While I agree with the fact that it is oil is a finite resource, I don’t agree that alternatives will not be devised if the price of oil is low. That wasn’t the case with nuclear energy, it hasn’t been with battery technology. The fact is that technical advancement was slow because of the process of research, invention, and refinement and it’s a stepping-stone process and often done in spurts. Just throwing more money at it isn’t going to make things go faster.

Actually I was going to suggest more oversight rather than more money. The government is incredibly tolerant of incompetence amongst its ranks (I guess I don’t have to tell you that). It’s why it’s investing in stupid crap like ethanol. A private non-profit mega research institute would be nice.

Advancements in computers is one thing that has sped up the process, but it’s still a process that has to run a course. My prediction: Even with cheap oil, in 50 years we won’t need oil any more. Other technologies will be born or refined to eliminate the need for it. Personally, I’d bet on nuclear power with electric cars. (Hmmm, electric muscle cars. I wish I could be here to see it.)

I just want these next 50 years to be good ones, not some 50 year long hell the Dems want us to live through.

Dusty on July 31, 2008 at 8:34 PM

I guess you’re a glass half full kinda guy while I’m the kind of guy who thinks the glass’s not just empty but the bottom shattered. Drilling won’t have an effect for quite some time though so I won’t expect the next few years to be that great regardless.

Darth Executor on July 31, 2008 at 8:43 PM

canopfor on July 31, 2008 at 8:29 PM

The Russians are indeed exploring and charting the Arctic, and using some state-of-the art technologies to do so. The Chinese have obtained leases from Cuba and Venezuela in the Carribean, a few leases just off Key West, and the Chinese are working on road and rail toward the Dzungharian Gate in far Western China to be able to exploit Kazhakhstan’s oil and gas reserves.

This energy thing is a national security issue, and a big one. If countries such as China and Russia get a major holding of global gas and oil reserves, they already have access to a huge portion of known reserves, a lot of countires are going to be at their mercy…us included.

But, solar farms and windmills are going to save us, right?

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 8:44 PM

Darth Executor,

Merely signing off on an Executive Order rescinding executive prohibition on drilling caused the world oil price to drop $8 per barrel in two days. If Congress followed suit, it’d drop a lot more. It is all about supply and demand, and the futures market projecting that supply and demand 30, 60 or 90 days or more down the road. If we open up extraction of known sources, and start to build the transportation and refining infrastructure immediately, the two will marry up at the same time, if not sooner, and supply will be overly abundant compared to today’s supply, and the price will react accordingly.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 8:51 PM

Darth Executor,

In order to render oil obsolete, we still need to be able to power the technologies and the economy until we reach that point. Right now oil, gas, and coal are our best interim bets until we reach that point 25-100 years down the road. Remember, that thing sitting in front of you has a lot of oil-based parts to it…plastics and polymers are oil derived.

The longer we wait to become energy independent, the other guys (China and Russia) are going have us by the short hairs a lot more firmly than the oil shieks and guys like Chavez do already.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 8:54 PM

Unless we render oil obsolete. Then who’ll be laughing?

Darth Executor on July 31, 2008 at 8:49 PM

Good luck to that. No matter what they have tried, oil is the most flexible and btu-rich transportation fuel as well as being the best chemical and energy source.
It’s already mostly refined, right out of the ground, with almost no excess waste product.
And that’s why all the attempts to “get off oil” over the years have been so futile.

TexasJew on July 31, 2008 at 8:59 PM

Don Carne,

The Tesla is a toy for wealthy dotcom millionaires and Hollywood types. You know, the same people who generally are chauffeured around in their Suburbans or limousines and have private jets to whisk them around.

The hilarious thing about that is that apparently these holier then thou Tesla owners in California have absolutely no problem with “fueling up” using coal generated electricity. That is where the majority of California’s electricity comes from. And don’t give me the usual blablahblah about them using wind and solar. If they ain’t off the grid 100%, they are using coal.

Nahanni on July 31, 2008 at 9:02 PM

Oil companies jack up the price of oil(and earn record profits)…so we should reward them by handing them America’s last few barrels of oil?

Assume the position, poor Americans?

