44 MPG)
You know, oil prices in Europe hasn’t increased much. A lot of the increase in oil price has to do with Bush’s weakening of the American dollar. Another part has to do with Bush reducing the supply of oil. Some more has to do with Republicans stalling measures to increase fuel efficiency back in the 90s. The rest has to do with market speculation which increases the cost even if demand and supply doesn’t change.
This is 4 dollars a gallon just based on market forces just imagine what would happen to the price of fuel if theirs a natural disaster, a la Katrina or a major terrorist attack then you get 5 6 dollar for fuel.
Some more has to do with Republicans stalling measures to increase fuel efficiency back in the 90s.
Any source on this one Doug? The congress in power today, just passed legislation which allows American auto manufacturers until 2022 to hit “average” 35 MPG.
This did NOTHING but contribute to higher oil prices.
Car go good today getting 44 MPG. Wish I had the Prius, it’s even higher!
Better congress NOT act, and let the market forces prevail. GM and Ford would go broke, as Toyota and Honda are taking the market.
Higher gas prices today will help. More people will be turning to energy efficient vehicles.
Bush has very little, if anything to do with the higher oil prices.
You think Saudi and Bin Laden would have kept prices lower under a democrat?
I suspect the price of gasoline at the pump is an accurate gauge of the changing inverse value of our dollar. Higher the price of gas, the less our dollar is worth compared to foriegn currencies.
Amway, do you forget the infamous “bubble cars” comment by Trent Lott?
I suspect the price of gasoline at the pump is an accurate gauge of the changing inverse value of our dollar. Higher the price of gas, the less our dollar is worth compared to foriegn currencies.
Posted by: JWink | January 02, 2008 at 01:45 PM
The more our Congress and President spend increasing our national debt (paid for by borrowing from foreign countries),
and the more petro dollars we send overseas – the weaker our dollar will become.
Keep loving those big gas guzzlers America. But stop complaining about our going down the tubes.
You have met the enemy – and it is you!
The US trade deficit is, by any consideration, gigantic. Foreign corporations and nations hold so much dollar-denominated money it’s beyond belief.
The ONLY thing keeping the dollar as high as it is, even in its weakened condition, is the fact that OPEC, and most non-OPEC exporters, take _only_ US dollars for oil. If oil exporters ever shift away from the dollar, it’s The End for this economy.
Isn’t it very obvious that in Bush’s last year in office that the price of oil would go up?
Let’s see what else will happen.
I know Bush and Cheney will be making those lavish trips all over the world like it was on business but instead will be more like winning a sweepstake.
This has happen with every president for the last 50 years.
See how easy it is to deceive people.
Bull to most of what has been posted here, so far.
Lets DRILL for more oil, that will help keep prices down.
Who won’t let us?
The Democrats!
Before the elections liberals like myself predicted that if we hire an oil exec (Bush) and an energy exec (Cheney) that oil prices would go up. Once again the liberals were proven right.
Soon afterwards the Bush regime supported a coup by oil execs to get Chavez out of power (because he was using oil profits for social programs). And the oil prices haven’t stopped rising since.
Isn’t that what the libs and GW freaks want? Higher prices to discourage use?
Now let’s hear the SUV and pickup truck owners whine and cry.
Boo hoo!
(as I drive off in my 2004 Honda hybrid 44 MPG)
Posted by: American Way
Have you done your research to how much oil is used to produce your hybrid? How bad the battery is for the enviroment?
Paul, there are plenty of new oil wells being drilled including in places like North Dakota which look promising. It’s rather naive to assume that nobody is drilling for oil anymore. Even in Kansas new well are being drilled.
And, I predict that DOUG will blame every bad thing that happens, between now and the election, on George Bush!
And then, if a Democrat wins, every bad thing that happens will STILL be Bush’s fault, for at least another 4 years.
Batteries can be recycled Mike. My hybrid is a 2001 and the battery hasn’t been replaced yet.
Paul, if you hadn’t noticed Bush is to blame for such things as occupying, threatening and supporting coups in oil producing countries. That sort of thing happens to affect the price of oil. Sorry I had to waste my time presenting common knowledge to you.
Lets look at this from a realistic perspective. Its like cooking a frog. Put the frog in the water and turn the heat on. The frog will not jump out. This is the same tshingx that is going on with the economy and gas prices. They rise until we scream….thne they ease. Then back up higher than before until we scream….then they ease. Same philosphy as that frog. Eventually tha t frog will boil and cook.