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 9:33 PM

Asinine Comment— We are already assuming the position now because the idiot Libs won’t let us drill….

DRILL NOW

deedtrader on July 31, 2008 at 9:41 PM

“Us” deed?

Do you work for an oil company?

Or is that a Marxist Us?

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 9:46 PM

Don,

The Tesla Roadster costs $109,000 (Base) and takes 3.5 hours to charge to go a mere 220 miles.

Or I can buy a Toyota Yaris for $11,550 (Base) and fill up in about 3 minutes and go up to 466 miles.

Poptech on July 31, 2008 at 9:48 PM

I LOVE IT, KEN. Really, please keep it up. The Udall guys who are running for US Senate in CO and NM feel the same way. There are solid, pro-domestic production, conservative republicans running against the Udalls in both states.

Schaeffer in CO, Pearce in NM, if anybody is interested. I may have misspelled the CO one…there are too many ways folks spell that last name :-).

CO residents need to hear loud and clear what the consequences are when they elect democrats to the US Senate.

funky chicken on July 31, 2008 at 9:50 PM

Just the announcement that drilling is approved with drop the price of oil to $30 a barrel overnight. heck it dropped $18 in three DAYS after W rescinded the executive order.

No deep study required, really. Just common sense, which the traitorcrats seem to be ABSENT.

dogsoldier on July 31, 2008 at 8:58 PM

hahahahahahah yep, the Sauds, Soros, and the dems thought they had us all so weepy eyed over “global warming” that we would just bend over and take it, all while electing losercrats and singing songs to Gaia. I have hope that the majority of voting US citizens aren’t fully Euro-ized (neutered?) yet.

funky chicken on July 31, 2008 at 9:54 PM

What did I tell ya. Instead of addressing drilling, Obama and the Democrats simply go to their typical talking points that fool the idiotic American public every time: blame Republicans for giving tax breaks to “Big Oil”.

Obama Slams McCain Over Tax Breaks for Big Oil

The next poll that Rasmussen needs to do is ask people “Whom do you Blame for the Oil/Gas Price/Energy Crisis?

(1) Republicans/”Big Oil”
(2) Democrats/Lack of Drilling/Refining

The results of that poll will tell us about the intelligence of the American public.

Michael in MI on July 31, 2008 at 9:58 PM

Can the democrats be this stupid? Only if the republicans don’t go on full court press.

jukin on July 31, 2008 at 10:02 PM

Oil companies jack up the price of oil(and earn record profits)…so we should reward them by handing them America’s last few barrels of oil?

Assume the position, poor Americans?

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 9:33 PM

Oil companies pay taxes on their profits so the more they make in profit the more the IRS collects. And the more they make in profits the more money my mutual funds grow for my retirement.

32 hours needed to charge Tesla using 15-amp 110 volt outlet

Poptech on July 31, 2008 at 9:54 PM

I wonder if a 220 volt like we used to use for dryers and washers and window units a/c would cut that time in half. And I wonder if a separate household electric source .. like a 440 volt is part of the development? This is why we need nuclear energy for home use. Those car batteries plugged into household sources are going to put strain on any electric grid.

Texas Gal on July 31, 2008 at 10:04 PM

I would suggest that the Voters in Colorado take a good long hard look at the stellar job their illustrious Senator Ken Salazar is doing for them, especially when they are deciding if they should buy food or get gas. Then maybe they would like to express their view of the stellar job their illustrious Senator Ken Salazar is doing, by recalling his sorry butt from the Senate right now, and get someone in that office who is going to work to get the price of a gallon of gas down!

What say you, Voters in Colorado?

pilamaye on July 31, 2008 at 10:05 PM

Hey folks. It’s not 100% certain that fossil fuels are, in fact, fossil fuels. The abiogenesis theory says that petroleum products are made by the Earth continuously.

And even if it is, in fact, a fossil fuel, there are more proven reserves of oil right now than at any time in history.

Why put ourselves through needless suffering when, like Dusty said, we can invent our way out of the need for oil?