“And then, if a Democrat wins, every bad thing that happens will STILL be Bush’s fault, for at least another 4 years.”
Heck Paul – you Republics stillblame Clinton for everything!
Sorry for all the typos…..I have a broken hand
“Lets DRILL for more oil, that will help keep prices down.”
Posted by: econ101 | January 02, 2008 at 02:00 PM
econ101 thinks that we can bust the OPEC cartel by trying to pump more of our puny, high-priced reserves.
econ101 wants to do EXACTLY what OPEC wants us to do. LOL!
OPEC keeps prices high, makes high profits, and saves their reserves for the future.
We deplete our reserves, and become more dependent on OPEC.
What does OPEC not want us to do? Increase fuel efficiency and switch to alternatives.
Bush and Cheney are so happy they’ll probably start another war
It’ll take longer than any 4 yrs. to undo the bush f@ ups. Better give the dems. at least a decade to undo the damage bush has wrought on America!
Dow has worst percentage drop on first day of the new yr. since 1932! Bush the Moron, makes Hoove look like The Man!
Drill more Alaskan oil. Screw a place none of us will ever see. And we have been successful pumping billions of gallons from the north slope around Prudhoe Bay. Get er done!
In the meantime, if you have any money left over after filling your SUV and dually pick-em-up truck, may I suggest investing in any of the following:
XOM Exxon Mobil
XNG Amex Natural Gas Index
COP ConocoPhillips
APC Anadarko
PTR PetroChina
SNP China Petro
RDS Royal Dutch Shell
BP British Petro
CVX Chevron
Saudi Aramco
PDVSA Petro of Venezuela
You might as well enjoy some earnings and invest in the oil you love to hate!
(PS: Oil is mixed today on the announcement, but drilling and related infrastructure stocks look good.)
I don’t care to invest in companies that are pillaging the public, even for a buck.
Meanwhile – the “R” word:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/02/markets/markets_0300/index.htm?postversion=2008010215
Recession fears sink stocks
Wall Street starts 2008 on a down note after weak manufacturing report and surging oil prices spark recession fears. Fed minutes in focus too.
We deplete our reserves, and become more dependent on OPEC.
-Cosmos
We will only become more dependent on OPEC if we fail in inventing suitable alternatives AND/OR radically change our lifestyle.
We should cut back OPEC imports and increase domestic production until suitable alternatives come online.
If domestic reserves run out and we have no alternative, we are in the same boat that we are in right now. Addicted to foreign oil. But at least we have not supported the oil sheiks in the middle east during the process.
OPEC is running out of GAS:
“…the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said its member nations may not be able to meet demand as early as 2024″
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080102/oil_prices.html
You Global Warming Alarmists should love higher oil prices!
Let’s go for $200/barrel!
Higher prices should drive demand down and force everyone to conserve as much as you Global Warming Alarmists are already conserving.
You Global Warming Alarmists should barely be impacted at all by the price of oil. You have all cut your personal greenhouse gas emissions in 1/2 or more already, and barely use any electricity or oil or natural gas today.
Finally, the rest of the country will get on board with conservation and follow your lead!
The headline should NOT be “Brace Yourself for Higher Gas Prices”.
The Headline should read:
“Conservationists Celebrate $100 per Barrel Oil!”
This is GOOD NEWS!
(Now stop your complaining!)
I revel in bad news!
I’ll make good news bad, if I have to!
The END is NEAR!
Those evil Republicans have totally screwed up the world.
But we have nothing to fear, Democrats are here!
Now that we are dispensing investment advice: Solar and Wind energy are highly lucrative industries to buy stocks in. The higher oil goes, the more money will flow into these industries as they become more cost justified. Some of which comes from Uncle Sam through subsidies.
If the US government really does declare war on foreign oil, there will be a boom in the alternative energy sector similar to that which was experienced by defense companies during the past decade.
So even The Phantom can get in on the free for all of high energy prices.
So even The Phantom can get in on the free for all of high energy prices.
Posted by: rfl
Sound advice. I like buying items from both sides. But Phantom need not hesitate to buy big oil – millions of Americans own stock in these companies. Many directly, but many, many more via mutual funds and via 401K’s.
Isn’t investing great!!!
Boo! I said Boooo! (Oil prices increase)
Yes! Yes! (My returns increase)
SUV and Big Truck owners: I LOVE YOU MAN!!!!!!!