Only there’s a catch. If we restrict our energy use, we restrict every single aspect of our lives, including research. Goinog back to some pastoral paradise guarantees that we WON’T make the discoveries necessary, WON’T generate the vast amounts of excess capital necessary to fund research, and will stagnate.

misterpeasea on July 31, 2008 at 10:18 PM

OK Class, refresher course……… Below is a partial list of over 6000 products produced from P-E-T-R-O-L-E-U-M, and besides food prices rising 250%, almost everything that has increased our standard of living will cost more and more unless we become energy independent using our OWN P-E-T-R-O-L-E-U-M.

Other wise, the Democrats want you huddled in a cave, naked, chewing on grass and grubs, but don’t you dare start a fire to keep warm………….

The partial list, and feel free to check off as many items not only you will do without, but remember, you will be speaking for your neighbor who just might take offense to your decision:

Ammonia
Anesthetics
Antihistamines
Antiseptics
Artificial limbs
Artificial turf
Aspirin
Awnings
Balloons
Ballpoint pens
Bandages
Beach umbrellas
Boats
Cameras
Candles
Car battery cases
Car sound insulation
Carpeting
Cassettes
Caulking
Clothesline
Cold cream
Combs
Cortisone
Crayons
Credit cards
Curtains
Deodorant
Detergents
Dice
Dishwashing liquids
Disposable diapers
Dolls
Dresses
Drinking cups
Dyes
Electric blankets
Electrician’s tape
Eyeglasses
False teeth
Fan belts
Faucet washers
Fertilizers
Fishing boots
Fishing lures
Fishing rods
Floor wax
Folding doors
Food preservatives
Garden hose
Glue
Golf bags
Golf balls
Guitar strings
Hair coloring
Hair curlers
Hand lotion
Hearing aids
Heart valves
House paint
Ice buckets
Ice chests
Ice cube trays
Ink
Insect repellent
Insecticides
LP records
Life jackets
Linoleum
Lipstick
Loudspeakers
Luggage
Milk jugs
Model cars
Mops
Motorcycle helmets
Movie film
Nail polish
Oil filters
Paint brushes
Paint rollers
Pajamas
Panty hose
Parachutes
Perfume
Permanent press clothes
Petroleum jelly
Pillows
Plastic wood
Plywood adhesive
Purses
Putty
Refrigerator linings
Roller-skate wheels
Roofing
Roofing shingles
Rubber cement
Rubbing alcohol
Safety glass
Salad bowls
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Shoe polish
Shoes
Shower curtains
Shower doors
Skis
Slacks
Soap dishes
Soft contact lenses
Sports car bodies
Sun glasses
Sweaters
Synthetic rubber
TV cabinets
Telephones
Tennis rackets
Tents
Tires
Toilet seats
Tool racks
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Toys
Transparent tape
Trash bags
Umbrellas
Unbreakable dishes
Upholstery
VCR tapes
Vaporizers
Vitamin capsules
Wading pools
Water pipes
Wire insulation
Yarn

……………… anyone want another Democrat to have control over your life?

Seven Percent Solution on July 31, 2008 at 10:19 PM

The correct answer was 2), KW64.

It’s amazing how crony capitalists think the economy works.

No wonder America’s economy is in the crapper…

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 10:21 PM

Democrats- the NO ENERGY Party.

profitsbeard on July 31, 2008 at 10:28 PM

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 10:21 PM

Crony capitalists. That’s good. What alternative to capitalism has ever even come close to working? What alternative to capitalism provides accurate information about supply and demand?

And what are we going to do without those things that Seven Percent Solution listed?

You don’t have to explain what we’re going to do without all of them, how about just a couple of insignificant ones, like plastics and fertilizers?

You DO care about the poor people getting enough to eat, don’t you?

misterpeasea on July 31, 2008 at 10:30 PM

darwin, I think you are expecting too much from some people…

[BTW, I've bookmarked that link...simple language, easy to understand.]

But, given that our schools have been controlled by the NEA for 40 years, moreso in the past decade, do you really believe that the average public school product understands that oil companies don’t set oil prices or that Big Oil guys don’t use $100 bills to light their cigars, and that finding and extracting oil is not simple nor cheap, or that an average deep ocean oil rig costs about half a billion dollars for design, construction and movement before that first drop of oil comes rushing up the pipe? These kids have been brainwashed.

Profit is a dirty word,l according to all the claptrap coming from the Left. But profits are almost entirely re-invested, or used to purchase things and services that pay the rents and mortgages and put food on the table for all of us. No profits….no jobs.

But you generally won’t learn that in a public school anymore.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 10:34 PM

alphie…China is growing because the Party decided that state-capitalism (and a fast growing segment of private business) could do a hell of a lot more for China than Mao’s brand of Communism ever could.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 10:36 PM

Seven Percent Solution on July 31, 2008 at 10:19 PM

I remember that the oil embargo in the 70’s brought us a return to milk in glass containers because the cost of producing the plastic jug was higher than the cost of the milk.

Texas Gal on July 31, 2008 at 10:38 PM

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 10:33 PM

China has superimposed a capitalism economy on a communist dictatorship that had artificially held the country back for 40 years. They have a somewhat dual system that has now been partially released to grow to its natural level using technology developed by other free mmarket countries. True communism does not work and has never worked. That is why tyranny is necessary to keep the people from getting rid of it.

KW64 on July 31, 2008 at 10:40 PM

McCain has so much sitting in front of him,, so much just given to him,, and he does nothing with it.
Oh, wait,, he’s thinking of Lieberman for his VP. My bad!

JellyToast on July 31, 2008 at 10:41 PM

Alphie

#1 China is not pure communist anymore. Business owners can now profit from their businesses.

#2 When you are growing from the third world, the rate at which you grow is not too impressive.

#3 Imagine how fast our economy could grow without environmentalists dictating energy policy (think China).

Poptech on July 31, 2008 at 10:42 PM

No, alphie…state capitalism. The state (i.e., the Party) sets goals and controls the general flow. But, private businesses have enabled China to produce well over several million millionaires (private businessmen owning privately held or publicly held [selling shares of stock] companies and enterprises) in just a few years.

China isn’t Communist anymore. Period. Or are your high school textbooks really that old?

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 10:46 PM

“The state (i.e., the Party) sets goals and controls the general flow.”

That’s the very definition of Communism, cold.

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 10:47 PM

Darth Executor,

In order to render oil obsolete, we still need to be able to power the technologies and the economy until we reach that point. Right now oil, gas, and coal are our best interim bets until we reach that point 25-100 years down the road. Remember, that thing sitting in front of you has a lot of oil-based parts to it…plastics and polymers are oil derived.

The longer we wait to become energy independent, the other guys (China and Russia) are going have us by the short hairs a lot more firmly than the oil shieks and guys like Chavez do already.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 8:54 PM

It really is that simple. It is a national security issue.

Connie on July 31, 2008 at 10:49 PM

Mitch McConnell is my Senator. I wrote him the following letter tonight.

Dear Mr. McConnell,

May I call you Mitch? To quote Patton, “you magnificent bastard”. A stroke of pure genius. Henry Clay would be very, very proud. I know I am. I don’t have to tell you we need to see the RNC run with this and don’t let up for a minute. We need to let the people know where everyone stands. As Ben Franklin feared, we are losing the Republic and it is up to you to save us. I dropped to my knees and thanked the Lord for granting you such wisdom. We are at war with an ideology that is intent on striping every freedom away from us. Freedoms our fore fathers staked their very lives to earn. Freedoms countless sons and daughters have fought and died to protect. You are Our Commander. You know the enemy. Make them cower, like partridges before the hawk. God bless you. And God Bless America.

Ben Chandler is my State Rep. I wrote him tonight..

Dear Ben,

Would you vote for drilling on the OCS if the price of a gallon of gas was $4.50 per gallon? I think you know where I am going with this Ben. The Democrats in the Senate said tonight that they would not allow drilling on the OCS if the price of gas was $10 a gallon. This proves the Democrats in Congress don’t give a damn about Americans. You would rather see us become a third world nation. You don’t care that groceries are going up. You tell us to inflate our tires to the proper air pressure. Then you hop in your SUV to the next city and tell the assemble to get a regular tune-up. Next, you hop in you G5 for a quick trip to the coast and tell your new found friends “Slow down, and no jack rabbit starts.” Genius! I don’t think I am going to like “Hope and Change” very much. Ben Franklin warned that we may no be able to hold onto this Republic. He had the vision, just like Orwell.