100$ oil would be much more palatable if the obscene profits were going into taxes and funding of alternative energy rather than to overcompensated oil execs. and terroristic mid-east nations like saudi arabia and Iran.
I work for a company that produces (currently) 40% of the world’s silicon. We just expanded to triple output. Over half of that will be used in solar items. The supply of raw materials will be on the rise, the cost will go down, and soon the average Joe will be able to solar panel his roof. Gotta love technology.
You Global Warming Alarmists should love higher oil prices!
Let’s go for $200/barrel! Max
Max! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
(we don’t want them to know the plan. We NEED them to keep driving their gas guzzlers and complaining. But it’s a nickel here, a dime at a time there. Let’s not get spoil the plan by letting the consumers in on it.)
Buy your F350 F990 now! Get em while they are hot!!!!
A very large chunk of oil revenues DO end up in Federal and State tax revenue figures.
Also, a large chunk of the income of energy employees’ income is paid in taxes.
And a large chunk of the oil and gas ends up in the gas tanks and homes of the very same people who complain that the US uses too much oil.
Got a pretty good deal on my pickup. Two years ago September I went to Saturn to trade in my old Saturn for a newer one when a man with a 2000 Chevy PU pulled in. He was trading his PU in for an Ion. He couldn’t afford to drive his truck anymore.
I bought his truck instead. Gets pretty good milage all in all.
Hank as long as you don’t peal out and burn rubber, you are a great American!
And if you have one of those center rear windows that open, and you can throw your beer cans directly into the bed, you are not a litterbug.
Belay my last Hank. Your gun rack is probably in the way.
Amway, if you live in Michigan, you get a dime for each of those beer cans.
But if you live next door to J R, you don’t get even a penny!
Kansas likes to see cans along the highway, in the gutters clogging our runoff, and in the alleys and streets.
But we don’t have any new coal powered energy plants – and zero
new wind power farms!
So maybe those old cans will come in handy. We can burn em for fuel.
And Hank can shoot up all the cans he wants! Don’t have to worry about loosing a nickel or a dime.
BTW Amway, I never said I lived in Michigan.
If all we do is bitch about who is responsible for the mess we are in we will not get it resolved. Profit drives price. Supply procurement can dictate profit. Demand will always be present, and the corporates apply profit maximizing pricing formulas to price the product. As long as we all lay the blame on “them” or “others” and not take responsibility for our actions we will remain where we are. We are naive, and corporations and our government take advantage of it.
If we assume that the market will drive new innovation we will find ourselves with outdated old technology . innovation usually goes against the prevailing market.
From an old Roughneck, now an aircraft technician.
I find it paradoxical that oil keeps going up, but my monthly oil check from the family farms hasn’t increased since I can’t remember when.
Phant,
“100$ oil would be much more palatable if the obscene profits were going into taxes and funding of alternative energy rather than to overcompensated oil execs. and terroristic mid-east nations like saudi arabia and Iran.”
Remember all the ads the oil companies ran justifying the high prices because of money they were spending on researching alternate energy sources? Don’t you think it’s about time we saw the results of that research and determine if we want a refund?
American Whine,
“Kansas likes to see cans along the highway, in the gutters clogging our runoff, and in the alleys and streets.”
Where do you see cans? I know at least a dozen old people who need them to sell and pay for gas!
If people would stop getting so gross and fat, cars would get better mileage and decrease demand.
“Lets DRILL for more oil, that will help keep prices down.
Plenty of wildcatters will be glad to accept your investment, econ 101.
Feckless Detroit has torpedoed California’s energy-efficiency / emissions reduction plan, unless the courts overrule the toady EPA, and Congress has laid out a 15 year new 35 mpg cafe standard timetable in response to Motown’s “We can’t change fast,” plaint.
No matter. The Japanese manufacturers are going to be laughing all the way to the bank, as they did during the first oil crisis. (The Germans didn’t do to badly either, selling diesel cars that got 20% higher mpg than their gas models, at a time when diesel fuel cost 10% less than unleaded regular gas. The buy-in cost was high, but low depreciation rates gave you a nice residual when you traded in.)
The Toyota Prius gets 48 mpg in the city, 45 on the highway, 46 mixed driving. (These are new “real-world-driving” figures.)