Maybe it time for another revolution.

Don’t worry. That’s just the Sam Adams talking. Snort.

tom0508 on July 31, 2008 at 10:50 PM

No. alphie. Not at all. Communism…taken from the early 19th century communards…means state OWNERSHIP of all means of production and control over all wages. State-Captialism is a halfway point between Communism and capitalism, wherein the State sets goals [desired results] but allows the private sector for the most part to accomplish those goals.

Or did your high school football coach teach history and social studies?

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 10:52 PM

Know=No.

I nominate myself for HA Typo Idiot.

Dusty on July 31, 2008 at 10:54 PM

I live in an antique house. Part of the house was built in 1890. A second part was imported from a mansion down the street and coupled on in 1930. That part of the house dates to 1850.

Just this week I had to get heating oil for the house. I paid $1,831 for 423 gallons of oil. The tax on that oil, payable to the county in which I live, was $44.66. That works out to $0.11/gallon tax for heating oil.

If anyone wants to talk about cardiac arrest by the voters of the U.S. they should be addressing heating oil (and gas). Forget national politicians, this is happening on a local level here in the U.S.

I am not the only one that looks at this tax structure and wonders what the hell our county is doing to garner this confiscatory tax. Happily, pretty much everyone will have been forced to get an oil delivery or, have received their first gas bill of the winter, by the time elections roll around.

Is our economy ailing? I would say that we are lumbering heavily under gas and heating prices. Just yesterday, Obama told me to inflate my tires and get a tune up… Talk about hair brained! For years now we have kept our thermostat at 62, wearing heavy robes in the house during the winter. Last Christmas my son had his girlfriend come to visit and she couldn’t get warm!

I want the Repubs to hit this issue and hit it hard. The U.S. can no longer afford to leave the mess of oil drilling to third world dictators. Actually, this has bothered me for over a decade. Some how, if we don’t see the mess it doesn’t happen. Kind of like sausage making in that the American public wants their energy but doesn’t want to see it produced.

This train of thought is juvinile at best and terribly destructive to those that wish to actually address our energy needs. While we export billions of dollars to third world dictators China, Cuba and Venezuela are drilling not more than 50 miles off the Florida coast. And yet, the Dems in power hold tight to the idea that Americans should be punished for their lifestyle and learn to “conserve” until the next greatest energy thing is finally perfected.

What if we aren’t able to hold out that long? What would a Dem say to me about my antique house; does it hold no value? If so, why am I subject to special zoning provisions because I live in an historic area? A neighbor of mine tried to install solar cells on his roof and was denied because of the historic district constraints…

As I just wrote to my local legislators, if I could leave your area I would do so immediately. The hell with being the caretaker of an historic property. You have made it impossible for me. BTW, the “Battle of Long Island” happened steps away from my house and, George Washington’s spy network happened in my community. But, who the hell cares anymore? Gotta collect those taxes and turn poor people into wards of the state in order to stay warm.

I predict a massive uprising, at least on the local level, when the bills for winter heating are digested.
babs | 08.01.08 - 03:31 | #

Babs on July 31, 2008 at 11:00 PM

Put a big ribbon on these comments and send them to every Democrat in office.

Star20 on July 31, 2008 at 11:04 PM

I live in Colorado and checked to see if we could recall this man. We have no provisions to do so. We have to wait until he is up for re-election. I think I’ll get a bumper sticker that says: Salazar-He’s not my senator.

boomer on July 31, 2008 at 11:20 PM

I tell you, guys. Just watch. The Democrats won’t know what hit them when the popular riots begin!

newton on July 31, 2008 at 11:26 PM

I certain the GOP is happy as can be that they finally have an issue to campaign on besides Iraq. Well they do have the Fairness Doctrine. Of course, people like Rush can challenge that in court as a violation of free speech, but hey, why should the Democrats not act to curb Free Speech when the Republicans did. Seems fair to me.

On to the discussion at hand, drilling. I had to explain to my wife where the ten year number comes up, the one the Democrats keep tossing around so adamantly while the Oil Execs swear it can be in a year. They are both right, and they’re both telling the truth. Actual physical ability, a year. The delays caused by the environmental impact studies, the lawsuits, and the court battles? Ten years, if we’re lucky to get it going that fast. So the Democrats are telling the truth, and so are the Republicans. Lovely isn’t it? To see honesty in Government for once?