The Prius was upsized in 2006, and is now classified as a midsize car. Slightly less hip room than the Camry (America’s top selling vehicle), but same front and rear head and leg room. The Prius trunk is a cubic foot larger than the Camry’s.
It goes 0-60 in 10, slow by today’s standards, but I remember when a Mercury Cougar was considered a sporty car, and hit 60 in 9.5 seconds. The Prius is fast enough for practical commuting, with a top speed of 100.
The Prius really shines in stop-and-go driving where its regenerative braking system captures deceleration energy and feeds the battery. This is something that simply cannot be done with a gasoline-only-powered vehicle, which is to say, hybrids intrinsically will always beat gas-only-powered cars, because the latter always waste deceleration energy in stop-and-go driving. . That’s why the Prius counterintuitively gets more mpg with city driving than constant-speed highway driving, the latter being subject to mileage-sapping wind resistance.
The Camry gets 24 mph in city, 34 highway, probably 30 mixed.
So let’s compare costs: Stock Prius $21,579, stock Camry LE $20,975. Over 5 years of ownership with 60,000 mixed miles, at a $3 gas price the gas cost for Prius is $3900. For Camry its $6000. Assuming, hypothetically, a $2000 higher cost for Prius servicing, due to its having both a gas engine and an electrical motor system (which are under 3-year warranty), the Prius would cost $700 more, or about $12 a month more.
Actual costs could be higher or lower, depending on reliability, something Toyota gives a lot of attention to. Bottom line: the Prius is a cost-effective alternative to a gas vehicle. As such, the car-buying public will be far ahead of the go-slow-evolution Detroit/ government cafe-reform plan.
Some states are innovatively encouraging hybrid use, as they allow single-occupant hybrid drivers access to multi-passenger car pool lanes, which give time-is-money salespeople and others who can’t carpool a strong incentive to buy the hybrids to increase their work output.
I’m hanging onto my Toyota until they get the electric car perfected. I think I can squeeze another 100,000 miles out of it.
Angel,
“If people would stop getting so gross and fat, cars would get better mileage and decrease demand.”
You really need to find a more fitting nic.
“Oil prices are being driven upward by demand in United States, China and elsewhere and by an unstable Middle East.”
And when in the last 4,000 years has the Middle East been stable?
We don’t need just corn to make enthanol, we can make ethanol from different grains, switch grass, wheat, grass is probably the best way to go, it dosen’t take up as much space as corn, plus it grows a lot faster, we could even make multi-storied green houses to save space, built in a way that lets sun light into the lower levels. we don’t even need dirt to grow grass for ethanol, you can grow it hydroponically with water and the right minerals. They should also look into ethanol produced from hemp.
Hemp actually produces 4 times more the cellouse than corn, making it much more efficient to use as fuel. Good god, when is this country gonna quit screwing around and get our stuff together. Why do we have all this bueracratic bullcrap holding us back. We could be driving around on hemp ethanol, producing close to no emissions at extremely cheap prices, but no we have to pay for gas to keep money in some war mongerers pockets. Damn un-American money grubbing traitors.
MPS–
The Big Three had an electric vehicle program in the 90’s, which they started just to mollify California’s demand for some zero emissions cars.
They expected the program to fail miserably so they could tell the regulators the public didn’t want electric cars.
Surprise! California drivers LOVED them. Only one thing the automakers could do–recall all the cars and run them through crushers.
Corporations exist to make a profit–not to give people what they want.
When those two options conflict, the former beats the latter every time.
And if you don’t believe it, ask yourself why there’s no Tucker automobile on the road, even though his car was far superior to anything offered at the time.
And the evil corporations got rid of:
The 100 mpg Carburetor.
The 150,000 mile tire.
The 50-year light bulb.
The magic pill that cures cancer, heart disease, ugliness, shortness, fatness, and impotence.
Max, capnamerica is right. Any successful business will try to increase profit no matter what, and if that means stagnating progress to make more money, they will do it. Why would you sell a lightbulb that can last 10 years, when you can sell 60 light bulbs to the same person for 1 light fixture for the same price for ten years. You’ve increased your profit immesurably by making a short lived disposable product. Oil is non-renewable making it far more vaulable.
Reductio ad absurdium.
I didn’t say anything about those conspiracy theories.
Max, if corporations don’t collude to control prices and monopolize markets, why was the Sherman Anti Trust Law passed?
You act as though corporations are inherently benevolent. There’s nothing inherently good about maximizing profits–you can do it by providing a wonderful product like baby food or something really horrible like poison gas.
The reason we’re using Corn as ethanol is because the goverment has given so much subsidies to corn farmers we have stock piles of corn that we have to export to Mexico and other countries. The reason corn syrup is used instead of sugar in pop is because we have to keep finding new ways to use corn. We feed all of our meat sources corn, the cows, chickens eat corn, if you have a dog, go look at his food most of it is made up of corn filler. French fries, fried in vetegtable oil, made of corn.
Products that use Corn.
Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)
Aluminum
Antibiotics (penicillin)
Asbestos insulation
Aspirin
Automobiles (everything on wheels)
xxx- cylinder heads
xxx- ethanol – fuel & windshield washer fluid
xxx- spark plugs
xxx- synthetic rubber finishes
xxx- tires
Baby food
Batteries, dry cell
Beer
Breakfast cereals
Candies
Canned vegetables
Carbonated beverages
Cheese spreads
Chewing gum
Chocolate products
Coatings on wood, paper & metal
Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing
Corn chips
Corn meal
Cosmetics
C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)
Crayon and chalk
Degradable plastics
Dessert powders
Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)
Disposable diapers
Dyes
Edible oil
Ethyl and butyl alcohol
Explosives – firecrackers
Finished leather
Flour & grits Frozen foods
Fructose
Fuel ethanol
Gypsum wallboard
Ink for stamping prices in stores
Insecticides
Instant coffee & tea
Insulation, fibreglass
James, jellies and preserves
Ketchup
Latex paint
Leather tanning
Licorice
Livestock feed
Malted products
Margarine
Mayonnaise
Mustard, prepared
Paper board, (corrugating, laminating, cardboard)
Paper manufacturing
Paper plates & Cups
Peanut butter
Pharmaceuticals – The Life Line of The Hospital
Potato chips
Rugs, carpets
Salad dressings
Shaving cream & lotions
Shoe polish
Soaps and cleaners
Soft drinks
Starch & glucose (over 40 types)
Syrup
Tacos, tortillas
Textiles
Toothpaste
Wallpaper
Wheat bread
Whiskey
Yogurts
VHS is the VCR of choice not because of evil corporates but because of stupid corporates. VHS was not the best VCR, but it understood the market better than its Beta competition. By the time Sony understood its mistake, VHS was the standard.
WhiteElephant, your comments are why I do not support farm subsidies. They also violate any number of trade agreements. They do not help the typical farmer enough and benefit the corporate farmer too much. According to studies, farm subsidies are aggravating the obesity problem in this country.
Hope everyone gassed up already as oil increases hit the pumps in 12 to 24 hours or less.
Max, if corporations don’t collude to control prices and monopolize markets, why was the Sherman Anti Trust Law passed?
You act as though corporations are inherently benevolent. There’s nothing inherently good about maximizing profits–you can do it by providing a wonderful product like baby food or something really horrible like poison gas.
Posted by: CapnAmerica | January 02, 2008 at 11:07 PM
——————————————————————–
I love the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. When’s the last time you saw it enforced?
Never said corporations were innocent lambs. Corporations are like people, they are profit motivated. And corporate greed and cheating does at times (I hate to say it) beg for regulation.
Successful companies know how far they can go without getting the Feds jumping on em with more regs.
And there are successful companies. I’ve worked for a few of em for 25+ years. And not once did I complain about how evil my employer was, as long as they took care of my back pocket. (Which has been most, not all, but most of the time.)
“And there are successful companies. I’ve worked for a few of em for 25+ years. And not once did I complain about how evil my employer was, as long as they took care of my back pocket. (Which has been most, not all, but most of the time.)
Posted by: Max | January 02, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Poor scared little serf. I pity you.
“Never said corporations were innocent lambs. Corporations are like people, they are profit motivated. And corporate greed and cheating does at times (I hate to say it) beg for regulation.”
The truth, out of the maws of lambs… Who would have thunk it???
How high do you fools think it needs to go before a citizen uprising?
Dont fool yourself, it has been artificially low here for too long. We are getting a taste of what our euro friends suffer. Would the GW crowd be upset if the prices were this high and the money was not going to big oil? Like it or not, this is helping curb GW because people are driving less. Once enough people adopt this attitude, oil companies will be forced to develop alternative sources of energy because their stockholders will feel the pinch in their pocketbooks. As gas prices rise, demand drops. There is a breakeven point where higher prices yield lower profits.