Snake307 on July 31, 2008 at 11:34 PM

I would suggest that the Voters in Colorado take a good long hard look at the stellar job their illustrious Senator Ken Salazar is doing for them, especially when they are deciding if they should buy food or get gas. Then maybe they would like to express their view of the stellar job their illustrious Senator Ken Salazar is doing, by recalling his sorry butt from the Senate right now, and get someone in that office who is going to work to get the price of a gallon of gas down!

What say you, Voters in Colorado?

Unfortunately, Salazar’s term isn’t up until 2010, so we can’t vote him out this time around. We can, however, make sure Bob Schaffer does get elected over Udall, who is currently running ads that attempt to show that he is in the “pocket” of “big oil”. I hope that BS does not lead too many voters here to buy Udall’s line of *rap.

djtnt on July 31, 2008 at 11:36 PM

Though the oil companies don’t set the price of gasoline, if they did it would be their right in the circumstances in which they own the gasoline. That’s what it means to have a property right.

It’s the same principle that makes it proper for the owner of a dry cleaners to set the price of his services, or a coffee shop to set the price at which they sell coffee, or anyone here who is employed to determine at what price they will work, to the extent — no less, no more — they can persuade others to accept that price.

It’s about freedom.

JDPerren on July 31, 2008 at 11:39 PM

JDPerren on July 31, 2008 at 11:39 PM

Oh my. You sound like one of those wild-eyed AynRandians with your crazy talk of “property rights” and “freedom.”

misterpeasea on July 31, 2008 at 11:43 PM

[Snake307 on July 31, 2008 at 11:38 PM]

You’re right, but then Repubs wouldn’t have learned their lesson on pork, etc, and the people wouldn’t have learned what the Dems are really like now, both happening in two short years.

I don’t too much that it’s happening this way.

Dusty on July 31, 2008 at 11:45 PM

don’t too = don’t mind too

Dusty on July 31, 2008 at 11:46 PM

Spent a little time watching the talking heads on TV. [No, not that 80's rock group. The pundits and "experts."] Seems all the Left is really in a lather about Exxon-Mobil’s earnings announcement. $1,400 a second!

Of course, no mention of the pecentage of profits ploughwed back into research, production, construction and maintenance of systems….and state and federal taxes….which are HUGE!

What’s that old commie meets capitalist joke? Both are walking down a street and see a really fine mansion. The Commie says “No man should own a house like that!” The capitalist says “Everyman should own a house like that!”

Wonder if the talking heads and pundits give a moments thought to the wages and payments for services and tech support and construction and taxes these nasty old oil companies put into the economy?

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 11:53 PM

Don’t believe a word Keemo says about my typos over at CQ back in the day.

coldwarrior on July 31, 2008 at 11:58 PM

Correct on that one, too, Dusty.

But, given the opportunity, the Dems will tax the daylights out of those retirement payments…isn’t fair, you know. can’t have people funding their own retirement. Some might get more than others.

coldwarrior on August 1, 2008 at 12:07 AM

alphie, do you have ANY idea of what it costs to put that gallon of gasoline in your car?

coldwarrior on August 1, 2008 at 12:12 AM

alphie, do you have ANY idea how the commodities market works?

coldwarrior on August 1, 2008 at 12:15 AM

cold,

Have you ever bid up the price of an item you were selling on ebay by using a second account to bid up its price?

That’s the same thing the oil companies are doing and what rubes call “market forces.”

alphie on August 1, 2008 at 12:16 AM

Communist China’s economy has been growing 5 times as fast as America’s economy for the past 20 years, mister.

Oh, I forgot…the neocons slew Communism.

Too funny.

alphie on July 31, 2008 at 10:33 PM

Many others have answered regarding China’s hybrid Capitalist/Communist society but I just wanted to point out that if we CAPITALISTS here in AMERICA didn’t buy all the crappy stuff made in China then their economy wouldn’t be squat.

mrsmwp on August 1, 2008 at 12:21 AM