As pointed out earlier, speculators are the biggest cause of the problem. Get rid of speculators, no problem. This will create other problems, but why worry about that?
Gas prices should be higher. The higher they are, the less people consume and the less people consume means the less money we send to finance the terrorist who then use it to come and blow us up. I figure that $4 gas will pretty much kill off the monster SUVs and that will be a good thing for America.
Ahh the ol left/right shite again. You either have the freaks that are so conceited as to think that humans can do ANYTHING to the Earth to cause global warming. This “Carbon Tax” is nothing more than what it is, another way to tax us. Or you have the dumazzes that stand up for corporate greed and artificial pricing because they are good conservatives and capitalists. No, we are all cattle, buying and consuming like useless eaters. this country is going down the tubes because no one can come together, we just argue about stupid trivialities. This year, either we will retardedly attack Iran and fuel will go to 5 or 6 dollars a gallon, tanking our already propped up and full of bs economy. Or else the lie that is our economy will just self destruct on its own. We are headed for stagflation at best or a depression. Sorry for my take, go ahead and get back to your Britney following.
Still, at $4/gal., that’s only roughly half of what Europeans are NOW paying for fuel. But how about prices in Turkey, anyway? Aren’t they higher still? I think it’s about 1.65€/litre, which is about $9.18/gal.
http://gasoline-germany.com/international.phtml
I think it’s great..in ten years I’ll bet most of the cars on the road are electric.
It takes crisis to make positive changes and Americans are too creative and resourceful not to meet this challenge head on.
With such high oil prices, we’ll get over our dependancy on fossil fuels pretty quick..we have to if our econonmy is going to survive.
I say it’s about time.
The process, created by Aquaflow, involves the harvesting of algae directly from any nutrient-rich settling ponds. This process is usable in many types of waste streams such as the ones created by the transport, dairy, meat and paper industries. The process works by exploiting the capacity of algae to absorb the nutrients available in the settling ponds, cleaning up the water which can then be used on other areas. The algae is then harvested and transformed into an alternative fuel source. So not only can biofuel created from this process, but is possible to clean up and reuse the waste water streams from major industries.
Air New Zealand is just one airline in the industry focused on creating alternative fuels for airplane engines. Last April, Virgin Airlines announced that it will start trialling the use of biofuels in a 747-400.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/07/31/pond-scum-biofuel-to-power-airplanes/
Biologist Nick Rancis lifts a favorite specimen. “Here we have a species of green algae that grows in fresh water. As you can see, it grows very high density. You can’t even see through it when you hold it up to the light.” He says this strain produces enormous amounts of fat: up to 50 percent of its body weight. And while producing oil from soy or canola generally requires a three to five-month growing season, some algae are so prolific, over half a batch can be harvested for oil production every day. “They can double or triple overnight,” Rancis says.
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=47237
USU is currently conducting research on algae and plans to produce an algae-biodiesel that is cost-competitive by 2009. Algae, plainly referred to as pond scum, can produce up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre and can be grown virtually anywhere.
“This is perhaps the most important scientific challenge facing humanity in the 21st century,” said Lance Seefeldt, USU professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
“There are several options for solving the world’s energy problem, but at this point, none of them are realistically viable for long-term use.”
Biodiesel is a clean and carbon-dioxide-neutral fuel that is becoming more popular, but most of the current product comes from soybean and corn oil. As supply and demand grows, so does the price of soybeans and corn. People and animals rely on soybean and corn as a food commodity, eventually causing competition between commodities and growing enough product. Meeting this demand would require the world to use virtually all of its arable land, said Seefeldt.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070130090717.htm
India has stopped specualtion on oil futures on their exhanges claiming that speculators add about $30.00 to the cost of a barrel of oil, that demands are easily being met worldwide, and speculators create the higher costs by intrigue and rumor thus manipulating the real laws of supply and demand. Might be something there to think about.
Kev: $1.06 a litre reported in Toronto now for regular gas, which I think is about $4.00 per gallon. An oil exporting nation and America’s biggest source for crude. You’d think it would be cheaper.
When I was in Canada around 15 years ago gas was 74 cents a liter. Prices haven’t gone up as much compared to the states.
Won’t be long now before we begin to see all those unsalable SUV’s up on blocks in the front yards of formerly upscale homes.